February 2016 News from the Nursery

There are quite a number of lovely things flowering at the moment. They may be well out of season, but still welcome. Driving around the countryside there are drifts of snowdrops looking fantastic and lighting up the often gloomy days.
The pale green flowers of Ribes laurifolium are looking good. They will make a low shrub or can be trained against a wall.
We have some good bushy Euonymus japonicus, which is one of the most tolerant plants for coastal garden protection – it also grows well elsewhere. The tough evergreen leaves shrug off sea spray laden gales.
Evergreen oak Quercus ilex makes an excellent hedge and again takes seaside conditions in its' stride.
Hedges do take the strong winds much better than fencing, which seems to be toppled over everywhere one goes. The weatherman has been mentioning the latest damaging gales “Henry” by name. The north of the country is getting the worst of it yet again. Living in the south we have not escaped unharmed, our large Eucalyptus gunnii has had the majority of its leave ripped off.
For sheltered gardens to provide winter flowers you could try Grevillea Canberra Gem. Good for a winter tub to be seen from the house.