Red For Danger

A friend brought in some ready potted Asian Lilies to put in a border at the front of the house. Unfortunately whoever the grower was has a phytosanitary problem and now she has imported a nuisance pest.

Immediately the colour was the giveaway and unmistakable, red for danger! On only six small plants there were ten Lily beetles wandering. All that could be done was to knock them off and use a heavy foot.

Lily beetle also known as the Scarlet Lily beetle.

A close eye will have to be kept on all the lilies in the garden to make sure there is no spread from these pests that can cause quite a lot of damage to Lilies and Fritillaries.

Organic methods of control come down to regularly inspecting the plants and picking off the beetles. See the RHS information

here if you want more methods.

Oldest Cultivar

This is one of the oldest known cultivars of Erysimum or Wallflowers to be found. Well worth seeking out, but may take a bit to find.

Erysimum 'Harpur Crewe' grows to about 1-1.1/2 feet tall (30-40cm), bearing double yellow flowers that have a delicious old fashioned Wallflower scent to them.

It was grown by the Rev. Henry Harpur Crewe (1830-83) who was  Rector of  Drayton  Beauchamp, near Tring, Hertfordshire. A knowledgeable gardener who gave away many of these plants that were known at the time as 'Harpur Crewes Wallflower'

Erysimum 'Harpur Crewe' (Erysimum cheiri 'Harpur Crewe')

'Harpur Crewe' stays neat and compact unlike the true Wallflower still growing naturally in old rock walls. It should not be cosseted too much in the garden with rich soil and regular feeding as this will make it too lush and short lived!

This particular specimen is growing at the side of a driveway tight against the concrete foundations of the kerb edging. Very close by a large shrub evergreen sucks much of the moisture from out of the soil, which suits the Wallflower very well, keeping the situation very well drained during Winter and nutrient levels down.

Perfect Form

The flowers of this Camellia has a perfect form and symmetry about them.

  Camellia 'E.G.Waterhouse' (Camellia japonia 'E.G.Waterhouse')

Early Events

Several things in the garden are showing early this year, whether it has been brought on by the quite mild Winter we had over here in the West.

The dark nearly black flowers of the Pittesporum (Pittesporum tenuiflolium) showing a month ahead of normal flowering time. Still richly scented with a delicious high fruity highlights to the scent.

The Pieris (Pieris forrestii 'Forest Flame') have the bracts coming out with the flowers, when they usually wait until the flowers are going over. Bumble bees enjoy the Pieris flowers for the early nectar at the beginning over the season. The white flowers are filled with a heavy musky scent that hangs heavily around the bush.

Erica arborea (Erica arborea alpina)  is a few weeks ahead of time, usually flowering more toward the end of April rather than the beginning. The flowers are visited by many early insects drawn by the delicate honey scent.

This is one garden member that is still right on time, the Skunk cabbage (Lysichiton americanum). It's yellow hoods cause quite a stir with strangers to the plant, accompanied by the musky scent given off by the plant. I have never smelt a skunk, but the Skunk cabbage itself I find no offense to the smell. Heavy musky and distinctive, but not unpleasant. If you have a wet patch in the garden, it's well worth growing and as the leaves become ropy looking at the end of Summer, they can be cut down making lots of valuable composting material from deep roots that pull up loads of nutrients from the subsoil.

For Get Me Not

What would Spring be without the little For-Get-Me-Not (Myosotis arvensis)

Forget-Me-Not (Myosotis arvensis) growing at the front of a border.

Myosotis arvensis, an easy to grow annual available in various shades of blue, from deep rich blues to light pale sky blue. There are pink forms and white varieties. But as far as I am concerned the For-Get-Me-Not has to be blue.

If you have none, buy yourself a packet of seed and sprinkle it in a lightly prepared area or areas of the garden. Just rake the soil into a tilth and sprinkle the seeds. They will develop over the season ready for Spring flowering.

Once you have them in the garden they will self seed everywhere and the only thing you have to do is weed out the ones you don't want!

A word of warning. Don't be too quick to clear up behind the old plants. You have to wait for the seed heads to develop and drop the seeds. The old plants will look rough, but wait until they have died completely and shed their seeds. A too tidy garden is one without For-Get-Me -Not's