☂ WILL YOU CHANGE YOUR PLANTING?☂

Jungle looks great in that photo ! :o)

I won't make any decisions about my garden till a bit later in the year... sometimes shrubs and plants which look dead, surprise me by subsequently showing signs of life...

I'm for ever the optimist ;o) ☼☼☼

looks very beautiful, i do hope those all survive

What a shame you lost so many plants.
I think it has been more servere this winter than ever before.

I have lost all my Christmas cacti. It became abnormally cold, and abnormally early, and I hadn't had a chance to bring them into the house. They were full of lovely buds too :o(

I did manage to get my succulents in. Usually I don't have to protect things much before Christmas time.

Well I have decided not to replace anything tender at all - except about 15 fuchsias, a coprosma, some new Christmas cacti, an Impatiens niamniamnensis, a Diarama (if this one doesn't come back) ............. ummmmm - and what else lol ;o))
I just can't live without them !

I wonder if you'll replace anything ?

What a dilemma Dotty. I've lost so many plants over the years by being brave and I now accept that being here in the Midlands and especially living in my frost pocket, that I am limited on what I can grow. Stocked my pond with new plants this Summer ensuring all were hardy but with a temperature of -14 on Christmas morning, I'm not hopeful. I can't afford expensive mistakes but I look at your gorgeous plants and garden and a little of me thinks its worth the risk. :-)

I also am avoiding looking at some rather dead looking plants Dd, hoping they have survived, my garden seems to have missed autumn completely, I still had summer flowers when the first snow came, consequently I now have a lot of clearing to do as soon as it dries out enough to get at, decisions will come later......

Hi DD, I was thinking the same thing this morning and decided not to replace any plant that dies, Im fed up with worrying about them in winter, and running out to knock the snow off, I couldn't even open my greenhouse door because of the ice, So i haven,t a clue whats going on in there.. Deffo no more Nanas, Canna, or anything remotely tender.. Then. I look at your pic above and think, well maybe if i just!!!!! :)))

Not much looks alive in my garden at the moment, apart from the evergreens so I think I will replace any that don't survive with more evergreen shrubs. I can't do too much investigation at the moment as the ground is too wet and soggy :( Never mind, time passes so quickly it will soon be spring :)

Yeah Gee, im thinking of evergreens and perrenials for my front garden this year.. I love this time of year, because we can look forward to gardening, instead of back!...

I know what you mean but the weather is so unpredictable the hardy wetter lovers could be burnt to a crisp next year. I lost less than I thought last year and it was colder than we have had though there was less snow than this year.
I will replace soe with similar and in other cases new things just to see.

i like those umbrellas on your title DD

There does seem to be a change in weather patterns Dotty, not global warming but a natural shift. I was fairly lucky last year and only lost a couple of plants but this year I doubled up on protection and with luck that shoukld do the trick. I hope your losses aren`t as bad as you fear.

sorry you seem to have lost quite a few dotty, i have lost my cordy but wont be having another, i guess if you want to keep your jungle theme them more preperation for winter is needed, if left out then a couple of fleeces over your tender plants would be good dotty, shame to loose your jungle its so nice, good luck with it anyway x

Sorry to hear that about your plants Dottydaisy2.

As for me..... I have lost only one plant so far, due to flooding in early December, the rest are being eaten by muntjacs and rabbits are digging some of the plants I transplanted last year and pooing on them at the same time. Can't get more antisocial than that!! :((((

I had written a blog too saying how my garden is such a mess after our 3' in places snow, been round today and i must say the weeds are doing great!! lol, i will have to cut back the rosemary as its flattened and i've lost some branches on the laurel, but am leaving everything until the ground warms up to see whats what, i hope you find some have survived!

Sometimes plants surprise us. I had a couple of established plants killed to the ground that came back again. The 'experts' say give it until at least July before giving it up for dead.
There are some plants that give a jungly feel but are as tough as old boots so you may be able to get the jungle feel using less tender things. There is a good book called 'Exotic Plants for Temperate Climates' by Will Giles which may give you some ideas (ask your library to get it if you don't want to buy a copy)

I shall wait with fingers crossed, Dd. A Hebe that I thought was as dead as a dodo last year has perked up since I potted it up and moved it to a sheltered corner.
I don't yet know what I've lost - but nil desperandum, well, not yet anyway! :-)

It is heartbreaking Dd when you see just how many have perished isn't it? Against my better judgement I planted 5 new Hebes this Autumn after losing a couple last year....all have gone. Yes I am definitely changing my planting to hardy types. My garden isn't very large and it won't be too hard to do...it's just the height that has suffered.....3 main trees look dead. I'm also going to focus on 3 raised beds I'm planning for veggies instead of annual flowers.

We have a couple of months to wait yet until we see the damage that this winter has taken, my garden is a total mess, from the kitchen window, that is! Lol. Time will tell then maybe we can all advise each other as what to do next!!

