Not the green roof thread
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David Matzdorf
Site Admin
Joined: Mon Oct 29, 2007 4:06 pm Posts: 5321 Location: Islington, London UK
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Not the green roof thread
I've been very lax about collating and editing photographs this year, so I have just waded through the past six months of the garden and green roof. It was instructive, a bit like a time-lapse of the past three seasons.
Here's a trip through the front garden, starting in June.
Trachycarpus wagnerianus and Chamaerops humilis cerifera in the spring sun.
C. h. cerifera is one of my favourite Palms. It's never going to get big and it scratches my legs because it blocks the path, but it's staying right where it is.
And the T. wagnerianus on the same sunny day.
This Woodwardia radicans, which I got from Kev last year in a small pot, announced its triffidaceous tendencies early on. This was in June. By next June, I expect it will have eaten the entire neighbourhood. That's Impatiens puberula on the upper right and Persicaria microcephala 'Red Dragon' on the lower left.
Some of the contrasting foliage below the looming Woodwardia. They were intended to underplant the Semiarundinaria fastuosa to the right (which has increased its territory since this photo), but after trying to get these to bulk up for several years, it's plain that there is no way they can compete with the Bamboo's root-and-rhizome system - certainly not in my rather dry garden. Most of these get watered nearly daily, but they won't increase. They just survive.
The entrance patio in June. It's a mess, but for some reason I like this photo. Propagation City is to the right.
Ficus macrophylla columnaris. Started as two small cuttings from Michael (SW Ireland) in 2014, these struggled for two years, before finally establishing themselves last year. They are ultimately the offspring of Bennz's seed distribution. They're turning into very attractive small plants now, about 0.7m tall and starting to branch.
I also have a seedling-grown F. macrophylla (not columnaris) that I got from Josh76 in 2012 (?), which is now a substantial shrub. It is planted in a pot in the ground, with the intention of ripping it up and taking indoors during hard freezes - also with the intention of preventing its root system from demolishing my garden wall. But I left it in place all last winter, which included one brief -3ºC and a multitude of overnight -1ºCs. It died back by about a foot, but it has grown back vigorously to about 2.0m. It remains to be seen how much force will be required to lift it this winter.
July
I have 8-9 Chamaedorea radicalis dotted about shady areas of the garden. This sp. is reliably hardy in London - the three oldest were unscathed by any of the harsh winters from 2008-2011. Most of them flower every year, so I get rather a lot of fruit, which I swapped this summer for some interesting hardy succulents for the roof.
C. radicalis infructescense reclining on Cyrtomium falcatum frond.
August
Abutilon x hybridum 'Golden Fleece' - the ID is mine, it was acquired unnamed. This is probably the most tender of my Abutilons and I lost the main plant after the 2010 freeze, but I managed to get a cutting going before it expired entirely and it has finally motivated itself to provide me with a decent display only this year.
Abutilon 'Kentish Belle' is much hardier - pretty indestructible in London. No matter how hard I prune it, by August it is sprawling all over everything. The Kumara plicatilis in the pot had 6 branches, but it was so top-heavy that it kept collapsing, so I steeled myself last spring and pruned all but two heads off. Now I have two spare plants ... and I still don't have a suitably sunny place for this to grow. Never mind.
As I was saying about that Woodwardia radicans... This is the same plant two months later, in August.
Down the garden path...
An impulse buy in a sale: Bergenia ciliata 'Dumbo', which is doing pretty well, to my surprise - two plants of B. ciliata 'Wilton' that I got from Nick Macer a couple of years ago are struggling to survive in an exceptionally dry spot. 'Dumbo' has increased noticeably in the two months since this photo was taken.
September
Musschia wollastonii, from Kev a couple of years ago. In a big pot, though it has rooted itself in position.
Three Hedychium gardnerianum have flowered for the past several years, reliably, though less profusely this year. They really need to be planted out, as they are very congested. I also have two chunky seedlings waiting to join them.
Mandatory arty Agave attenuata shot.
Another species that gets plunged in pots except during freezes - a couple of Begonia luxurians, which have done very well this year under a canopy of Acacia pravissima, more so since the Acacia has been subjected to a heavy reduction by a tree surgeon (it's become too big for me to deal with myself). The elephant leg on the left is the Acacia trunk.
