Unusual & Exotic Plants Blog - Urban Jungle and gardening news

Marvellous Hardy Bamboo

noreply@blogger.com (Lizzy) — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 21:18:00 +0000

There cannot be an exotic gardener amongst us who hasn’t suffered some loss of plants this dreadful winter (-7 last night!!), but at least with the hardy bamboos I can sleep soundly; they are after all the great stalwarts of the exotic winter garden. Being so diverse and versatile, they lend themselves to use in a variety of ways - as an evergreen hedge, backdrop to a border, or as feature plants by themselves. And at this time of year, its a comfort to know that despite this cruel, never-ending winter, just below the surface, they’ll be preparing to send forth this seasons new culms.
Possibly the most admired of any plant at the nursery is our clump of Phyllostachys vivax f. aureocaulis. When the late afternoon sun illuminates it, it glows. The effect is simply breathtaking – even bored children, dragged in by their parents to yet another nursery are captivated by it. This particular clump was lifted from a collector’s garden in March 2007. It is planted in dry soil on the edge of a woodland bed. For the last three seasons it has sent up respectable-sized culms and formed a magnificent tight clump. We removed the top third of the canes, as one should when planting, to help it establish. The effect was so attractive, like a multi-branched tree (I think that’s what’s called an oxymoron, but hey), that we’ve continued this procedure each year. It really is the easiest plant to prune. No need for ladders – simply bend a cane, snip, release, job done. It’ll be interesting to see what it does this growing season. Will it start to wander, as the texts books tell us it will in dry soil? We have another Phyllostachys vivax aureocaulis planted at the nursery in more moist soil. Now this does wander. It’s growing next to a monster Gunnera manicata, and has pushed canes through its crown, like a form of Japanese torture. We may have to carry out a rescue operation this month.
Bamboo seekers often overlook Phyllostachys humilis. It has beautiful coloured canes, far subtler than the flashy P. vivax aureocaulis, and these are not always apparent in young plants. But it also has other wonderful attributes. If you have a small garden but must have a Phyllostachys (as everyone must) it is the shortest growing, reaching on average only 3m in the UK. It has quite small green leaves but they are produced in abundance and have a lovely blue under-side, which is very apparent in even the slightest breeze. The canes emerge olive/green and change over the season to green, aging to orange/brown. Mature clumps have canes in these three different colours.

Phyllostachys nigra is well known and justifiably popular. Well-pruned specimens, with lower leaves removed, never fail to impress but they should always be planted in full sun for best cane colouration. In hot summers the canes become jet black with white bands of leaf scars below the nodes. We have a clump, maturing well, unfortunately at the back of the border so its canes are somewhat obscured. This has been planted for five years and has made a good tidy, well-behaved clump with nice thick canes. On a facing border, we had to remove a clump of Phyllostachys nigra after just two years to stop it rampaging through the whole bed at an alarming rate. When customers ask if Phyllostachys nigra runs I truthfully don’t know what to say.

Chusquea culeou is an attention grabber. Ours seemed to sulk in the ground when planted, not doing very much, for two years. Suddenly, last summer, fat, pink shoots appeared around the perimeter of the weedy looking clump. These rapidly shot skyward, with branches emerging from the leaf sheaths on some of the culms to give the distinctive bottlebrush effect. Other culms have retained their leaf sheaths throughout the winter. It’s a striking and architectural plant and very much in demand but frustratingly, always in short supply and devilishly difficult to propagate. I’m really excited at the prospect of this years culms.

But for real culm drama, the rare and wonderful Phyllostachys iridescens deserves an Oscar. Ours is planted in the poorest, driest, shadiest position at the back of the nursery. Each year the beast wanders yards and yards from its original position and we have to ruthlessly kick off any unwanted culms. Thick, purple-sheathed giant shoots emerge rapidly in to very deep green canes with a white bloom. Mature canes develop distinctive orange vertical stripes. How far it will try to run this year remains to be seen. Apparently 4m is not unusual. We wait in excitement and trepidation.

Spanish Buying Trip

noreply@blogger.com (Lizzy) — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 09:35:00 +0000

A short reprieve from this seemingly never-ending winter last week with a buying trip to southern Spain. Its been a cold winter there too, relatively speaking, but the weather changed the day after arrival and became warm and sunny with midday temps up to 27 degrees - wahoo!

We visited some interesting, out of the way nurseries in Valencia and were almost as impressed with the crumbly, derelict buildings on the site of one of them as we were with the plants themselves.

You see this a lot in Spain; buildings that would be treasured in the UK, completely abandoned. Although the trip involved lots of driving it really was worth getting off the beaten track, and we visited some tucked out of the way nurseries where we left no corner unexplored in the quest for the very best plants. At the end of the first day, as we were about to leave we pushed to the back of the nursery and found some amazing Yucca aloifolia – a discovery that rounded off the day nicely. They were piled together in an unruly heap but we stood them upright and could then see what amazing plants they were.