Thank you all so much for your helpful and amusing comments (Michaella I have this very colourful image of Muntjacs and rabbits eating and pooping on your plants!!)
Andrew I do have Wills book, I also belong to a Hardy Tropical site but even they have now moved the goal posts re what is hardy etc?.....my problem is I cannot wait too long to establish what is dead and what is not, we open at the end of May and I need to fill those gaps !!
Hywel you also cheered me up, there are some plants you just cannot live without, so I know what you mean lol
Dawn -14 now that is shocking, practically all this garden would be a blackened mess at that temperature.
YDD it was your lovely garden that inspired me to have a change and do the jungly bit!! and Junglejen too.
Ten years ago when we first arrived here from the Midlands we did not see a frost, the garden looked the same all year, tender plants stayed out cannas, dahlias, gazanias, lampranthus, it wasn't until the last couple of years we noticed a complete change, not a good one.
Janey it is heartbreaking to lose cherished plants, also we cannot afford to keep replacing them either.
San even the fleeced ones look dead......
I think I am going to do a new type of garden instead.
Please see added picture!!!!!

Awww thanks Dottyd what a lovely thing to say, I no doubt will do the same again this year, i just love em :)
Your new pic, Beeeeautifull, lots of interest there,I can see bulbs, Annuals, Is that an Apple tree? I love the wall with the pots on, Very med, I fancy doing something like that, the hard landscaping, is that white gravel? looks great..and the far corner still has a tropical look, more protected over there..I keep scroling back up, is there a water feature there?..Sorry, Loads of questions hahaha...

Hi DD. I don't grow too many borderline plants like your cannas etc. Mainly because there isn't a long enough growing season here for them to really thrive. I've grown them and they do flower but just as they get into full flow the cold gets to them. August can be a bit autumnal here. Having said that, I do feel that experimenting and pushing the boundaries of hardiness is one of the most enjoyable aspects of gardening, so I hope you won't give up altogether on your jungle. I was just saying to San recently that I am only going to buy really tough plants for a while. I think I am in a 'just grow what's indestructible' phase...but it will most likely pass! In the past I have been quite experimental. I've had passion flowers, and winter flowering clems and Cannas and zantedeschias and even a hibiscus. After 20 years though I think I now know what grows and what struggles here. However, if I lived in Hampshire I think I'd still want to 'push it' a little from time to time! Even a brick wall facing south makes a huge difference to what you can get away with, but here I only have a wooden fence to protect my garden from the fierce Northerly winds....brrrrrrrr! It's a bit raw here at the moment and there's quite a lot of ice still in the garden. Everything looks frozen out there! Commisserations! :))

YDD you do realize it is all made out or plasticine lol or are you having me on lol

Seen new pic. It looks artificial (?)
Please no no no ! don't do that lol.
:o(((

Lol Dd....don't you dare do that type of gardening!!....:o))

Yeeeeuuuggghhh! :-((((((((((((

I often pass a house that had hanging baskets with plastic flowers in them.
They were there for 2 years :o( The same plastic flowers for 2 years, without even changing for the different seasons nor anything :o(

Even plastic trailing Ivy :o(((

Then last summer they had gone !
And although it looked a bit bear with nothing, I thought it was much better than those awful plastic flowers - I agree Barbara - Yeeeuuggghhh :o((

Think I might go this way Dd !!!!! NOT. Lol. (although a lot less work, me thinks!)

Karen it is tempting to grow tender plants, but at our age we need plants that will last now lol
Hywel and Barbara dont you like my new pretty garden, wouldn't have to worry about frost would I ? Janey I was always good at moulding plasticine, it could be up and running in no time lol

No. nor slugs lol

You'd have to pay me to come on your open day, Dd!

I hated that Chelsea one. Hmmmph!!

Hahahaha DD, I didnt realise, I thought it was photo shopped, It was late and i was tired lol..Duh..

Just imagine the lingering smell of plasticene all over the garden instead of honeysuckle, roses, etc etc? And just imagine all the dusting you would have to do :) Hope your losses aren't as great as you fear, DD2, and that you get some pleasant surprises before long.

Whoops Gee, hadnt though of dusting!!!! Aaaaarrrrggg, will have to stick to plan B then ! :~)

Just imagine....

...in a Plasticine Garden, Wallace and Gromit would be in their element ... they would open the garden for you, Dotty ... free of charge ;o)

Hywel ...
... for authenticity, you could make plasticine slugs ... ;o)

my garden looks a mess as well urgg carnt think it wud ever look like last year again ;o((( i really hope it will recover ......... i have been trying to plant more hardy stuff and stated the change last year , so i will be adding more this year again . hope your jungle survies x

we're on such a windy hill --open fields north & east that plants have to be bone hardy ( even my greenhouse is double glazed!!) anything even slightly tender succums and I try to grow tender plants in pots for wintering in the GH but not always a success--- I've been suprised at how much is alive after -12!

As I said on another page, I have been studying what survives the extreme cold and drought in my garden for quite a while over the years, those plants I ve lost I do not replace with what I ve lost, I replace with another variety and try a new one out, reading of course instructions on the labels what they can withstand.

Well that is amazing Dd if its all plasticine....well done to them....it is a laugh! Ian's Mum was telling me about this garden, a very small one she visited in Brighton......is was owned by two "nice" boys...:o)) and was all vivid pink with plastic flowers!