In 2008, Gary King-Hall sent me two very tiny seedlings of Cordyline obtecta, which I believe came from Peter Richardson's seed collection in NZ. Eventually I sorted out that one was 'Green Goddess' and one was 'Emerald Goddess' and which was which. The former was planted out in 2009; the latter remained in a pot. Both were killed to the ground by the prolonged freeze in December 2010. The 'GG' started to regrow in April 2011, when it produced three shoots, but the 'EG' remained moribund until one shoot appeared in spring 2012.
The 'GG' divides its energy into three trunks and has, after a very good growing season, achieved the height of 1.7m. The 'EG', which can concentrate all of its energies in one direction - up - is still in a large pot, but has permanently rooted itself in place (gales permitting) and is 2.5m tall. I prefer the 'Green Goddess' for its wider, less olive-coloured foliage.
Cordyline obtecta 'Green Goddess' (you can see the Ficus macrophylla in the background)
Cordyline obtecta 'Emerald Goddess' trying unsuccessfully to hide behind a pile of Iris confusa.
October
When you look out the windows at the front of my house, it doesn't look a lot like London. Not London in October, anyway.
Hedychium densiflorum seed heads are always a good extension to the season.
The usual autumnal suspects are still hanging on in there: mainly Brugmansias and Abutilons, which together add at least 6 weeks to the flowering season here. In a good year, I'll have a few of them pushing out new flowers in early December.
Brugmansia 'Charles Grimaldi', a bit battered but still with unopened flower buds.
Brugmansia insignis 'Rosea' and Abutilon x hybridum 'Nabob'. I also rather like the reflection of the street-Sycamore (Acer pseudoplatanus).
in July 2016, someone sent me some cuttings of Salvia 'Amistad', which is one vigorous plant. Growing these on and propagating them takes no time at all, but an experiment growing them on a damper bit of the green roof didn't survive last winter. Since last spring, the remaining 150mm cutting has produced two large plants, which I kept moving around the garden to keep them out of my bloody way. Eventually I liked where I plonked them, so I planted them there, only a couple of weeks ago. They are underplanted with Iris foetidissima, grown from a seed pod that I stole about 4 years ago, and I'm hoping the Iris will flower in spring before the Salvia smothers it and that the Salvia will die back before the Iris seeds become a feature in winter. Fat chance.
The royal purple colour of the Salvia flowers overpowers my camera, so this is the only one where I've had to tweak the hue to get the flowers to look more as they do in real life.
_________________ 51º33'07"N x 0º07'21"W
43m (142 feet) ASL
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Sun Oct 29, 2017 3:09 pm |
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Andy Martin
Joined: Thu Apr 24, 2008 8:58 pm Posts: 1279 Location: Oxford UK
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Re: Not the green roof thread
A wonderful array of Exotics David. I am in awe of your Iris confusa... not one leaf out of place. Mine although small has the permanent shredded look courtesy of rambling molluscs. Good to see a lot of abutilon.... they are the mainstay even in my cold garden. I particularly like the dark ruby red/ purple variety. Do you have a name for it? Lastly the Cordyline obtecta green goddess is something I must try. I guess it is a little more tender than australis ? Thanks for showing.
_________________ Lover of Yuccas,Palms,Nolinas,Schefflera.
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Sun Oct 29, 2017 6:57 pm |
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Kev Spence
Site Admin
Joined: Mon Oct 29, 2007 3:59 pm Posts: 10902 Location: Loughborough, Leics, central UK
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Re: Not the green roof thread
Nice one David your garden looks really well I too love C.humilis "Cerifera" does it stay bluish through winter, mine does, I read a lot of members elsewhere whete their colour seems to wash off. I gave up on brugs years ago they seeme to catch every bug and virus going I do like that pink one ....any tips?
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Sun Oct 29, 2017 9:22 pm |
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ArtV
Joined: Thu Feb 23, 2017 3:46 pm Posts: 151 Location: Middlesex, UK
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Re: Not the green roof thread
David
You have a fantastic garden.
