4th January, 2021

 

Gymea leaves and Asiatic lilies, a gift from my sister-in-law, Toula

Hello all,

And a Happy New Year to each and every one of us! Apart from times of war, there has never been a year with so much pressure to do better than the one before. Poor 2021!

Apart from some losses, such as the pear tree branch falling and my much prised, tree peony dying, it has been a good year in the garden. The plentiful rain has done wonders and all my plants are bursting with life. I love most of all the little surprises that the garden produces. One such surprise was when I was cutting gymea leaves and a flash of red caught my eye. When I looked closely, I saw a single flower attached to the stump, which was left after the flower stem was cut earlier in the year.

This is what the flower head looks like 
normally

I noticed a couple of pots, which appeared to have only soil in them, bringing out unfamiliar looking leaves. Try as I might, I could not remember what I planted in them. Until this week when a flower appeared. Mystery solved! Vicky had given me some bulbs of a different type of Haemanthus coccineus to the one I have. It is called Haemanthus fireball plant.

The flower is not fully open

These Beefsteak begonia leaves have been
in this little vase for months and have sent roots

My gloriosa lilies are full of flowers and must be used. I made a number of arrangements with these short stemmed flowers. Of course, they can't compare to the gloriosa ball outside Sogetsu Headquarters, recently but I have the added advantage of having watched them grow and enjoy following their progress.

Gloriosa lilies with bamboo

With contorted Hazel - Corylus avellana 'contorta'

With sansevieria and wisteria vine

This next arrangement came about because the large, silver sprayed material fell from its shelf in the garage just as I was walking past. I needed a ladder to put it back and, with the cars in the way, it was too difficult. It was much easier to make an arrangement with it, instead. I used 9 pink hydrangea flowers, which, unfortunately, can't be seen very well in the photo.

I found this aeonium stem broken in the garden. It appeared to have broken some time ago but these succulents are quire resilient and I quickly found a use for it.

Just before I leave you, a quick amendment on the date of my proposed Zoom demonstration. It will now be on Friday, 15th January. Mumbai time - 12.00 pm, Australia time - 5.30 pm.

Bye for now,

Emily