The African Bed

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Hello again! We have been very busy.
Firstly, I am back into botanical illustration:

~Adenium obesum ‘Bastet’

~Gasteria huttoniae ‘Simon Quinlank’

And there is not enough light for it after work! ): I’ve been enjoying spending more time with my steadily growing cactus and succulent collection.

Here I shall add a few photos of grasses added to the back of the grass bed at the front of the museum: Miscanthus and Cortaderia.

And a very nicely variegated spotted laurel in a bed opposite the grasses:

Once I had trimmed the Hawthorn hedge’s new growth, this area was opened up. We refer to it as the ‘lower avenue panel’:

Nursery Cottage’s house and garden was completely cleared, with many roots mattocked. I took what I could, including a tree bearing the most delicious apples I have ever tasted, and this pear tree:

We have been spreading mulch:

And blowing leaves:

Sadly, I feel it is the colder end of mycology season, but I still managed to find a few recently:

Onwards to the Horniman’s new African garden! Firstly, dug in some mulch to an area of decent quality, but that had been flattened by machinery. Then we were ready to get things out of the nursery and start planting!

Ground zero:

We began with some bananas.

Then split up some blue agapanthus to encircle the area:

Then more bananas, guavas, zantedeschia ‘Aethiopica’ and my favourite, Kniphofia. <3

Those guavas really make the place look established:

Ah, then we planted the more bananas.

After the knophofia and zantedeschia planting we had the bulk of the structure.

There is a lot more to do though, and we will be getting more in, plus waiting for annual bedding between the larger specimens next year. :)

Watered, of course!

Here’s a freebie they gave me a while back, which I firstly thought might be a hemerocallis, but is it in fact kniphofia? I really hope so! While planting the aforementioned specimens, I noticed the root structure, as well as the leaf structure, was very similar:

Well, there will be another update on this African bed very soon. I can’t wait to plant more!

_*

In my greenhouse, it is very cold too:

And finally, I am in love.

xxx

• 18 Oct, 2011
• 2 likes

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