On the last day we headed south to Almeria, and here we found the best quality palms on a huge, industrial scale nursery by the sea, where the only way to get around is by car, not just outside but even in the glass houses too.
Following a15 hour (yes 15 hour) delay at the airport, due to industrial action in France, and a mini-earthquake a couple of hours before departure, the plane touched down to a cold, grey Stanstead, still very much in the grip of winter.
Thankfully the weather is slightly better for this week – could this be the start of Spring? Lets hope so.
New stock arriving over the next few weeks includes huge Cordyline australis, some with multi-trunks, chunky Yucca rosrata and Yucca glauca, a range of sizes of Phoenix canariensis, big-trunked, multi-headed Yucca aloifolia, Cycas revoluta in a range of sizes , Pittosporum tobira -some very classy and unusual standards, Olive trees, Fruit trees including lime, lemon, grapefruit and orange, Pinus pinea, Topiary – some stunning quality Bay balls with spirals, pyramids and columns to follow in a few weeks, two sizes of Trachelospermum jasminoides, some huge Phormium tenax variegata and Cupressus sempervirens (Italian pencil tree).
More stock arriving weekly now plus lots of our home-grown stock becoming available too.

New member of staff.

noreply@blogger.com (MalUK) — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 12:00:00 +0000

We are delighted that Jamie Spooner has joined Urban Jungle as Senior Nurseryman. After graduating from Easton College with an HND in Horticulture, Jamie began his working career at Pensthorpe Gardens in Norfolk, and within a year was promoted to head gardener. This stimulated a passion for the new wave of naturalistic planting landscapes, for which Pensthorpe is famous, and so Jamie didn’t hesitate when the opportunity arose to work in Holland, with the world famous designer, plants man and pioneer of prairie-style planting, Piet Oudolf. Jamie garnered invaluable insights into the machinations of a highly efficient and innovative Dutch Nursery and honed his propagating skills

Will Giles, the author and owner of The Exotic Garden in Norwich has been a mentor and highly influential figure to Jamie over the years and has greatly extended the breadth of Jamie’s plant knowledge and appreciation. When pressed, Jamie struggles to name a favourite plant but confesses a partiality to palms.

Jamie recently returned from two years travelling in New Zealand, followed by a whistle-stop, winter tour of the Scottish Highlands.

Dingy V Dazzling

noreply@blogger.com (MalUK) — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 13:57:00 +0000

On a recent visit to a friend’s nursery we laughed to hear their young son, on the cusp of reaching those dreaded teenage years, moodily describe his parents’ nursery’s plants as ‘dingy’. They are expertly grown and the nursery is well laid out and orderly. They also have well-stocked gardens and display borders. He did however have a point. They specialize in hardy herbaceous and deciduous shrubs. Their season was well and truly over and very little green foliage or flowers remained. For me it seemed a bit depressing.

You know – it doesn’t have to be this way. I can’t help but be constantly amazed at how the English are still stuck in this Cottage Garden mentality time warp. There is such an amazing availability of hardy, evergreen, flowering, exotic-looking plants it beggars belief that gardeners would choose to adorn their garden with anything else. All gardening styles have their merits and traditional herbaceous planting schemes I will begrudgingly acknowledge can look amazing for a few weeks of the year but is this good enough? Not for me it isn’t.

We are half way through October and the vast majority of the plants at Urban Jungle are still looking lush. Obviously the bamboo, palms, phormiums, cordylines, pittosporums, yuccas and agaves, to mention just a few, will show off all year round but to be able to extend the season with the amazing flower power of plants, now at our disposal is thrilling. Here are just a few still strutting their stuff at Urban Jungle on this chilly, windy day.

Canna Ehamannii

Brugmansia about to explode into flower (again).

Lyonothamnus floribundus asplenifolius

Fremontodendron ‘Californian glory’

Fasicularia pitcarnifolia

Hydrangea paniculata ‘Grandiflora’ 5^th month of flowering.

Eryngium pandanifolium-is it ever going to stop growing this year.

Puya coerulea

Grevillea ‘Coastal Glow’

Pittosporum ‘County Park’ and Phormiums

Ensete ventricosum shrugged off last week’s frost but will have to come in from the cold soon.

Solanum crispum ‘Glasnevin’

Cobea scandens

Hedichium gardnerianum - still pumping out flowers.

Acacia dealbata - getting ready to flower in late winter.

Canna Border

The Seven Palms Bed

noreply@blogger.com (Lizzy) — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 13:59:00 +0000

In May we planted a small area of woodland, which we have called The Seven Palms Bed. It is a large oval shaped border, approximately 7m x 5m in which we planted seven Trachycarpus fortunei palms in the centre. These were taken from our hospital area – not good enough for sale but recovering well enough to be planted out.

The Seven Palms Bed

Around the outside of the border are six Ailanthus altissima (Tree of Heaven). This is a bit of an experiment. The plan is to pollard these in spring. Hopefully they will react to pollarding like many trees and produce enormous palm-like leaves. If they don’t we may need a re-think. Hydrangeas aspera, sargentiana and ‘Nepal Beauty’ will add large leaves and flower power and Aralia variegata and Aralia aureomarginata create a refined elegance. Evergreen colour and ground cover are supplied by Heucheras ‘Obsidian’ and ‘Crème Brulee’, Epimediums and Pachysandra variegata. Large leaved perennials include Angelica gigas, Astilboides tabularis, Ligularia dentata ‘Desdemona’ and Rogersia ‘Herkules’.
Two Canna ‘Stuttgart’ were removed today and consigned to the compost heap. After showing such initial promise a few years ago, when they first appeared on the scene, they fail to live up to their promise each season. They start well enough in spring with their elegant, tapering apple green leaves with thick clotted cream stripes, but come high summer they turn to toast. These really are the most awkward of plants and can only be safely grown in a cupboard - with the door kept shut. A single ray of sunshine can ruin the plant.

