Mid November and looking back

It has been unusually mild for the last month and dry-ish due to a blocking high over Scandanavia.  So we have been able to do more outside now and then.  I am still havesting good rasps from the Moy in the tunnel every few days - they are ripening on terminal trusses on new canes.  The rust is abundant but does not seem to reduce yield.  The plant sale at Treborth last month made more than £1k and took a bit of time to grow seedling salads and harvest hobby spuds from Henfaes to sell at £1 or £2 a take-away bag of 1 or 2kg.

The algerian iris has produced many blooms but suffers predation by some voracious critter.  An ancient, neglected susanqua camellia, Narumigata, is starting to bloom, our reward for releasing it from its pot into the garden.  Rh. pachysanthum is flowering again and is extra special now with its silver indumentum now a rich rust brown.

I gave a talk at Rowen Gardening Club on roses and took a bucket of flowers to hand around.  There were various roses that almost never flower at this time including American Pillar and Francois Juranville.  Old faithfuls were Stanwell Perpetual, Blush Noisette, Mutabilis, Windrush, Mme Alfred Carriere and Phyllis Bide.  Large hips of Cupid were nice and I took cutting wood of Brenda Colvin.

We have had good late flushes of Shaggy Parasols and Blewits, some of which have gone in the freezer as duxelles. 

In the potager, the kale from 2010 has persisted and is still producing on 3ft high stems. We have plenty of Swiss Chard and some sorrel.

Corby lifted the dahlia tubers from the shed area and tucked them away safely (I hope) in the garage. Then what might be a glorious display of lily-flowered tulips went in, Ballerina, Moneymaker (bright red, but not as boring as the tomato of the same name), Doll's Minuet, a viridiflora, very tall and late, and. China Pink.  In the front row, a mixture of Greigii and Princess Irene to wake things up in April.(26 April 2012: greigii not that interesting and completely over by the time Princess Irene begins. Can't yet see Doll's Minuet in the row of lily-flowered tulips)

Jan Reus, which is supposed to naturalize well, went in to the conservatory garden in the amelanchier corner, along with another 10 Princess Irene. That leaves India and yet another 10 Princess Irene to plant somewhere else.