Picking up my gardening gloves from the shelf in the outhouse made me jump a bit. We had a surprise guest snuggled under them.
I carefully took it outside and placed underneath the large rock slab outside the door, making sure it crawled under out of harms way.
Next day once again picking up my gloves, it was back there again!
It's easy for them this size to get under the door, plenty of gap to squeeze under, but how it manages to get up on the shelf is beyond me?
Our Summer seems to show no signs of becoming dry. Small intervals of dry days in a week is all that can be hoped for. A washout is the simple way to describe it.
Many plants though are thriving, perennials and herbaceous forms seem untouched. But one that absolutely loves it has grown into a superb plant this year. The cool wet conditions suit it very well.
Flora plena is not very often offered for sale as it is a little understated to the more popular variety 'Chameleon' The leaves of 'Flora plena' have a nice red edge to them and contrast well with the glossy leaves. Double pure white flowers show up perfectly against the leaves.
It grows in poor wet soil conditions in full sun or partial shade. A deciduous perennial, dying down completely to underground rhizomes. It spreads well by the rhizomes and can easily be propagated by digging them up in winter and replanting into another position. They take well to growing in a pot ensuring the compost is good at holding water as it needs being kept moist suffering if allowed to dry out at all.
Most people come across the Houttuynia in the coloured leaved for Houttuynia cordata 'Chameleon'
Treat it the same as 'Flora plena', though you may have to watch for reversion where the leaves revert back to green. Remove any of the plant that does not show the full colour in the leaves.