Canna ‘Stuttgart’

Back to the making of the garden. The soil was quite dry and impoverished, being under mature Birch trees so after thorough soil preparation, including removing a mat of fibrous tree roots, we incorporated considerable quantities of farmyard manure. Then we planted, watered and added another thick mulch of farmyard manure. And then we had an incredibly long dry period. Considering we planted in such a dry area and perversely, many of the plants we chose are moisture-lovers, all came through the drought unscathed (we’ve turned the sprinkler on the bed only twice). After the recent rains, the plants are starting to establish well and considering it is only three months old, the bed is already beginning to look bold and exciting. What’s more, the soil preparation and mulch have really paid off. I removed less than half a bucket of weeds this afternoon (the first weeding session) and the ground felt warm and surprisingly moist.

Last weeks delivery of Acers are all potted although fitting them on to rows with irrigation was the usual game of Tetris. We have a lovely new variety – Acer palmatum ‘Japanese Sunrise’. Of course they have no leaves yet (they’ve only been here one week) but the bark is most beautifully red and yellow toned. This colouration will further increase during cold weather.

Acer palmatum ‘Japanese Sunrise’

TIME ON MY HANDS

noreply@blogger.com (Lizzy) — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 13:38:00 +0000

I have spent the last two hours browsing a couple of blogs. Will Giles of ‘The Exotic Garden’ fame (my first visit to his blog and very good it is too), and one of my current favourites, Hyperlipid.

Hyperlipid isn’t for lightweight scientists so most of it goes over my head but I can just about get the gist, and the gist is this. Saturated animal fat is good not bad. Grains and a high carbohydrate diet are very bad and, get this, fruit and veg may be bad - (say what?). After all that hard work in the ornamental veg garden. For crying out loud!
Thought provoking to say the least.

Anyway – this led me to two conclusions.
One– I probably do have a bit more time on my hands now than I’ve led myself to believe and
Two - This blog has to be updated at least once a week from now on or it’s going.

So – I’ll simply start by talking about the day.

A relatively quiet day, after a really busy spring and early summer. Business usually starts to tail off at this time of year. I wish it wouldn’t. Just as we start getting into our stride it tends to go quiet – I guess most people are thinking about holidays right now (or swine flu).

This did allow me to do a spot of gardening between serving and I managed to pull a terrifying amount of weeds from the Tree Fern Dell (it was thoroughly weeded less than a month ago), shoehorn a few more cannas into the Exotic Border and add a few more items to the online shop such as Exotic Hydrangeas, some Mediterranean Shrubs and Ensetes ‘Maurellii’ and ‘Tandara Red’.

Tree Fern Dell

Exotic Border

Also spent a good deal of time repeatedly picking up plants that had blown over in the wind (yet another wet and windy day!) all the while pretending I couldn’t see the potting shed spilling its guts out into the sales area. Of course I could see it, as can our customers (whatever must they think) and I shall clear it up soon. It’s just that I’ve been sooo busy…. Anyway it’s got to be cleared up before tomorrow, as the next big potting job arrives. Acers from New Zealand.

Of course it’s the middle of winter in New Zealand so they are sent in dormancy. They arrive bare-root and foliage free. We get them potted straight away into 7.5 or 10 litre pots in a mix of peat based and John Innes composts with some added bark and slow release fertiliser. They are then tied in to lines to stop them blowing over and each are given their own irrigation dripper, and away they go. They will be in full leaf by autumn, just as it starts getting cold and the nights start drawing in, and then their leaves will change colour and drop again. They don’t seem to mind this stop-start-stop quick turnaround of seasons although the autumn colour won’t be as striking this autumn as next – something to do with not having the time to build enough sugars in the leaf. (Lightweight science).

Acer palmatum ‘Red Emperor’

It is a miracle to witness these unpromising looking stems metamorphosis into these beautiful trees in just a few weeks and one of the many reasons I love this work.

THE EDIBLE JUNGLE DISPLAY GARDEN

noreply@blogger.com (Lizzy) — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 10:03:00 +0000

THE UNVEILING OF OUR DESIGN.
If you are or are thinking about growing some produce in your garden you may be interested in our fruit and veg garden design. If not look away now. Don’t worry – we will be updating you soon on new and exciting exotic plants for 2009.
This is the first time we have revealed the design for our new ornamental productive garden.

Just a few words to explain how we arrived at this layout.
We wanted to avoid 'dotting' ornamental plants around and making random allotment style beds so we decided on an overall geometric pattern of 3 interlocking circles where the shapes would have purpose and form the structure of the garden rather than being shapes for arts sake. Vegetables will be planted in the centre of the 3 circles in rows. Our rows align to the centres of our circles - like the spokes of a wheel, instead of from east to west as conventional wisdom dictates. One of the circles forms a path and the other 2 are formed by rosemary and lavender hedges. They delineate the boundary between areas that will be used for vegetables within and those that will be permanently planted with fruit bushes on the outside. There is one wide pathway that leads through the centre of the garden and the three circles that will be the main connection between the new garden and the rest of the nursery.

If you were deciding to make your garden, or part of it, productive its a good idea to decide what your priorities are. Ask yourself; for example, ‘what type of vegetable are we most likely to store after harvest or use regularly on a cut and come again crop?’ Try to visualise the range of produce you need or want most of all - what you can practically manage and use
The next step is to look at the space available and assess it with a clinical eye. The sunniest spot is premium food producing territory as well as Yucca and Agave paradise. You probably know where the ground is most fertile. Your lawn might turn out to be a luxury, and how many pounds of produce would your pond deny you? . If space is limited but you still want to grow some food concentrate on crops that are expensive to buy or hard to obtain like berries or unusual varieties of salads. Most berries will grow well in some shade.

