Puttering In My Greenhouse
It doesn’t get any better than having your very own hobby-greenhouse in your backyard. Every day, I get to spend a couple of hours with my Amaryllises. Each and every one of them seem to be doing their very best to surprise and delight me. And I also am looking forward to February, when the Daffodils will start making their appearance. If I didn’t have this greenhouse, I would probably spend the majority of winter on my ass, sat behind my computer screen. And I like writing, don’t get me wrong, but I am an outdoors-person at heart.
It’s almost like having an extra pet. My Amaryllises need their daily amount of care, and especially during the winter months, this is a perfect reason to actually leave the house. It’s like having to walk the dog. I plant our entire Fluwel assortment every year, and on top of that, I want to look at all the varieties we might want to offer in the future, so I can give you my personal experience with those if they are ever added to our collection.
Amaryllis Picasso
One of this year’s surprises has been Picasso. I got three bulbs of this variety from grower Van der Hout. I planted all three of them, and they are all absolutely gorgeous. They all have three stems and nice leafs. The flowers aren’t enormous, maybe even on the smaller side, but they come in a large number, and they are beautiful. I definitely want to add this one to our assortment next year, so you will be seeing her again.
Another thing I should tell you: all of our summer-blooming varieties are now online. Last week, when we posted about the Begonias and the Roselilies, we got a lot of questions about the Nerines and the Zantedeschias. Don’t worry, they are available now. They took a little bit more time this year, but that was only because I wanted to be sure that when we posted the collection, it would be the full and final version. In other words, I was still waiting on the final decisions on some special varieties. And I have good news: they have been added! Durban and Dubai Nights are two new Zantedeschias, both with a unique color and an exceptional number of flowers.
Everyone likes different things, and for me personally, Zantedeschias have never been at the top of my list. Zantedeschias have a lot of plant, they always look fresh, and the flowers are almost aerodynamic in looks, it is just a bit too polished for me. I never really feel like they are in the right place when you plant them in the middle of a garden. But I have to be honest: when you plant a Zantedeschia in a pot, my opinion suddenly completely changes. A Zantedeschia is one of my absolute favourite potted flowers. Her flowers tend to bloom for an exceptionally long time, and her leafs will hold on to their fresh, crisp look until she breathes her last breath. Even when she has finished blooming, the plant holds on to her aesthetic value: I like the look of the seeds the flower makes until the very end.
We are also offering Nerines again this year. When I compare Nerines to Dahlias, we don’t sell that many of them. Nerines aren’t that famous yet among gardeners, and that is a true shame. I have been paying attention to the Nerines over the past couple of years and I am pleased to inform you that the varieties in our assortment do very well when it comes to naturalisation. Above, you see Nerine Vesta against the wall of the restaurant at Wisley Gardens. I try to visit Wisley every year when I go to England. Two years ago, I fully expected the Nerines at Wisley to have disappeared. Lots of English Nerines had perished due to a late bout of vicious frost, but I was wrong: they were still there, better than ever before. Even in Northern Ireland, which had had even colder temperatures, I found Nerines in good condition, this time at Brian Duncan’s house. If you have never tried Nerines before, I really do recommend them. You plant them in March or April, not too deep: its nose can touch the surface of the soil. Chances are you can enjoy this little bit of effort for many years to come. And you can enjoy these flowers a lot: when the Nerine starts to bloom, most other flowers are usually already at the end of their run. Every year, we get messages with pictures from people who are worried that their Nerine has something going on, and usually, we can give them the same response: just a little bit more patience, give her another month. Usually, after two or three weeks, we get another photgraph, this time of a happily blooming Nerine.
The warehouse is also in business again, busy packing up Dahlias. Land van Fluwel has her winter break, so everyone who usually works there has joined us at the warehouse. Mirea and Marika, two of Land van Fluwel’s best, are seeing off the Dahlias. I asked them what they thought of them, and we all agree that Mother Nature has been generous this past summer and autumn. The entire agricultural sector has had a great harvest, and the Dahlias are proof of that.
There is enough to do right now. The Nerines are also ready to be processed in the warehouse. Tomorrow, Langedijk comes over to bring his Eucomises, and to keep the good news coming: He is also giving us some Galtonia viridiflora. A couple of years ago, we offered those on our web shop, but then the grower quit selling them. I am very happy Langedijk has picked them back up.
Galtonia viridiflora, a great choice for a natural or wild garden. Perfect for naturalisation, and if you give them a couple of years, it can grow into a plant you can pick a nice bouquet from.
I think it’s time to go back to my greenhouse. I’ll see you next week!
Kind regards,
Carlos van der Veek
Carlos van der Veek