Woodwardia is one of my favourite genera of ferns
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Mon Oct 30, 2017 8:22 am |
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David Matzdorf
Site Admin
Joined: Mon Oct 29, 2007 4:06 pm Posts: 5321 Location: Islington, London UK
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Re: Not the green roof thread
_________________ 51º33'07"N x 0º07'21"W
43m (142 feet) ASL
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Mon Oct 30, 2017 10:15 am |
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Josh76
Joined: Tue Jul 13, 2010 10:31 am Posts: 316 Location: Brentford, Middx
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Re: Not the green roof thread
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Mon Oct 30, 2017 12:02 pm |
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Steven
Joined: Sun Aug 10, 2008 4:02 pm Posts: 2486
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Re: Not the green roof thread
What a wonderfully nice and exotic garden, David! I really admire your success with Acacia! Btw, Iris confusa, your plantlets not only thrive in my garden but also successfully conquered (*cough*) gardens throughout southern and western Germany. It has become a hit among my gardening friends. Foliage is reliably evergreen and to die for and it flowers most years here. But its tendency towards world domination gives you to think...
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Mon Oct 30, 2017 7:00 pm |
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AlexW
Joined: Wed Jun 16, 2010 7:39 pm Posts: 95 Location: Reading UK
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Re: Not the green roof thread
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Mon Oct 30, 2017 9:02 pm |
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John P
Joined: Sun Dec 02, 2007 7:41 pm Posts: 445 Location: Tring Hertfordshire UK
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Re: Not the green roof thread
A great jungle David.
John
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Mon Oct 30, 2017 10:24 pm |
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Stan
Joined: Wed Oct 31, 2007 5:52 pm Posts: 10687 Location: Hayward- S.F. Bay area Ca.
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Re: Not the green roof thread
Congrats on a very GOTE looking garden. The Acacia is wild. Its trunk looks tropically smooth.
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Mon Oct 30, 2017 11:20 pm |
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David Matzdorf
Site Admin
Joined: Mon Oct 29, 2007 4:06 pm Posts: 5321 Location: Islington, London UK
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Re: Not the green roof thread
Here's the Acacia pravissima flowering last March. I forgot to upload it yesterday. Unfortunately, the photos can't convey the scent.
It won't be doing this next year, as two thirds of it is gone. It was sprawling all over the crown of the Phoenix canariensis and threatening to block the public pavement unless I gave it a mini-crown-lift every few weeks. It needed a major lesson in discipline. I look forward to flowers in 2019...
_________________ 51º33'07"N x 0º07'21"W
43m (142 feet) ASL
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Tue Oct 31, 2017 2:30 am |
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BenC
Joined: Fri Dec 04, 2009 3:23 pm Posts: 298 Location: East Devon, UK
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Re: Not the green roof thread
Thanks for taking the time to post all these photos, David. An incredible diversity of plants expertly combined into a small space!
I am also in awe of your Iris confusa - by far the best specimen I've ever seen. Your photos have persuaded me to give this a go here. Also great to see your Woodwardia radicans. How hardy is this? I've seen it growing on Tenerife many times and would like to give this a go too. I already grow Woodwardia fimbriata, but radicans has a different look and feel to it which I like.
_________________ http://www.adventurousplants.co.uk
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Tue Oct 31, 2017 8:21 am |
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David Matzdorf
Site Admin
Joined: Mon Oct 29, 2007 4:06 pm Posts: 5321 Location: Islington, London UK
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Re: Not the green roof thread
_________________ 51º33'07"N x 0º07'21"W
43m (142 feet) ASL
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Tue Oct 31, 2017 9:45 am |
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BenC
Joined: Fri Dec 04, 2009 3:23 pm Posts: 298 Location: East Devon, UK
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Re: Not the green roof thread
_________________ http://www.adventurousplants.co.uk
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Tue Oct 31, 2017 11:19 am |
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Eduard O
Joined: Sun Sep 02, 2012 7:46 pm Posts: 1196 Location: Maastricht Netherlands
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Re: Not the green roof thread
Beautiful garden David, you have a great collection well-matched, looks good Eduard.
_________________ 2021 min. -09.1ºC --- max. 33.2ºC 2022 min. -09.0ºC --- max. 39.7ºC
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Tue Oct 31, 2017 1:50 pm |
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