And then finally as if by magic this blinking (a politely substituted word!) NE wind direction was replaced with a warmer Westerly direction coupled with the torrential downpours of last Sunday evening. Since then holy crumbs readers – The World Garden is a blaze of rioting growth & colour. Whoopee, surely the frosts are behind us now!!

So many things are late this year not only into flower but also growth – we’ve STILL got tulips out!!! - Tulips, which this time last year had died back to the bare soil. Speaking of late flowerers, a stunning curiosity covering our Westerly wall, hailing from Japan, Korea and China, usually flowering in April is now coming into full blooming delight. This is a climber that you must all grow readers. It’s called the Chocolate Vine – bearing a Latin name of Akebia quinata – the latter name meaning 5-leaved. It’s extraordinary. Just take a look at the above picture of the flowers – floral weirdness at its best. These chocolate coloured flowers to some humans' nostrils smell of Bourneville chocolate, others vanilla and to my recently blocked nose – a whiff of Congo Lynx for Men Deodorant – i love this fresh smelling body spray! Bloggers, this none tendril-endowed climber, to 8m Metres in length, oozes character. Still relatively unknown in cultivation yet extremely winter hardy and easy to grow – in any soil except if waterlogged. Akebia quinata from the amazingly named Lardizabalaceae family can be trained against a wall or to rampantly scale a small tree.

A sunny position is preferred but shade is also sublimely tolerated – in my personal experience Akebia quinata adores a West wall. It can be pruned/cut back as far and as hard as you like. If a long hot summer takes hold you may be fortunate enough to observe the fruits – long dark purple & sausage shaped containing jet black seeds embedded in a white pulp – spooky!

Bloggers you’ll have to treat yourself to your own Chocolate Vine!
Happy Gardening Wishes,
Tom xxx.

...to listen to the legendary Jim Buttress and BBC horticultural expert Jean Griffin and to nicely round it off my great friend Laurence Dell gave an exclusive tour of the Ice House and Bath House. Chilly Billy but grand fun! A big thank you to every visitor who came and every helper including of course the entire World Garden Team.

The wacky highlight for me was at 12 noon, exclusively opening Lullingstone’s World Garden in Miniature. A structure that had only been created from scratch within six days! And at a tad past 12 noon with a bitingly cold wind & NE drizzly moisture trickling out of the heavens – 40 fantastically supportive visitors huddled around the brand spanking new circular mini garden for the opening. As the 30 second drums rolled everyone closed their eye lids as we chaotically removed the not very pretty, trio of scaffold planks and plastic covering to reveal this 11 foot across alpine filled revelation! As 30 seconds expired, with eyes still firmly shut (almost frozen shut by the chilly billy atmosphere!!!), the fabulous Veronica Van from Chicago who sponsored & help build the miniature World Garden opened it with a “I hereby declare the World Garden in miniature open”. There were gasps from the audience as retinas absorbed the dazzlingly light blue recycled glass that mimicked the oceans, the array of mini rocks that encircled each horticulturally endowed landmass, the terracotta paint licked sides of the circular well like structure and of course the alpine planting itself. Visitors to Lullingstone can now see the one-acre World Garden in miniature from an aerial perspective and it’s a good old excuse to introduce alpine plants – up until now neglected because they’d be ‘swamped’ in the sister World Garden.



And like the World Garden, this Alpine Garden will show you where so many familiar alpines often thought to be native to our shores originally come from, planted out in their miniature native lands. For example some Cyclamen species occur indigenously in the Lebanon & South Mediterranean – Cyclamen are only naturalised in the UK.

Showing fellow human beings where plants originally come from is sooooo important and the heart of my green filled mission in life at Lullingstone.

For those of you who haven’t seen this cool addition to The World Garden - pop along!

See here for further info.

Personally for me the highlight this Sunday will be unveiling Lullingstone’s brand new unique ‘World Garden in Miniature’ – See photo of its construction with Veronica our ‘World Garden in Miniature’ sponsor last Sunday burying everything including literally the kitchen Sink! Readers – Are you curious? Want to know what type of garden this is gonna be? Come this Sunday to Lullingstone at 12 noon for its unveiling by Veronica and you’ll find out!!! Jeepers Readers a heck of a lot of work to do to complete it by Sunday!

Also this week I wanted to concentrate on fab plants for an often troublesome area of the garden - dry shade. At the plant sales area at Lullingstone it’s been one of the commonly asked questions – especially with the driest April I’ve ever known: What plants will thrive in dry shade?


     

I cannot recommend enough Viburnum davidii from China, a small well branched shrub with its glossy broad crinkled leaves, whitish clustered flowers and followed by, if both male and female plants are present, attractive blue berries. For delicious winter, early spring scent and glossy leaves you have to try Sarcococca confusa, of unknown origin in the wild commonly referred to as – “Sweet Box”. And looking on florally spanking form right now and a native of our gorgeous moisture filled land, Euphorbia amygdaloides ‘Purpurea’ – “Purple Wood Spurge” -  romps away in dry shade – it’s blush purple foliage and fluorescent green flowers are decidedly saucy.  Don’t worry there are so many plants for a shady dry spot.

Dear Readers see you at the plant fair – to miss it would be sacrilege!!!