URBAN JUNGLE NEWSLETTER APRIL 2005

We’ve been waiting for spring to kick in before sending our first newsletter of the season. After what has seemed an interminable winter we woke to snow today! Can’t wait any longer so hope that by the time this letter reaches you the weather has improved.
Contrary to rumours that we close during winter and spend all day in bed and all evening in the pub, we have been grafting away, preparing lots of new and unusual plants so here goes -
Grasses – we have extended our range of grasses and have every size, colour and shape imaginable, from the tiny Sesleria carulea to the massive, sugar cane-like Miscanthus floridulus. Colours range from the golden ‘Millium effusium ‘Aureum’ to the bright red Imperata (Japanese blood grass), with all shades of blue and brown in between. We have upright grasses, arching grasses, clumpers and runners and we’ve even found time to plant up a small grassery. Providing we can keep the rabbits out it should look a peach in late summer. Unfortunately our new ‘Hardy Exotic Border’ has been a rabbit smorgasbord over the winter and now needs a rethink.
Aroids – for those who have been bitten by the aroid bug we have lots of flowering size Arisaema species and some really exciting Colocasias and Alocasias from America. Incidentally our Amorphophallus konjac is producing a flower. The flower stem of this species can reach 2m and opens into a massive, rotten corpse-stinking, liver coloured, fly-infested flowering structure – gorgeous! This is growing at a rate of knots and is tucked away in a warm greenhouse so if you’re at the nursery please ask to see it.
Nearly all of our bananas that we left outside for the winter have pulled through and are pushing out new leaves since we unwrapped them a couple of weeks ago. Our mini ‘banana grove’ should look lovely this year. If your bananas are still wrapped, release them. We can still get frosts but these won’t do any serious harm now. Same goes for Tree ferns. Don’t plant out tenders yet, such as Cannas and Gingers and if you have planted out bedding plants – bad luck!
We have some very large Tree ferns (Dicksonia antarctica) available now and they are just beginning to send up new fronds. Our next container load is due in 2 weeks time. We really must have the best customers ever. When the last container arrived, several customers who happened to be at the nursery rolled up their sleeves and helped unload - one lovely lady even went home and made sandwiches for everybody – now doesn’t that warm the cockles of your heart?
Fern fanatics should be pleased with our range of hardy ground ferns and we have created our own little stumpery at the nursery (well Prince Charles has one!). We’ve planted about 30 different species of fern and although they are quite small plants it should be interesting to watch them develop.
We now stock a lovely range of quality pots and will soon be busy planting some up to give you ideas, should you need them.
Plant fairs we are attending this year include:-
Royal Norfolk Show-29th and 30th June
Bungay Street Fair – 22nd May (10amm to 4pm)
Shrubland Plant Fair – 12th June (11am to 5pm)

Hope to see you soon
Liz and Malcolm