Trees,climbers,shrubs and other random plants (Part 2)

Continuing to work through pictures from my old garden in North West England which was surrounded by trees and had a moist, not always well-drained, slightly acid soil. This particularly enabled me to indulge my two favourite genera of meconopsis and mainly Asiatic primulas, amongst many others. All the photographs were taken in my garden unless otherwise stated.

Abutilon

Abutilons come from tropical and sub-tropical areas and as such are not fully hardy in the UK although some may survive against a sunny south-facing wall in warmer areas. My first job was for a local parks department and I will always remember the large specimen of A.megapotamicum that dominated the cool glass house with its lantern shaped flowers. A.megapotamicum was really the only abutilon that was widely cultivated but now there are many cultivars available as their showy flowers and interesting foliage have made them a desirable subject.

Acer

Acers are one of our most recognisable trees from the common sycamore (Acer pseudoplatanus) to all the various cultivars, particularly from Acer palmatum, grown mainly for their leaf colours, be it the contrasting new growth in spring or glorious autumn displays. Widespread throughout the Northern Hemisphere, although acers are not native to the UK, they are easily recognisable by their distinctive leaf shape and winged fruit. In siting a maple (acer), particularly the Japanese types, it is worth bearing in mind that very often protecting the foliage is a major objective so a cool spot out of the way of cold winds and early morning sunshine is to be preferred. One thing I have learned to my cost was acers certainly don’t like getting their feet wet, I was given a rather expensive specimen as a present which I put in, what I thought was, an ideal spot, that winter that area of the garden decided to drown and so did the acer.

Amelanchier

Amelanchier lamarckii or snowy mespilus is a member of the rose family, which is possibly a hybrid that is thought to originate from North America although it is not found in the wild there. A large bush or small tree it has white blossom in spring followed by inedible fruits and some autumn leaf colour. Likes a cool root run in moist slightly acid soil but also flowers better in full sun.

Asarina?

Completely mixed up about these, now synonymous with Maurandya these plants were grown from seed labelled as Asarina scandens and Maurandya purpusii respectively. Anyway, the climbing snapdragon is a half-hardy climbing sub-shrub hailing from Mexico and the southern United States and is grown as a half-hardy perennial or annual usually in a container. I rather like them although grown more as a novelty from a”lucky dip” purchase. To add insult to injury Maurandya purpusii that was Asarina purpusii is now Lophospermum purpusii, I give up!

Berberis

Found pretty much all over the world this genus, which is probably familiar to all gardeners in one form or another, is easy to grow, versatile and decorative as well as many of its members making ideal hedging material, their thorns making an effective barrier to both human and animal. I think most of its familiar members can be described as ‘tough as old boots’. The whitish sheen apparent on the B.thunbergii pictured is actually a powdery mildew which appeared every year regardless of the prevailing weather conditions.

Buddleja

As they are often seen at the roadside, on abandoned buildings and beside the rail-lines as a weed, buddlejas tend to have a bad press but I wouldn’t be without them and in fact have two in my new small garden. Most cultivars which are available are from B.davidii although ‘Lochinch’ is sometimes known as B.fallowiana and I have read somewhere that B.x weyeriana ‘Sungold’ is an early cross between a form of B.davidii and a South American species. Love them or hate them, I don’t think they can be surpassed in their ability to attract bees and butterflies and their intense fragrance.