… or is it? Could this be the Bog arum that I thought had vanished? Single leaves like these have popped up in several places.
Another mystery pond plant
Month: July 2017
Bed B1
The bed just outside the kitchen window is doing well. The Ox-eye daisies and Monkshood (both from Dyffryn) blew over rather in very high wind, but were easily propped up. The Lysimachia ‘Firecracker’ (also from Dyffryn) is said to be invasive, but should be easy to control. The Ligularia (so good last year) has been badly eaten by snails, although the flowers seem to be fighting back. Hopefully the new frog population will reduce the snail numbers next year. The path is now narrower and windier, but the effect is very attractive, and there’s no difficulty in carrying out astronomical equipment
Sedge hop
This sedge hop plant is doing very well. Its roots had more or less filled its planting bag, so I’ve removed this. I’ve also moved it away from the pendulous sedge which it resembles quite closely.
Mystery pond plant
This plant has appeared in the pond in several places. The leaves are 2″ to 3″ long, and the stalks appear to rise from the very bottom of the pond, which is about 3′ deep.
Pond audit
| Aponogeton distachyos (Water Hawthorn) | Slow, but quite good. Flowers in spring and autumn, but dies down in summer |
| Butomus umbellatus (Flowering rush) | Original planting. May have vanished |
| Butomus umbellatus (Flowering rush) | New plant from Ewenny, Jul 17. Removed from pot and stuck between pebbles |
| Calla palustris (Bog arum) | Appeared to have vanished, but see Mystery pond plant |
| Caltha palustris (Marsh marigold) | Surprisingly slow, but alive. Could it be too deep? |
| Carex pendula (Pendulous sedge) | Doing well. |
| Carex pseudocyperus (Sedge Hop) | Doing well. Removed from pot and moved away from pendulous sedge which it is quite similar to, Jul 17 |
| Ceratophyllum demersum (Hornwort) | Soon disappeared. Smothered by algae. Try again |
| Cyperus longus (Sweet galingale) | Good |
| Equisetum hymenale (Dutch rush) | Removed from pot and stuck between pebbles |
| Eriophorum angustifolium (Common Cotton Grass) | Good, but needs more soil and encouragement |
| Geum rivale (Water Avens) | Better outside the pond, where it’s rather dull, than in the water |
| Hottonia palustris (Water violet) | Struggling. Disappeared |
| Iris pseudacorus (Yellow flag iris) | Surprisingly slow. I’ll try removing it from its basket |
| Lysichiton camtschatcensis (White skunk cabbage) | Alive, but not kicking. 2 plants, removed from pots, Jul 17 |
| Lythrum salicaria (Purple loosestrife) | Single tall flowering stem. Doing well. Removed from pot, Jul 17 |
| Mentha aquatica (Water mint) | Good. Vigorous, but easy to control |
| Menyanthes trifoliata (Bog bean) | Good. Escaped its bag |
| Myosotis scorpioides (Water forget-me-not) | Failed (drowned?) |
| Nymphaea alba (White water lily) | Slow, but alive |
| Nymphaea alba ‘Candida’ (Dwarf white water lily) | Slow, but alive |
| Nymphoides peltata (Fringed water lily) | Slow, but alive |
| Ranunculus aquatilis (Water crowfoot) | Disappeared? |
| Ranunculus lingua (Greater spearwort) | Good. Escaped its bag |
| Typha minima (Small reed mace) | Good |
| Veronica beccabunga (Brooklime) | Good. Escaped from pot. Soil provided, Jul 17 |
Bed F2
A couple of months ago this bed was looking a little like a municipal car park with its low mounds of foliage, but now the plants are in flower I think it’s really successful. Perhaps a few tall grasses would help. The way the plants are spilling over the edges of the beds is perfect.
Fuschias
These two hardy fuschias came with the original front garden. The darker one in F4 suffers slightly in dry weather, but seems to recover well. The lighter one flowers even more spectacularly a little later, but I’m going to have to reduce it a bit before it takes over.
Lace cape hydrangea
This is the best of the three hydrangeas that came with the original garden. It was pruned into a tight, small ball, and probably hadn’t flowered for years until I let it grow.
Bay tree in F4
The bay tree came with the original garden. It’s got two equal, close stems, and was clipped into a tight ball. Clipping like this cuts the large leaves, and the whole plant has to be gone over again with secateurs to remove the cut leaves. Also the growth gets very tight and constrained, with thick knots just inside the cut surface. I would like to maintain the overall size and shape, but loosen the whole plant up.
3 Aug 17
Tinkering through the summer seems to be working quite well, as the plant is growing strongly.