Wisley January 2012

[Lesley Cox]

You are right Graham about how good the mass planting is of a single form of Hellobore. The brick walls don't do anything to harm the effect either.

I've had a plant of that filthy little (native) cress which I believe is a plague in the UK now. Mine came from the nursery the sax came from. I've had to lift the sax from its crevice (with some dismantling) and break it into 4 pieces to be sure of getting the whole plant of the cress (bittercress?), a really beastly weed which has a new set of seed capsules literally every day, the flowers so small they are barely seen and the foliage miniscule, unable to be held but breaking off if you do manage to get a hold of it.

The Whiteheadia is an amazing plant isn't it?

[Maggi Young]

I was just thinking it's a shame we haven't all got a raised bed like that to bring the hellebores up to viewing level  
The colour does go rather well with the brickwork.
 
I agree the Whiteheadia is a strange thing.

I'd vote for the Asarum subglobosum as my favourite little oddity.... I do like strange little green plants!

[Graham Catlow]

The Hellebore's were for sale in the Wisley plant centre but they didn't look as good on their own. I suspect they will sell a lot from the show they give all together. They aren't even a colour that I would normally be attracted to but the effect was really good.

The Whiteheadia and the Asarum were two of the plants I was drawn to also, along with the Daubenia.

Lesley
Bittercress is the worst weed in my garden. I seem to have two variations one that has been in the garden since I arrived which gets quite tall, and in the last couple of years one which lies flat to the ground which is much more difficult to deal with.

[Lesley Cox]

Really sorry about your bittercress Graham. I feel guilty about it every time it is mentioned since it's apparently one of ours, even though I swear I had nothing to do with its introduction to the UK. I have quite a lot now and it spreads every year or even all through the year. I'm meticulous in keeping it out of nursery pots though and prefer to unpot completely and remove any root rather than risk passing it along to anyone else. But we all have it now. So many nurseries just nip or break off the top and cover with a little grit or bark, a criminal practice to my mind.

[Anthony Darby]

The UK has its own bitter cresses which can be quite tall, but the NZ one is tiny and seems to adapt the colour of its foliage to its background making it invisible, or am I paranoid? Didn't know the sulphuric acid trick. Dandelions don't get a chance here as I have a tortoise, so they get pulled as soon as they are bite size.

[Richard Green]

I shall remember the weedkiller gel trick against dandelions as I do not have any spare sulphuric acid without depleting the battery in my mower.

Anthony, you must have a very well-trained tortoise.  I do have hens that wander the garden until spring and help to clear up unwanted invertebrates, but I would not trust them to discriminate between dandelion and more valuable rock plants.  It is a pity they do not recognised bittercress either.

[Anthony Darby]

The tortoise has trained me Richard.

[fermi de Sousa]

Graham,
thanks for your pics.
Having seen the crevice garden last April we look forward to seeing it develop - via the Forum!
cheers
fermi