Thursday 16 October 2014

The humble vegetable



The post in this house can be a source of excitement, dread or amusement. Living in the countryside of France we don't have a letterbox in our front door but what I can only describe as a two-door (front and back), metal box with two sets of keys. We had to buy this on arrival to France and place our names on it so that La Poste (the postman or woman in our case) knows where to leave our mail. The box is cool as it is big enough to leave fairly big packages and envelopes in and it is locked and secure. The postlady has a master key for all of the boxes she has on her route.

This year we've had quite some trouble with our post though. I often forget to check the box and by the time I remember to empty it it is often riddled with holes (a bit embarrassing when it is something official that needs to be filled in and sent back - French paperwork!) The culprits of these holes are tiny snails that enjoy eating our post. They must climb up the wooden post that the box is attached to.

Like everything there is routine, and our pub (publicity mail) is delivered on a Monday. We like to peruse this to see what's going on in the outside world around us. When I retrieved this from the box yesterday we were lucky, the snails (which I do brush out regularly, honest) had only nibbled on the envelope of a bill and one of the leaflets in there so we had plenty of others to look at. This half page spread caught our eye.


We've all seen the organic and homegrown vegetable pictures that go around the email and social media circuits that usually look quite rude but humourous all the same. Our local supermarket (Intermarche) has added their picture to their advertising and is celebrating the fact that the "ugly" vegetables are back and "you're going to love them". Briiliant and a big hands up for organic vegetables, natural vegetables, French sense of humour and increased sales! It put a smile on our faces :)


Friday 10 October 2014

Autumn care of Penstemons in pots and containers

Penstemon display at a local plant show

It is that time of year here again when the autumn plant shows are on. I remember when we participated it was always such a buzz, getting the plants ready for shows and trying to keep everything top notch. We're big fans of the televised shows that Gardener's World and the RHS (Royal Horticultural Society) do and joked to ourselves that we felt like we were getting ready for Chelsea. When we arrived we would set up our stall and then wander around all of the other exhibitors to see what was looking good, what was new and of course get first option at buying more plants. All of the exhibitors do the same, that is they choose their best plants for the show, c'est logic!

This week I've been propagating and sorting out the plants in the polytunnel. Although we don't now do the shows we are still open until the end of October after which we will be closed until the beginning of next year. What we do in between is all preparation and getting orders ready with as much garden maintenance as possible.

With this in mind this post is about how to care for potted Penstemons or Penstemons planted in any other containers.

In the garden you notice the plants changing, becoming autumnal. Paradoxically you notice all of the new growth also (if you look close enough). Penstemons, being long flowering, are still looking good at this time of year. The variety does make a different however and I'll come back to that. In contrast the potted Penstemons haven't got the surrounding plants of the garden to hide there less attractive leaves and so at first glance can look very shabby.

Penstemon Husker's Red with the dead headed flower stems still on

If you grow Penstemons in pots or large containers or if you are shopping for Penstemons (which invariably are in pots when bought) here are my tips on what to look out for and how to keep them looking good.

Penstemon Huskers Red flowers

  • Know your variety http://www.penstemonsandherbs.com/Penstemon-Facts(2850801).htm
  • When dead heading the plants get bushier and develop new growth as well as producing more flowers. In pots I would deadhead to around half the length of the flowering stem and to a point where there is healthy new growth.
  • If the bottom leaves of the plant are dead and brown but the tip is healthy and growing I would remove the dead leaves, using my fingers, and leave the stems above. This keeps some height to the plant. It gives you good propagation material for future cuttings. It protects the base of the plant over winter.
  • Look out for the new growth (like in spring) that is coming from the base of the plant. This will grow and produce and produce a fuller plant.
  • If there are any dead and brittle stems cut them out using sharp secateurs.
  • Remove spent flower heads that may have dropped down.
  • Top feed with fresh compost.
  • Do not over water Penstemons.Good drainage is essential.
Your potted Penstemons will now be content for winter.
I hope you have enjoyed reading this post.

www.penstemonsandherbs.com

Monday 6 October 2014

Penstemon Identification


When we set out as budding Penstemon growers we had very limited real knowledge of the flowering plants that give us so much pleasure. We could recognize the more common (or I should say popular) plants such as Penstemon Husker's Red or Penstemon Apple Blossom but it soon became apparent that there are so many more to choose from.

Penstemon Hidcote Pink flower

Penstemon Raspberry Ice flower

Penstemon Flamingo flower

Penstemon Heavenly Blue flower

Penstemon barbatus coccineus flower


Batches and batches of seeds and thousands of plants later we had more Penstemon plants than we had counted on.

To identify the names of some of our Penstemons we had to go beyond the seed packets and supplier's descriptions that we had started with. Why? Many of our plants were grouped together as one species, of which there are many, many more named varieties. Another reason is the cat mix up effect. What is that I hear you ask? Well we started with tray upon tray of Penstemon seeds, all perfectly labelled with the name of the seed, in some cases the supplier and the date sown. Our beloved cats tried to aid germination by giving their own body warmth by sleeping in the trays. This didn't stop the seeds from germinating but the swap around sleeping arrangements meant that the seeds were mixed into other trays. The result of this later, when potted, labelled and flowering was that the plants were not the same as the named variety that they should be!

Lots of time and lots of careful study has resulted in clearly and properly named Penstemons. The plant information is more specific and the photographs try to give a close up view of the flowers as well as a whole plant view. With this comes the benefit of choosing the right Penstemon. There diversity is extraordinary. 

For me Penstemon identification isn't easy (due to all of the misinformation out there) but it is fascinating and enjoyable. Perhaps identification isn't that important if you just love the flower and growth habit but if you do want to identify a particular Penstemon that you have and can't remember the name for then here are my tips for searching.

  • Check growth habit - is it upright, bushy, shrubby?
  • What colour leaves does it have - are they green, blue-green, red?
  • What type of leaves does it have - lance-like, rounded, toothed, smooth, glossy? Are the leaves small or large? Are they equally divided on the stems or do they grow basally?
  • What size is the overall plant? Is it low growing, medium sized or very tall?
  • Does it have small, medium or large flowers? How do the flowers grow?
  • Look at your plant at different times of the year as some Penstemon foliage changes colour with the seasons and some are evergreen.
If you would like to learn more about Penstemons click here http://www.penstemonsandherbs.com/Penstemon-Facts(2850801).htm