JUNGLE DRUMS - December 2008

noreply@blogger.com (Lizzy) — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 10:21:00 +0000

Now we are well into December I'm sure most of you are thinking of Christmas. We have lots of beautiful, evergreen plants for gardeners and, may we also remind you of our Gift Vouchers, available from the nursery or web site.
The weather here has been bitterly cold for weeks but all the plants in our borders are doing fantastically well and on a cold sunny day it is a pleasure to work outdoors at the nursery, surrounded by evergreen exotics. If you are in the area over winter please drop in and see us - and the plants.
We look forward to updating you in following newsletters of new stock arriving in spring. In the meantime we are sending you an update of our new project and some of the reasons for embarking on this venture - The Edible Jungle.

URBAN JUNGLE GIFT VOUCHERS AVAILABLE HERE

Edible Jungle Garden Update - Why Grow Your Own?

There is an ever more urgent rush to embrace the organic/local/healthy way of providing food for our families and ourselves.
Supermarkets are demonised, we shop there almost guiltily and we frown on the displacement of small local businesses ever more.
Knowledge of the pollution, contamination and adulteration of our food is becoming more widespread. The ever-advancing technologies used to mass-produce our 'daily bread' are becoming farther removed from nature and common sense.

Adapting to change
All of us have concerns about our own and our family's health. Even if we are not motivated to affect widespread change in society, now is the time to bring real nutrition back into our lives. A major shift in our society has been happening over the last few years. These are rapidly changing times in many ways and some of us are bound to feel that growing our own is an added burden to a busy schedule; some may envisage problems and setbacks and be disheartened - even discouraged from starting. This is where we hope to help by setting an example (of how not to do some things as well probably).

Realistic targets
Having catered for our customers' love of plants - artistic and (sometimes single minded) collecting desires we know that not all of you are happy to rip out your palms and pretties. You may not be ready for the Bob Flowerdew 'gardening out of old tyres' style but we feel that it is possible to maintain an attractive garden in the exotic style and feed yourselves from the self same plot, and we feel that it is not necessary to start off by doing a 'Good Life' and going self sufficient. By combining the pretty and the productive you can start gradually - and realistically for your busy home and work schedule.

Don't Cut off your Nolina to Spite your Fatsia
It is important to be able to envisage this. Not many people are willing to turn the garden they have worked hard to transform into a paradise, into an allotment full of canes, bits of plastic and scarecrows. It's not just about looks either - you can still entertain, dine, bbq and sunbathe in an Edible Jungle without having to don wellies and sit on an upturned bucket!

Having our cake and eating it
Our garden will not compromise on the practical needs of growing fruit and vegetables; in our plan, we have positioned the ornamental plants so that they do not cast shade or create root competition. We have laid out the vegetables, fruit and herbs in as ornamental a way as possible in strong geometrical forms and flowing curves. All the practical aspects of the garden such as paths, compost heaps, arches for supporting vines, benches and seats are laid out according to the 3 interlocking circles of our design. Our three circles represent the three principles of this project:

PRODUCTIVITY - BEAUTY - PRACTICALITY

Inspiration
Some of the inspiration for this new garden has come from a wonderful film called 'The Power Of Community - How Cuba Survived Peak Oil'. It is a case study that has a useful lesson for us all about the rapidly diminishing oil reserves and how much we rely on oil based products to produce our food, but is also a heart warming tale of people learning to live from the land again and rediscover their communities. You can learn more about the film at http://www.powerofcommunity.org/cm/index.php and view it on You tube!

Transition
The situation isn't as desperate as that faced by the Cubans during the missile crisis, when their oil was embargoed, but there can be no doubt that we have had it easy for a long time in the west and things are starting to change. We now have a group in Norwich called Transition Towns who are beginning to work towards community based sustainability - you may have heard of the Totnes branch who have their own currency - the Totnes pound.

Swots
We have done an awful lot of research - spending hours in the library, staring at computer screens and generally making pains of ourselves by asking lots of questions to those 'in the know'. We've unearthed some fascinating and some horrible facts that have motivated us and informed us which we would like to share with you below. The first is an article describing (or rather understating!) the disasters that can come about by using herbicides. The second is a fascinating and thought-provoking talk about meat production. And finally a brilliant and very funny book that might make you rethink everything you thought you knew about nutrition.
Home-grown veg ruined by toxic herbicide
Michael Pollan: The omnivore's next dilemma
Book - 'In Defence of Food: The Myth of Nutrition and the Pleasures of Eating' by Michael Pollan

We are looking forward to revealing the design in our next Blog.

THE EDIBLE JUNGLE

noreply@blogger.com (Lizzy) — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 13:36:00 +0000

From spring 2009 Urban Jungle will be supplying fruit trees and bushes

Announcing our new project

An organic, exotic, plantation-style garden providing self-sufficiency in fruit, vegetables, cut flowers and eggs.

