31st January 2014 Central Portugal
Still raining and cold but things are definitely
stirring.’ Camellias’ ( Camellia Japonica) just about to have their moment of
glory, these are direct a very close relations to the ‘Tea’ (Camellia Sinensis)
bushes that produce the ‘elixir of life’- with or without milk or lemon - for
many. Main problem with flowering Camellia, which come in a wide range of
single and bi-coloured, from white to dark claret, is rain. When they get wet
they go brown very quickly. They look awful and the flowers drop.
When they were first brought to England, from China and Japan in the eighteenth century(first grown in Europe Thorndon Hall, Essex,1739) they were grown inside an ‘Orangery’. Most country houses of any note had one. If not, you did not grow the then ‘Plant of the Moment’, and really were the wrong side of ‘Fashion’.
Now that was nearly three hundred years ago and the trend of garden ‘Fashion’ still prevails. How many of us grow the latest dreadful creation of the ‘Chelsea’ garden nurseries to enjoy the short lived attention of the ‘Garden Glitterati’ and abandon the beauty of ‘time formed’ excellence. Remember ‘Dahlias’ in all their glory – so out of fashion these days. Heathers (Erica) – no garden of the ‘sixties’ could survive without the blanket of moorland colour , rich pinks and purples, interspaced with the ‘delusional’ plant breeders, totally unnatural, yellows, greens and blues. Delphiniums(Larkspur) those majestic spires, up to 2 metres tall, of multi-hued ‘Pacific Hybrids’(bred in California of course) in their blues, pinks and purples would seem, generally, to have packed their trunks and gone home.
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| Very mature Camellia in Portugal |
When they were first brought to England, from China and Japan in the eighteenth century(first grown in Europe Thorndon Hall, Essex,1739) they were grown inside an ‘Orangery’. Most country houses of any note had one. If not, you did not grow the then ‘Plant of the Moment’, and really were the wrong side of ‘Fashion’.
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| Just a baby, but will grow rapidly in the Poruguese climate |
Now that was nearly three hundred years ago and the trend of garden ‘Fashion’ still prevails. How many of us grow the latest dreadful creation of the ‘Chelsea’ garden nurseries to enjoy the short lived attention of the ‘Garden Glitterati’ and abandon the beauty of ‘time formed’ excellence. Remember ‘Dahlias’ in all their glory – so out of fashion these days. Heathers (Erica) – no garden of the ‘sixties’ could survive without the blanket of moorland colour , rich pinks and purples, interspaced with the ‘delusional’ plant breeders, totally unnatural, yellows, greens and blues. Delphiniums(Larkspur) those majestic spires, up to 2 metres tall, of multi-hued ‘Pacific Hybrids’(bred in California of course) in their blues, pinks and purples would seem, generally, to have packed their trunks and gone home.
However all is not lost, if you look carefully in
the small, and often abandon, village gardens of the Portuguese Beira Mountains
there are often ‘amazing sights’ to behold. ‘ Red hot Pokers’(Kniphofia) hidden
in sunny, south facing corners, vibrant green foliage, erect stems turning from
dark green to bright yellow and topped by the glory of flaming and molten
scarlet, a ‘Victorian Iron Masters’ dream plant.
‘Begonias’ in all their guises, from the small flowered, low growing bedding variety, much loved by ‘cemetery’ gardeners for their borders, through the cascades of multi-coloured trailing plants, to the ‘Dinner Plate’ sized blooms of the nineteenth century ‘Tropical Conservatory’ where they were nurtured by a small army of skilled gardeners.
‘Begonias’ in all their guises, from the small flowered, low growing bedding variety, much loved by ‘cemetery’ gardeners for their borders, through the cascades of multi-coloured trailing plants, to the ‘Dinner Plate’ sized blooms of the nineteenth century ‘Tropical Conservatory’ where they were nurtured by a small army of skilled gardeners.
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| Two lovely big blousey begonias |
Maybe many of these historic gems are now in the
shade because of the work and skill required to enjoy their natural
beauty. This is no excuse if you really
want to call yourself a ‘Gardener’, so get out there, look for the obscure and
now unloved plants of the past and ‘Do Something’ about it now.
Is that the Garden Bell ringing, Head Gardener wants
me, must dash, see you soon –
Stuart.
Stuart.
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