February Home Horticultural Highlights

1. Clivia miniata, 2. Hippeastrum 'Apple Blossom', 3. Hippeastrum 'Red Lion' & 'Apple Blossom', 4. Begonia 'Tiger Paws', 5. Fockea edulis, 6. Spectrum, 7. Colocasia esculenta, 8. Ludisia discolor var. dawsoniana, 9. Ludisia discolor var. dawsoniana I had so many events to choose from, but i think this illustrates two things. 1: It looks like I'm enjoying tropicals as much as desert plants for once. 2: And more importantly, look at all that sunshine! Days are getting longer and the weather is clearly improving. Everything is waking up and budding and blossoming in all of those luxurious hours of sunlight we're enjoying every day. Here's something that deserved particular attention. Canna indica purpurea seedlings, just 4 days from germination. They're so healthy and growing so quickly. These seeds were collected from dot plants in the Horniman's bedding last year, so as perennials these will join the few souvenir plants I'm growing. There's quite a bit of colour variation, which I think is a result of open pollination. I also very much enjoyed Kew's Orchid Exhibition before I left London. I'm trying to keep this more of an art blog than a gardening blog, but oh look, it's infiltrating again.