Our nursery is known for ornamental exotic plants and they will remain our passion and the identity of our business. We’ve had six years at the nursery now, expanding our range and experimenting with different stock, and we are always on the lookout for new developments in horticulture. We’ve been aware of the increase in popularity over the last few years of fruit and vegetable growing, but have resisted the temptation to ‘jump on the bandwagon’ or make a gesture towards the latest trend and simply stock a few packets of seeds and some fruit canes.
Now we feel we can bring our own contribution to productive gardening: an Urban Jungle take on this new and important change in how our customers want to garden. By creating a new architectural and exotic garden that’s highly productive for 365 days a year and that doesn’t look like an allotment, we hope to show by example, how your own garden can be productive without looking like a cross between a farm, recycling centre or ‘hobby patch’. Nor will this be an ornamental garden with a passing nod to food production – a few strategically placed Ruby chard and a hanging gourd do not a self-sufficient garden make!
We’ve been researching and scratching our heads for long enough and are ready to get started now: it’s a bit of an adventure really and we fully expect it to be a learning process with a steep curve (upwards we hope). We invite you to join us on this journey to self-sufficiency ‘the beautiful way’. You can follow this project on our blog and come along and have a laugh at our expense if you like, at what we achieve. We believe it is important to put your neck on the line if you believe in your vision of how something can be done, and whilst this is not some revolutionary concept we feel it is an idea who’s time has come.

We have an area of ground at the nursery ideal for the project. At present the area (approximately 26m x 20m) is home to a large muddy puddle which was once a pond – allegedly, six years worth of plants that have been ‘held in this area until they get better’…..hmmmm, and a ‘compost heap’. The compost would be useful if we could get at it – it’s currently guarded by malice of stinging nettles and a wasp nest. Next to this is another strip of land that will be home to a couple of dozen blissfully happy hens. All surrounded by countryside teeming with rabbits, deer and foxes. Security could be an issue.

On the plus side, the site is reasonably open and sunny and has several productive apple trees, which we are told are old and rare varieties. The ground hasn’t been cultivated in recent history, nor chemicals used, so, although the Soil Association might not certify it, its potential for organic (in our opinion), paradisiacal fecundity is self-evident.
We feel that we have arrived at an exciting design for this new garden that pays as much attention to looking good exotically as it does to tasting good naturally, whilst making it comfortable to sit and relax in, to soak up the regimented rows of food growing and the lush exotics adorning. You will be able to walk into the garden under arches laden with gourds and squash, sit amidst the circles of rosemary and lavender, and stroll by the new pond and under the bananas, out into our adjacent ‘Tree Fern Garden’.

Look out for regular updates.

NEWLY ARRIVED STOCK

noreply@blogger.com (MalUK) — Sat, 07 Jun 2008 11:55:00 +0000

The nursery has had a complete transformation and is looking stunning. We are continuing to add display borders and are now stocked to the gunnels with the most sensational plants. Our range and value for money are unbeatable. If you haven't visited for a while, or for that matter have never been to the nursery, then it's about time you honoured us with your company. Our customers really matter to us and unlike large garden centres we offer knowledgeable advice and old-fashioned service as well as fantastic plants. So, if you're fed up with bland monotony, staff who don't know a Daisy from a Dasylirion and who pretend you're invisible if you require assistance, having to walk through acres of non-gardening related merchandising tat before you reach the ever diminishing plant section and that oh so pleasant aroma of micro-waved lasagne and jacket potato., then take a visit to Urban Jungle cause we don't do it like that!

NEWLY ARRIVED STOCK INCLUDES

Trachycarpus fortunei - lots of sizes - beautiful quality from £110 to £310
Chamaerops humulis - as above £23 to £85
Gnarly Grape vines - 1m trunk and very leafy £95
Pittosporum tobira - huge, fat plants 1m tall and nearly as wide £58
Puya coerulea - very silver, multi-headed on 60cm trunks £176
Citrus - oranges and lemons - variegated too - from £55
Agaves and Aloes for conservatory and garden
Accacia dealbata - 2m, fantastic quality and in flower bud(!) £30
Agapanthus - ludicrously large plants - from £7.5 - £12
Erythrina crista-galli - 1.2m thick woody trunks £81
Bay pyramids - 2m - £140

And of course LOTS MORE.

Dicksonia antarctica

noreply@blogger.com (MalUK) — Fri, 09 May 2008 08:25:00 +0000

TREE FERNS have arrived at the nursery. They are priced at £27 per foot of trunk and we have hundreds available in sizes from 1ft to 6ft (to 5ft for mail order).

New Arrivals

noreply@blogger.com (Lizzy) — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 11:26:00 +0000

New Arrivals
Cardiocrinum giganteum bulbs in stock.
Flowering or near flowering size.
£8.50 per bulb or 3 for £22

A Very Happy New Year to You.
Thank you to all our customers last year for keeping us afloat and allowing us to indulge our passion for plants. We hope that in the process we offered good plants and good service and we are looking forward to the new season with excitement.

The New Year has kicked off with the arrival of the Cardiocrinum bulbs from India. We have been importing and growing these amazing plants for several years now but still get a huge buzz with their arrival at the nursery. After Christmas and New Year slouching this is our wake up call for the start of the new season.
A flowering Cardiocrinum is a sight to behold. A thick, sturdy stem arises from the centre of the huge, fabulously glossy, heart-shaped leaves and produces numerous, white, heavily scented, trumpet-shaped, lily-like flowers – 12ft tall isn’t unusual! After flowering the seed pods swell like fat Kiwi fruits and split to release hundreds of papery seeds (these take seven years to reach flowering size plants). Even during winter the stems and seed pods give interest and a group of these look like a sculptural installation in the garden.
Plants being plants we can’t guarantee that they will flower in their first season – not always a bad thing. We have found that bulbs that flower in their second season produce the tallest stems and more numerous flowers after having a whole year to establish. The bad news is that after flowering the bulb dies – the good news is that they produce offsets that take a couple of years to reach flowering size. Planting bulbs every year for 3 years ensures flowers ever more. These are extremely hardy plants and provided they are planted in soil that isn’t waterlogged they will survive extremely low temperatures.

