Last month we planted the Narcissus Ziva bulbs, this month we have been rewarded with the delicate and very fragrant flowers of this great indoor variety. These have helped to fill the void in the conservatory and house left when the Christmas tree’s and decorations have been taken down ! Wedding guest’s are greeted with the sweet perfume as you enter the conservatory from the sun terrace or the courtyard.
The amaryllis bulbs were planted earlier in November in two stages to allow for a succession of flowers just before and again after Christmas. They were first stored in the boiler room until the shoots were 1-2″ long. As soon as they appeared they were potted up to approximately two thirds their depth, they were placed in the greenhouse until they started to break bud.
At South Farm, we have planted a great number of Betula utilis Jacquemontii (Himalayan Birch), to help the pure white trunks stand out they have been either planted behind the dark green foliage of yew hedges or are planted amongst Cornus varieties.
On the far left, the Himalayan birch has been planted with Cornus ‘Midwinter Fire’ with great effect. In the central image, you can see the Himalayan birch planted with the dark red stems of Cornus alba sibirica a different effect but just as attractive. The picture on the far right illustrates how the pure white trunks are created as the paper this bark peels off. At some gardens such as Anglesey Abbey the trunks are actually washed to get as bright as possible. Here at South Farm we let nature take its course and just help along by taking old bark off when needed. The birch here looks good with the seed heads of Sedum ‘Autumn Joy’. You can find all of these tree’s in the winter garden.
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