Gardener's Diary - Italy's native species
Day 19 of meteorological autumn
I’m in Italy writing this week’s newsletter, staying in Le Marche in a small borgo.
It’s lovely, the rain has been falling outside and the land is verdant. We went for a local walk and it was exciting to see the interesting species which grow locally. There were Cyclamen hederifolium, hellebores, sea holly and yellow toadflax. I love to see the native species growing happily in the woods; the forest floor is full of surprises.
A lot of the plants we grow in our gardens or buy from the garden centre / nursery are usually cultivated from wild species. Using hellebores as an example, you can buy hybrids such as Helleborus x hybridus.
Below, I have placed the hybrid flower, Helleborus x hybridus next to the species flower, Helleborus virdis. They are similar yet to some, the white flower will be more striking and is considerably more popular. The hybrid hellebore will have been created by cross breeding many different species of hellebores.
Yet, personally I prefer the wild species, native to Europe - plain and indistinct, no frills. The green flowers will appear in February to April, providing nectar for plenty of pollinators.
Persian Silk Tree
Next up on my Italian adventure is this Albizia julibrissin (Persian silk tree, commonly known as a mimosa tree) spotted in a local restaurant’s car park - the colourful long bean pods taking me by surprise.
Mimosa’s are known for their stunning fluffy pink flowers from May to June yet I’ve never seen the trees extravagant seeds.
I’ve been enjoying all the local fig, pomegranate, persimmon and apple trees I’ve spotted walking around the local area too!
Gardening jobs
Back in England, i’ve noticed the leaves of bulbs appearing, gaining their energy for Spring flowering to come.
Oddly, there has been a brief pause on leaves falling. I arrived at my usually very leafy gardens to find only a few stray leaves and breathed a sigh of relief - a welcome opportunity to work on more pleasurable tasks around the garden.
I’ve been returning to the wisteria’s putting out even more whippy growth. I’ve continued to dead head roses and moved a few plants which didn’t thrive this summer. I don’t like to move plants around in Winter or Spring, I have been known to stab through a bulb with my hori hori pre flowering, despite trying to be careful.
Instead, I plant once the bulbs have finished flowering. I don’t seem to have this problem in summer, the bulbs safely stowing themselves underground and out of site from my border spade. I am also making a conscious effort to map out where the bulbs are planted to avoid any casualties.
Gingko biloba
I was entranced by the series of Gingko biloba trees I found in central London in Marylebone high street. Gingko biloba’s are one of my favourite trees, there are so many factors which make them such special trees.
They are living fossils and turn a wonderful bright yellow in Autumn, losing all their leaves at once. When in leaf, their branches appear as if a multi-limbed waving person and they always brighten up my day.
Did you know the trees are either male or female? Once pollinated, they make very strongly scented fruit, some have said it has a faeces like scent. In the UK, the trees will either be male or female so as not to pollinate each other. Despite this, there must has been some errors and I’ve had reports of foul smelling fruit littering the streets (I haven’t found one yet).
I included the large photograph above as there is nothing so special as the light hitting the top leaves of a tree. Outside of my bathroom window, there is an ancient conifer tree and if I time it right, I can shampoo my hair and watch the light hitting the tree in such a thoughtful way. It brings me delight, I’m sure that you all have a similar sight out of your window which charms you…
Plant highlights
I visited a garden in Devon and was struck by a yellow themed herbaceous border. This Phygelius aequalis 'Moonraker' is gorgeous and a prolific flowerer. It spreads quickly and my client has the ‘African Queen’ cultivar and it has flowered all through the summer.
Next up is this striking, Clematis tangutica with it’s punchy yellow bell like flowers - a late flowerer with gorgous seed heads. I’ve collected a few and brought them inside and after drying, they’ve become incredibly fluffy and a little like a Studio Ghibli creature.
Last but not least, is this stunning Helianthus x laetiflorus. It is incredibly tall and again flowers so prolifically and is always swarming with bees - if you look closely, you can see some loitering on flowers.
Cross Orbweaver spider
This spider, Araneus diadematus (cross orbweaver) isn’t for the faint hearted. He appeared in my garden bucket, climbing amongst the dead headed rose foliage and petals.
The cross orb weaver gains its name from the cross found on its abdomen. I could watch these spiders for hours.
Recently, I accidentally disturbed a spider and watched the arachnid eat it’s whole web, using its pincers to bundle it into its mouth. I since have learnt that they build a new web each morning, eating any small flying insects trapped inside. Wow - isn’t nature a marvel?
This spider is an example of why I enjoy gardening so very much. The natural world is completely exciting to me, full of surprises and i’m in constant awe. Each day gardening is a new adventure and this newsletter helps me learn and research further.
I have always written, for years, but in secret, however it was my partner who encouraged me to sign up to Substack and put myself out there. It turns out I’m really enjoying it. Thank you very much for the support, the positive feedback keeps pushing me forward.
I’ll leave you with the misty, breath-taking view from this morning’s walk.