Bulbs can be ordered from the website now for £8.50 each or 3 for £22. Potted, rooted bulbs will be available in 3 litre pots later in spring.

The next arrivals should be the container of New Zealand Tree Ferns including Cyathea medullaris, Cyathea dealbata, Dicksonia squarrosa and Dicksonia fibrosa, closely followed by a container of palms from Spain. More news on this later.

Sculpture and new border

noreply@blogger.com (Lizzy) — Tue, 25 Sep 2007 08:01:00 +0000

We have been working on the new woodland garden, clearing scrub and dead trees and making paths and borders. A new sculpture graces the entrance, moulded onto a reclining tree, and was created by a local chap who goes under the name of ‘Nosey Potter’. It’s been named ‘Lord of the Trees’ and is excellent at scaring young children. A few coats with unmentionable stuff should promote aging and moss growth.

You may have noticed we’ve re-vamped the website and would appreciate any feedback. It functions the same as the old website but after 5 years we got fed up looking at it and felt it needed sprucing up. A bit like redecorating the lounge really.
The acers are looking really smart now and are ready for sale. For details please see website.
End of season clearance sale on grasses – all £3, even those in 7.5 litre pots! (nursery collection only).

Head of vermin control and other things

noreply@blogger.com (Lizzy) — Tue, 25 Sep 2007 07:56:00 +0000

Monday morning and the main topics of conversation have been rising food prices, the end of easy credit, global warming, predicted petrol price increases, Gordon Brown and who drank most over the weekend. Wind and rain have forced me into the office to write this update. Pip the dog (head of vermin control), who usually doesn’t like to get her hair messed up in this weather, and who, as she gets older tends to prefer lazing on a chair, only becoming animated when the fridge is opened, is instead outside, being driven to distraction by baby squirrels. Having chased one up a tree she seems to be under the impression that if she yelps and yaps long enough it will do the decent thing and surrender itself. Not a chance-when will she learn? Squirrels have been a huge problem at the nursery in the past, digging up bulbs and hiding acorns in pots and, more seriously in the crowns of tree ferns. A germinating oak tree can play havoc with emerging crosiers so don’t forget to regularly check tree fern crowns over autumn and winter. Having caught one a couple of weeks ago she was barred from bringing it into the office so instead, insisted on dragging its bloody corpse around the nursery in full view of customers – not a pretty or welcoming sight.
The weather has reminded us that winter is just around the corner and so our thoughts are turning to dull things like glasshouse repairs and moving tender plants into winter quarters. No need to rush to move tenders at home just yet but we have so many to move, we have to make a start about now.

Bamboo

noreply@blogger.com (Lizzy) — Thu, 23 Aug 2007 06:53:00 +0000

We are taking delivery of bamboo this week including more Phyllostachys vivax ‘aureocaulis’. This is our most popular bamboo, producing massive rich buttery yellow culms and dark green leaves.

noreply@blogger.com (MalUK) — Mon, 30 Jul 2007 15:40:00 +0000

New Zealand Tree Ferns
New Zealand Tree Ferns will be arriving at the nursery next spring (2008). Gone are the days when suppliers could cut a container load of tree ferns, load up and have them on the water within days. Because of new DEFRA (formerly MAFF) legislation the harvested tree ferns have to be grown on in a nursery for 6 months to ensure they are free from pests and diseases. The other advantage of this is that the ferns will be rooted. Although bare rooted trunks have never been a problem with the Australian tree ferns (Dicksonia antarctica), past experience has taught us that New Zealand ferns resent root disturbance. The upshot of this is we will have a quantity of rooted NZ Tree Ferns in spring, including Cyathea medullaris, Cyathea dealbata, Cyathea smithii, Dicksonia fibrosa, Dicksonia squarrosa – from potters to 6 footers. We will be accepting reservations so email us if you wish to put your name on one in advance.
We have Cyathea medullaris and dealbata in 3 litre pots at the nursery – available now. Please refer to website.

Dicksonia antarctica
A container of Australian tree ferns should be arriving about the same time!

Weather
For anyone obsessed with weather forecasts (and who isn’t this summer?) go to http://www.metcheck.com/. It’s a really useful, informative and sometimes humorous website. Their daily forecasts are spot on and their long-term forecasts (up to 14 days) have been excellent although rather bleak. We’re addicted and regard ourselves somewhat as experts on the Jet Stream, Azores et al.

Acers

noreply@blogger.com (MalUK) — Mon, 30 Jul 2007 15:39:00 +0000

We have received the Acers from New Zealand and these should be ready for sale in late autumn.The varieties are Aureum, Baldsmith, Bloodgood, Crimson Queen, Fireglow, Inaba Shidare, Katsura, Koto-No-Ito, Ozakasuki, Pendulum Julian, Pixie, Red Emperor, Sangu Kaku, Seiryu, Shin Deshojo, Shirazz, Skeeters Broom, Sumi Nagashi, Tamuke Yama, Ueno Yama and Viridis. If this doesn’t mean very much to you at the moment we will be adding full descriptions and pictures to the website soon or better still, come and take a look at the nursery. They are leafless at present (it’s still winter in New Zealand) but should begin putting out leaves in a few weeks. Nice, big specimens.