LOL, Janey, I wonder if that garden was in Kemptown, Brighton? There are many eccentric gardens/gardeners in that area! : o )

This was the garden designed by James May and he had a suitable medal for it, it took them weeks to make all those flowers, you have to admit it is pretty and looks reasonably good from a distance lol my quirky sense of humour!!

I watched that with James May Dottydaisy I thought too it looked wonderful, so colourful even close up, is nt it colour that attracts us gardeners, even evergreens, I love your sense of quirkiness.

I do like Chelsea but I also enjoyed the 'fun' element thats sometimes missing :o))

I remember seeing it on the telly now Dd....Lol!
Probably so Shirley.....I shall ask her when I see her!

TT I can just imagine you and the 'boys' opening our garden, it would be a crowd pleaser for sure. You do need a little bit of fun in a garden, OH is the straight one and I am the potty one!!
Janey I would love to see the pink garden too.....
Pamg -12 ohhhhh very cold, no good for me and my babies.

I've friends nr Brighton and they always add an extra layer when they visit and she can grow much more tender plants than me

It is such a shame that we haves om many mild winters to fool us all and then wham it all changes.
Your garden looks lovely when it was in the summer the only thing to do is bring in while we are pronmised hard winters.
James Mays garden was tongue in cheek at chelsea and it could only be done at chelsea lol
To be honest it has to be done now and again to make us realise how wonderful real plants are
But I dont think it will catch on lol They fade!!! then you have to make it all again takes hours and hours lol
If you get a bit on your shoe and go in the house it doesnt come off carpet like mud does!! ( I wasnt allowed to play with it when I was little for that reason)
No the answer is plant Heucheras heucherella and Tiarellas lol Well it had to be said.
Exotic colours small to large leaves Brownies is over 2 foot high lol
Well maybe not tropical
Fun aside I think it is fun to grow exotics but you have to be prepared for the worst as i am not too sure about our country becoming tropical with global warming!!

may turn into an iceberg tho...:o))

Hi Vicky thanks for your comments.....I would plant hundreds of Heucheras and Heucherellas if I had the chance, I shall be buying a few more this year for sure.
Personally I thought Jame's garden was such fun, and we both enjoyed the program, and I am glad they gave him a suitable medal. shows that they are human after all. I no doubt will carry on with some of the jungle plants as I have over a hundred plants now over wintering in the garden room lol

Even though I do my gardening on a balcony & not in a garden I, too, have to protect any plants I want to keep from one year to the next.

I have a big, round table in the most sheltered corner of the balcony on which I've been putting a thick plastic bag about 1m x 1m x 1m without a top. I've used this to keep my plants over the winter &, until last year, had always protected my plants quite well. This year though with the temps soooo low (we reached -10C a couple of times) the protection has not been nearly as good as other years.

As I have 3 standard Fuchsias, of my own making, they have spent all their winters in the corner, on the table, inside the bag with no more protection necessary. This year all the top growth has been killed off & I have wrapped newspaper around the long "trunks" (1m high to head) in an effort to save them. I don't know if they are still alive or not. I'll be waiting anxiously the spring to see if they sprout again. Two of the plants are at least 8 years old now & have always spent their entire lives on the balcony.

lol it may turn into an iceburg you are right :)
Sorry about my spelling dont know whats up with me must be my age everytime I read something back its spelt wrong sometimes nothing like !!!
I am quite worried as I am about to do the catalogue sorry everyone who has to read it lol
Dottydaisy your garden looked lovely I hope you do carry on with the exotics as when they live they are beautiful, they remind me of holidays abroad :)
I will keep my fingers crossed for a really mild winter for 2011 (not sure anyone is listening to me though :( )

I think its this keyboard........:o)))

Thanks Pamg I think thats my excuse ...lol

:0)))

Balcony, I do hope your fuchsias make it through the winter, so sad when you lose a plant that old, that would mean this last winter was colder than last years then? this does not bode well........

Funny you should mention my Fuchsias as today when I was wrapping the plastic bag around them to protect them from tonight's forecast frost, I scratched away a little bark on too thicker branches near the tops of a couple of the standards. On the youngest one, only in its 2nd year, I think may be dead, & the branch I scratched on the older one I think may be still alive.

I don't know if this winter has been colder than last but it came much earlier, before the plants had had chance to go into hibernation. I think we also had more frosty nights over a longer period & harder than last year. I think that is what has made the difference.

I think it was more of a shock this year for our gardens, as Autumn hadnt even finished and we had snow for a few weeks!!
Autumn as you probably realise is a time for the plant slowing down, the leaves hadnt even fallen off all our trees. Many still have them, dead of course.
We never even raked all the leaves up before the snow fell and even at christmas they were all under the snow, the ones that is that had chance to fall!!
Plants are surprising though especially if they are truely hardy.

Vicky that is so true, it was a shock for us as well as the plants, I think we personally will lose more than we did last year, weather reasonably good here at the moment OH been and cleared up the borders and cut the edges of the grass.