Oranges

Citrus Bergamot de Versailles ' Orange'

Once in a while I like to go to the Garden Centre to see what else I must have. I go there to buy this and come out with that, that and that, and several of those.

The other day was no exception.

I went for seeds, I got those, and then I found some Fritillary flowers growing in a pot. Since I planted some bulbs in the Autumn which didn't come up (probably got a bit water logged) I grabbed them as they were easy to justify but then I saw an Orange bush.

Since I've decided that last year the Tomatoes grew very well outdoors and there is no need to have so many in the green house I will have some space spare in the greenhouse. The Orange Bush label showed the size after 10 years as being 1.2m by 1.2m. This should fit nicely, at least for a year or 3 plus the label said "Although not fully hardy, can be grown outside in the mildest areas!". I wouldn't have thought East Coast Lincolnshire was a "mildest area" but I'd like to think the garden centre would stock things that are appropriate, so perhaps we are classed as mildest compared with north Scotland. Anyway, I'm not totally daft and realise that a greenhouse will almost certainly be needed to get the fruit ripe.

The main line on the label which sold it to me was "Delightfully scented cream flowers on compact growth appear with delicious oranges at the same time".

What can be better than adding another fruit tree to the collection of food plants.

Wanting to know more I Google'd the Bergamot de Versailles Orange and found very little information on this specific name. I found a few places that sold the same Orange but little real information. There was plenty of information on Bergamot Oranges and a few different strains but a couple of words kept cropping up time and time again.

The fruit of the Bergamot is Sour and Unpalatable and used for Marmalades and flavouring.

I'm not totally sure the Garden Centre's description of Delicious Oranges matches with the Bergamot description of Sour and Unpalatable so I've fired off an email to the growers, www.farplants.co.uk asking them to clarify whether what I have bought produces Delicious Oranges that I can eat or whether it produces sour and unpalatable Oranges that need turning into Marmalade or used as flavouring or scents.

I await their response.

I guess the question I should ask myself is whether Garden Centres fill their shop with what they think they can sell or whether they sell what is appropriate for the area. Perhaps I should stick with buying from specialists. 

Update: 9th May 2014
Heard nothing back about the Orange. Why they bother to give out an email address for "enquiries" I do not know! A month and a half wait is plenty long enough.

More Wild Flowers Planted and Sown

Fritillary

After reading about how rare in the wild Fritillaries are I decided to buy another dozen bulbs and planted them in front of my compost heap. These ones were mixed purple and white, as opposed to just white that I planted the other day. In the wild there are only about 30 sites where these can be found in any quantity and if they are that rare then I thought I needed some more. 

I've never seen these before, apart from in pictures, but they seem an essential ingredient to our part of the field we want to turn into a wild flower meadow. In the wild it likes to grow in meadows that flood and stay damp and my field certainly floods, or has done in the past, and because it is mainly a heavy clay soil should stay at least moist in the dry months 4 plus inches deep.

Pheasant's Eye

While browsing 3 different garden centres I noticed that Unwins have a wild flower seed group and I managed to spot a packet of Pheasant's Eye seed. I've started to learn and identify wild flowers this year but my memory isn't as good as it ought to be but seeing the name rung some bells and on getting home I'm pleased to find that Pheasant's Eye ( Adonis annua) is another endangered flower and is on the Bio-Diversity Action Plan. I mean pleased that I spotted the seeds rather than pleased this flower is endangered :) I sprinkled these about and to be honest I can't remember exactly where, not even which side of the field I sprinkled them, so I'm looking forward to some of these popping up in the summer. It says on the packet that they can be sown outdoors in October but they may need a little protection. I'm just going to let nature take it's course.

Teasel

I have Gold Finches in the garden, sometimes a small flock, and I find them one of the prettiest birds there are and have been meaning to get some Teasel seeds for a while. I keep meaning to just pull a head off of a wild one next time I go for a walk but it never happens so again I was very pleased to see these seeds for sale. I scattered some of the seed along the hedge, sunny side, and a few elsewhere, plus I decided to sow some in the greenhouse just in case. To many people these are pure weeds but I don't mind the look of them and they can be quite pretty and should give the field some more height, which it is lacking. The big benefit of course is that the Gold Finches love them.

Anemone Bordeaux

I also picked up some Anemone bulbs, I don't know why, and I think I may have spotted a bulb next to this one and picked up the packet by mistake. Anyway, I now have some of these which are described as "ground cover" and I planted them but once again I can't remember where. Probably in the pile of earth which I keep putting upturned turfs on when I want to get rid of some. They look a bit like Poppies, although they are bulbs. Any flower is a nice flower but I doubt that these are native.

Field Scabious

There was a packet of Field Scabious seed which I picked up, read the back and saw the price. £4.99 for a few seeds of a wild flower! No chance. I'll have to find another source of this flower.

If half of these flowers come up the meadow area will look stunning next year, even more than this year.

It's only October and I'm already inpatient for spring to arrive! I guess that happens the more you get into your garden and vegetables :)

Bulb planting and a very small Bay Tree

Today approximately 20 Daffodil bulbs were planted along with a dozen Bluebells (English type not Spanish) and about 5 or 6 Fritillary bulbs planted in semi shade which is also regularly moist and 10 or so Snow drops.

The Daffodil bulbs, although not sold as wild Daffodil did have the name Narcissus pseudonarcissus in brackets so I presume that they are cultivated from the wild version. I think that this version of the Daffodil is a native.

The Fritillary  was named as "Snakes Head Fritillary" and is a white version which I believe was given the "Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit". Apparently there are arguments as to whether this is a cultivated native but this matters little to me as I think it's as good as, based upon a native.

The Bluebells came from cultivation and not from the wild which is good and I'm fairly sure it is the British version and not a hybrid although time will tell.

The Snow drops came from the wild, at least the packet suggested it was raised in the wild. Quite what that means I'm unsure and I can't remember the exact cultivar, but it has a single flower.

I deliberately didn't make a note of where they are so hopefully they'll provide not only some colour but also a nice surprise when they appear.

I think the biggest problem will be the fact that they are in heavy clay soil and although I think they will grow I am guessing that the bulbs will have not enough room to spread so the general idea is that they will be dug up next year or the following year and replanted when I have more enthusiasm for digging. They were put in with a bulb planter so the hole was approximately 5cm wide but the sides seemed very hard. Time will tell.

The Bay tree came in a 3 Inch pot so will need re-potting and I must remember that it will need to be brought into the greenhouse as soon as the weather turns cold. I'm guessing a large patio pot will be not only big enough but also small enough to bring in from the cold although I would like to know if they can survive outside during a cold winter so may well get another with an aim of planting directly into the ground when it is bigger in a sunny but wind sheltered spot as an experiment because I'm not keen on too much being in the greenhouse as the space will soon run out plus everything needs watering and keeping an eye on so much more inside. 

Whilst planting the bulbs I found yet another frog. The garden it literally teaming with them as I have now seen 3 or 4 in the front garden, all young, and upto 50 in the field, 4 or 5 of which are mature adults.