Trachycarpus fortunei

noreply@blogger.com (MalUK) — Mon, 30 Jul 2007 15:30:00 +0000

We recently stripped a Trachycarpus fortunei at the nursery and although I know we are not the first to do this, it has generated lots of interest. From the enquiries we have had, I would imagine there are a fair few Trachies being liberated of their woolly coats this year. Stripping this particular palm of its fibrous covering isn’t harmful to the plant and doesn’t affect its ability to withstand frost. The method for stripping is quite simple although a little time consuming. Take a sharp bread knife and begin at the bottom of the trunk. The bottom of the trunk is the toughest and once started you may at first wish you hadn’t, but rest assured, it does get easier the further up the trunk you get. Simply pull, tease and cut the fibres at the base where they are joined at the trunk. The result is a smooth, pale coloured trunk that becomes a rich, glossy mahogany colour in time. Probably not recommended for trunks under 120cm.

The Hospitality Area

noreply@blogger.com (MalUK) — Fri, 20 Jul 2007 10:28:00 +0000

The Hospitality Area is complete and many customers have already been enjoying a brew. These days it’s just not enough to offer great plants and service. Nurseries have to be ‘an experience’ and to complete the experience, refreshments and loos are required. We know that some nurseries even have childrens’ adventure play areas. Perhaps this is taking matters a bit too far, or does it make good, economic sense: keep the kids happy while mum and dad shop? Maybe we’ll get round to it one day but the next project has to be updating the Portaloo- now that really is an experience!

We have mentioned
The Exotic Garden in Norwich owned by will Giles before but for those of you who are not already familiar with this extraordinary garden, we would like to tell you a little more about it. Will’s garden has been open to the public for many years now and over the last two or three years he has added additional features such as an amazing waterfall and a Tree House. Over the winter months however, he has surpassed himself by completely revamping a large area of garden behind the house, involving some serious earth excavations, importing massive quantities of flints and mass plantings of yuccas, agaves and cacti. Will describes the process of creating the garden as ‘organic’ ie. He didn’t start out with a definitive plan – he started digging and the garden evolved. It is an incredible achievement and we sincerely urge you to visit (no we’re not on commission). Will’s garden is a short distance from the nursery and is open on Sunday afternoons.
Will’s new book will be published later this year – hopefully in time for Christmas.

The Colocasias and Alocasias mentioned in a previous blog are ready for sale. They took a little longer than usual due to the weather (knew this blog would have to have a reference to the weather somewhere even though we tried our hardest not to do it) but they eventually made it. Please refer to our website for details.
We are awaiting a collection of Acers from New Zealand. These arrive bare-rooted and will be ready this autumn. There will be some beautiful and unusual varieties and this is an area that we will be expanding in future.

The wettest June on record

noreply@blogger.com (Lizzy) — Wed, 27 Jun 2007 15:19:00 +0000

We sincerely hope those who predicted the hottest, driest summer ever are squirming with shame and embarrassment (including us, but we don’t count as we weren’t speaking with any authority – just optimism). To add a little cheer in this gloomy weather we have built a new Plant Information and Sales Office (PISoff for short.). It was influenced by the exuberance of Caribbean architecture and is an amalgam of the graphic painting styles found on the islands (basically we have decorated the shed).We have added a deck and dressed it with a few plants and pots – simple but it does bring a smile to our faces every time we look at it.
The Tea Rooms are nearly complete and the drinks machine is being installed on Friday, so why not come along this weekend and be one of the first to try a cup of PG Tips, or Earl Grey or Douwe Egberts? At least you’ll be able to warm your hands around the cup!
Despite the weather we are having our best year ever and it is so good to see the type of plants that we specialize in becoming more popular. Most of the plants have loved the damp weather and if we have some heat and sun soon, their growth will just be embarrassing.
We have become affiliated to Harrod Horticulture who supply all things horticultural, except plants, by mail order. Very useful for gardening essentials, vist them here :
Harrod Horticulture .

Will Giles Article

noreply@blogger.com (MalUK) — Sat, 02 Jun 2007 17:23:00 +0000

Read the double page spread article Will Giles wrote about Urban Jungle in the Eastern Daily Press Sunday magazine dated 2nd June 2007. It's in PDF format and opens in a new window.
Page1
Page2

New Arrivals

noreply@blogger.com (Lizzy) — Wed, 30 May 2007 13:16:00 +0000

Days and days of rain and we are beginning to squelch around a little at the nursery but at least we have had a rest from the relentless hand watering we are forced to carry out when the weather is hot and dry. Plants certainly are enjoying the rain but would probably welcome a little more sun and warmth – wouldn’t we all. We have a Yucca rostrata in flower (a first for us) and are eagerly awaiting its development. We will show a weekly photo.

New Arrivals
We have received plants from America and New Zealand. The American plants are mainly Colocasias and Alocasias –
Colocasia ‘Illustris’ ‘Black Marble’, fontenesii ‘Black Stem’ and ‘Tea cup’
Alocasia calidora, gigantean, macrorrhiza, odora, robusta ‘Sarian’ wentii and wentii variegated. These will be available in 2 litre pots in approximately 3 weeks.

The New Zealand plants include some ferns –
Blechnum discolor, Blechnum fluviatale, Cyathea medularis and Cyathea dealbata. These are available immediately.
We also have received several Pseudopanax, Cordyline and Pittosporum varieties as baby plants – these should be ready for sale late summer/autumn.

