A wet and cold day at the office. I have just emptied the camera and here are today's pictures
Between the downpours I was up a ladder doing some late pruning of a climbing rose and turned back to look over the Whichford Pottery display yard.Everyone is getting ready for the Big Half Price Sale .
Bananas
We have several pots of banana species at the pottery and all are overwintered in an unheated poly- tunnel. If it gets very cold the plants are swaddled in fleece.
They have been getting taller over the years and it was time to cut them back. The growing point of bananas is set deep in the bottom of the plant and what looks like a trunk is just a build up of long leaf bases and though it may seem brutal and a bit scary they can be cut back very hard which gets rid of the pseudo trunk and leaves you with a shorter and neater plant.
These had their tops chopped off a week ago.
This growth had popped up within a couple of hours.
By today, a week after being cut back, they had shot up several inches.
Big cells,succulence, and interesting patterns in this cross section of the banana stem.
Here's a fun guy to be with. Geddit?
The setting sun in the bottom right corner is the edge a one penny piece just to give you some idea how small these li'l cuties are. They were growing on the compost of some dying plant in the greenhouse.
Succulence
Does this plant say to you 'Please kiss me'? No? Then it must be just me who is a bit weird.
No invitation to kiss here.
Oxalis siliquosa
This photo does very little justice to the exquisite colour and character of the Oxalis siliquosa 'Sunset Velvet'. Even without its yellow flowers it is a delight with pretty leaves of lime and reds and every blend in between. It needs a bit of heat through the winter and makes a good house plant. Cuttings root very easily and small plants can be used in container plantings. They will make plants 20 - 30 cms across during the summer .
The different colours of the foliage means they will complement a wide range of other colours.
Bush Tucker?
These succulent looking grubs came from amongst the roots of some Liatris spicata grown in pots.
I don't know what they are yet but their size was pretty scary. Let me know if you recognise them.
Grub's up!
