Tim Fuller

I'm not a huge fan of the textured snowdrops but will admit that Galanthus plicatus 'Augustus' is a good garden plant. Compact but vigorous and increases enough.

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Hedera helix 'Manda's Crested' makes a good climber for a wall or fence with gently curled leaves.

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Galanthus nivalis 'Green Light'. Bright green leaves as well as markings on the outers. Slow here.

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Hedera helix 'Russeliana' makes a good winter garden subject. Larger and taller than other upright types and pretty resistant to winter weather.

Must take more cuttings....

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'Gunter Waldorf' and 'Grumpy' make me think of a fine artist and primary school version of the same design for some reason.....

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Auto-trimming of our next batch of Dianthus carthusianorum courtesy of the voles....

Thankfully they regrow well as spring warns up.

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Luzula sylvatica 'Hohe Tatra' excels in winter if you can find it a spot that gets some sun but will be lightly shaded in summer.

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The low sun a couple of days ago where Heuchera micrantha 'Ruffles' gets it's name from. A long lived, tough variety.

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Our soil doesn't suit Crocus so I generally don't bother with them. Some are special though! Growing Crocus heuffelianus 'Harry Hay' in a long-tom pot with wire mesh to protect from mice....

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Sarcococca saligna caught my eye between showers yesterday with its unusually coloured flowers. Introduced to me as autumn flowered it seems to have settled into January and February flowering. Nice leaves too!

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Striking foliage for winter - Saxifraga stolonifera 'Nezu Jinja'. Thinking this will look great with one of the larger snowdrops.. Low spreading patches for shade under deciduous woody plants.

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Cleaning one of our seed frames prior to a fresh batch being sown and look what's already in the sand! Someone's been busy hiding dozens of acorns deep in the sand and most are germinating...

No sign of where they went in though?

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Themeda triandra ssp japonica holding up really well this winter. The colour seems to be getting better still and all those hairs hold plenty of dew drops!

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A particularly dull and damp day yesterday but Iris unguicularis 'Walter Butt' was doing his best in one of the polytunnels. One day he'll be set free outside!

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Winter foliage of Hypericum beanii caught my eye yesterday. Looking bright even on such a dull day!

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Rained off hedgecutting yesterday lunchtime so the Gladiolus 'Ruby' stock got sorted ready for potting. We grow on the young corms in big trays and select the largest to sell each year.

The tiny ones will take about 3 seasons to get to full flowering size.

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Getting on with the mixed native perimeter hedge now but we got rained off yesterday! This stretch is 16 years old and about 200m long. Robin kept getting a bit close...

Ipheion time again! Some have been out since October but more are out now, this is one of the cracking newer varieties 'Miss Hannah'.

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Found the odd berry hiding in the Ophiopogon scaber B&SWJ3655 this week. Really like this one for its long and very narrow leaves.

It's in our next newsletter that will be going out shortly. Our January offer runs until the end of the month. www.plantpref.co.uk/newsletter

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Hornbeam done. If it looks straight, it is straight...

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I'm no professional hedgecutter but there's something satisfying about a vaguely straight hornbeam hedge!

Just got to do the top now...

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Miscanthus sinensis 'Sarabande' looking pretty striking in the middle of January. Narrow elegant foliage and strong stems to about 1.8m.

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Everything can look a bit brown in January so it's always nice to see precocious new shoots and Valeriana pyrenaica always provides. The old leaves will die back leaving this lovely crown.

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Getting ahead of itself! A couple of our Primula 'Lady Greer' have decided it's spring already... about 6 weeks ahead of when they normally start.

A beautiful hybrid between our native primrose and oxslip.

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Arum italicum 'Marmoratum' doing well underneath the willow windbreak I posted yesterday. An ideal place to grow plants like this that thrive under deciduous trees and shrubs.

Wintergreen and the leaves make surprisingly good cut foliage for a vase. Please excuse the sawdust!

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We will stack the prunings to provide habitat and to rot down over 3-5 years.

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Always one of the first jobs of the year is to pollard our willow windbreaks. I'd rather leave them another 6 weeks but there won't be time then!

This is Salix alba 'Britzensis', 20 odd years old, grown from hardwood cuttings direct stuck where they grow. Grows about 2.5m a year.

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I'm back - sorry for the extended radio silence over the Christmas and New Year period. Been busy with the website and other more boring admin!

Our first mail orders of the year will be going out this week since the weather is looking more useful.

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Galanthus 'Three Ships' and Arum italicum 'Tiny'. This combination reminds me of reading Margery Fish's books years ago. Have a look if you haven't.

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A lovely purple form of Iris unguicularis from Brian Matthew via the British Iris Society seed exchange. Fairly compact with almost dusky foliage. Hopefully some spare in the spring.

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