We have a single mother enjoying bed and board in one of our greenhouses. Whilst watering we were startled by a bird flapping up from a huge pot of Brunnera ‘Jack Frost’. On closer inspection we found her nest with five lovely blue eggs. Unfortunately she doesn’t seem to have a mate but because she was sensible in laying her eggs in the warmth of a greenhouse she seems able to leave the nest for longer periods for gathering food. We have to sneak in and water the plant while she is out gathering – not so much for the sake of the plant but because without water the plant flops, leaving her dangerously exposed. She will certainly have her work cut out with five mouths to feed but we intend to give her a helping hand with a few worms etc. She is incredibly tolerant of us working around her and I think we are forming quite a bond– ahh.
……..update all 5 have hatched. The wet weather means a bountiful supply of worms but if the weather turns warm and dry we will supply some meal worms to give mum a helping hand.

Nursery has expanded

noreply@blogger.com (Lizzy) — Mon, 21 May 2007 08:40:00 +0000

The nursery has expanded over the last few months and I hope we will be forgiven a little own trumpet blowing but it does look gorgeous – if you haven’t paid us a visit yet this year I think you will be in for a treat. We have such an amazing variety of plants now and a much better balance of hard stuff (hardy, sharp, evergreens) and soft stuff (hardy and tender, luscious, deciduous) and big stuff (huge palms, yuccas) and small stuff (ferns, perennials etc) than in previous years. We have already had a couple of containers of plants from Spain this spring- Yuccas, Olives, Palms, Callistemons and some interesting and beautiful exotic trees and shrubs. Of course we still have a huge range of Cannas, Gingers and Aroids. We are now the largest specialist nursery in East Anglia and you would have to be a very hard person to please if you didn’t find plenty here to drool over.
We are working on a modest hospitality area so during your visit you will be able to fuel up on tea and coffee. This should be completed by mid June.
Look out for the review of Urban Jungle, written by Will Giles in the Eastern Daily Press on Saturday 26th May. Will Giles is one of the pioneers of the new wave of exoticism and has his garden open to the public during the summer months. This is an extraordinary and inspirational garden and we highly recommend a visit. http://www.exoticgarden.com/ If you haven’t been to Urban Jungle recently then please do so soon. You will be staggered by the diversity of our stock but don’t be daunted - we are here to offer assistance.

Urban Jungle Newsletter September 2005

noreply@blogger.com (MalUK) — Wed, 14 Sep 2005 18:13:00 +0000

Tree Ferns Dicksonia antarctica NEW CONTAINER HAS ARRIVED

We're busy planning ahead for next year and will be stocking a much larger range of palms, succulents, cannas and new and really unusual perennials. Over the winter we will be extending our sales areas. Our new catalogue should be ready later in the year.

Winter protection
Many proud owners of exotics become rather twitchy at this time of year. Although the weather has been beautiful recently, night-time temperatures can start to drop dramatically at this time of year and some of you will be really concerned as to when to give protection. As a rule hardy bananas, cannas, gingers etc. can tolerate mild frosts and the longer they are left unprotected the better. For example we wait until our banana trees have had several good frostings and the leaves are really black before we wrap them Last year we didn't protect them until the very end of November. Take a look at our website for detailed instructions.

If you haven't visited the nursery for a while we are sure you will be pleasantly surprised at the developments. We have added new display borders this year and the murky swamp we called the Koi pond is now crystal clear and full of really huge fish.Why not pay us an autumn visit?

Really hope to see you soon
Malcolm and Liz

News Letter June 2005

noreply@blogger.com (MalUK) — Wed, 08 Jun 2005 21:57:00 +0000

CONTAINER HAS ARRIVED WITH HUNDREDS OF TREE FERNS (DICKSONIA ANTARCTICA) FROM 1FT TO 7FT TRUNKS
£24 POUND PER FOOT OF TRUNK

Important news regarding Tree Ferns
DEFRA (Department of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs), who were formerly known as MAFF, have tightened regulations concerning the importation of plants from outside the EU. From 2006 plants will no longer be collected from the wild for export, but must be nursery grown in their country of origin for at least one year before shipping to the UK. This has arisen because of concerns about the inadvertent importation of live invertebrates on the plants. Nursery grown stock must be maintained in a controlled environment where insect life can be monitored. Plants must then be thoroughly fumigated. This will no doubt have a serious impact on price and availability from 2006.
This change in regulations is not connected with concerns about plants being stolen from the wild. Tree Ferns from Australia, Tasmania and New Zealand are harvested under strict governmental control. It would be virtually impossible for Tree Ferns to exit their native countries, let alone pass through UK customs without the correct documentation to prove that they have been taken under licence (at times it seems nigh on impossible with the correct documentation).
Whilst the arguments continue over the ethics of the destruction of forests of Tree Ferns it should be remembered that these plants were considered a waste product and were burnt in their tens of thousands to make way for development, or the harvesting of wood for paper making.

LOOKING GOOD
Gingers – lots of different species of hardy and half-hardy gingers from £5.80
Grasses – lots to choose from, all sizes, shapes and colours, from £3.45
Lemon trees - lovely large, healthy specimens at £48
Ferns – excellent range of ferns in 2 litre pots at £4.50
Bamboo – many different species of wonderful, healthy specimens with lots of new shoots emerging.
Musa sikkimensis – hardy banana with red variegation, good size specimens available at £15 and £35.
Colocasias and Alocasias – Lots of species, from £7.50 (Borneo Giant available in August).

We will be at Shrubland Plant Sale (near Ipswich) on Sunday 12th June
East of England Show (Peterborough) on Friday 17th through to Sunday 19th June.
Royal Norfolk Show (Norwich Showground) on Wednesday 29th and Thursday 30th June
We are happy to take orders for collection at these shows

Look forward to seeing you soonLiz and Malcolm