The terraced gardens at Powis Castle

Last September (2025) we spent a few days on the Welsh border near Shrewsbury.  Within easy distance, near Welshpool, is the National Trust property of Powis Castle.  Renowned for its massive terraces, this is a garden I've long wanted to visit.  I was not disappointed.

Seen from the lowest part of the garden the terraces sweep up the hillside, each level linked by steps and pathways.  For 75 year old me getting down and getting back up again (entry is at the top) was a little bit of a struggle but I managed.

As the terracing is bounded by brick walls, stonework and paved pathways each of the terraces benefits from a warmer microclimate than would be expected from mid Wales.  And this has been exploited to use more tender exotics in the broad borders on each terrace.  My type of gardening!

Individual terraces are broad, allowing lawns on some, such as this one in front of the conservatory.

With space available giant containers filled with a host of interesting tender annuals and perennials are a prominent feature.  I'd like to try some of the planting combinations in our own garden if we only had the room.

And every terrace offered a view across the valley to the hills beyond.  Breath taking, given the contrast in early Autumn colour with the garden's Japanese maples and the natural landscape beyond.

If I lived more closely this is a garden I'd visit time and again.  The only downside?  Maria couldn't come with me as the terraces are not disabled friendly.

Gardening with Passion

Passion flowers that is.  Two years ago I lost a massive Abutilon 'Waltz' on my south facing rear house wall.  Not to frost but to an Atlantic gale that whipped it out of the ground.  At it's peak it was magnificent and I still mourn the loss.

The question then became what to replace it with.  And the answer came in the shape of a visit to the now sadly defunct Hill House nursery.  They had two fairly new passion flowers in the greenhouse, both allegedly hardy, and both bred to stay open for two to three days rather that the one day with Passiflora caerulea.

I bought one of each.  White 'Snow Queen'...

...and blue 'Clear Sky'

Don't they make a lovely couple.

They did well last year while establishing but with one comparatively mild winter out of the way they've exploded to cover a good chunk of the wall in their planting corner.  Now hung with a myriad of flower buds and the first couple of flowers already out they're promising to produce a fantastic display this summer.  And, yes, the individual flowers do last up to three days.

Oh, and they're also encroaching on a space occupied by my plant of Clematis florida var. sieboldiana 'Viennetta', a passion flower look alike I have growing on an adjacent wall and also coming up for flowering.

It will be interesting to see them side by side as a group of hardy exotic climbers for milder UK gardens.

More Eye Candy from The Garden House

It's been two years since I last posted on my gardening blog.  I did think that it was time to put it to bed but the old posts keep attracting interest, I've revived my photography blog, and temptation has got the better of me.  But I will shift the emphasis from my own garden to garden visits and scenes from The Garden House, the Devon garden I volunteer at as their photographer, website maintainer and assister with marketing and promotion.  

One of the things I do is a weekly Facebook/Instagram post with vistas from the garden.  The 10 acre garden changes as the seasons develop through the year so I'll make these views a regular feature, together with shots from other gardens in the area, planting combinations and ideas I like and other musings.

But first, to kick it off again, some shots from The Garden House (April 20th or 27th). Click to embiggen.

The Arboretum lake with bog bean in front

The Rhododendron Walk

At the base of the Acer Glade

View from the Wisteria Bridge to the wedding cake trees

View across the second lawn to the Rhododendron Bank

View from the second terrace of the Walled Garden

View across the top lawn

View along the top terrace of the Walled Garden

The first of the many Wisteria in flower in the Walled Garden

Eye candy

This is why I volunteer at The Garden HouseThe Garden House.  Ten late spring images for your delight.

How fast do Dicksonia antarctica tree ferns grow in the UK - May 2024 update

It's been nearly two years since the last update on my Dicksonia antarctica tree fern growth rate.  As I've said before I purchased it in 2002 as a tiny baby, planted it in the rear garden, and have tracked it's progress as it's slowly developed a trunk amd the crown of fronds has enlarged.

It's now May 15th 2024 and the clear trunk from soil level to the level of the newly unfurling fronds of this years flush is 63in / 160cm.  So, another 2.5in / 6cm of extension.  That's nearly 3in /7.5cm a year on average, rather more than the books describe.  It does seem to be slowing down a little.  Here it is in my little pool area in the rear garden.

More than tall enough to sit under, a wish I expressed earlier in the saga!

At a current cost of about £350 for a 5ft trunk specimen I think my £2 purchase has been a good investment.

They're only babies but they'll soon grow up

I've been buying plants again.  Despite having a fairly full garden I can never resist the temptation to add something new for the summer to autumn display.  Four plants in particular, a banana, a colocasia, and two begonias, all obtained as plugs from Craig at Grow Paradise, a little exotic plant nursery he runs from his garden in Dorset.  Cossetted babies at the moment, they'll soon grow to hopefully become garden worthy specimens.

Starting with the Colocasia, this is the cultivar 'Pink China', reckoned to be one of the hardiest and capable of overwintering in the ground throughout most of lowland UK.

For this year I'll restrict it to container growing and overwinter inside but, assuming it pups, next year will be the acid hardiness test.

Much the same can be said for Musa sikkimensis 'Bengal Tiger'.  Frost tender but reputedly root hardy this is another one for a container this year - probably with 'Pink China' in the same 50L pot I have handy.

Hopefully this will grow to resemble this:

Early indications are certainly proming as colour is already appearing after the sunshine of the last few days.

The next two may or may not be hardy.  Begonia luxurians I''ve grown and lost before but it makes such a statement plant with its' palmate leaves that it's definitely worth the effort to find a semi shaded spot for it to develop from this...

...to this.

The second begonia is 'Sterling Moon'.  This is reputed to be a cold hardy cultivar which dies back in autumn and overwinters as tubers in the same way as Beginia grandis ssp evansiana..  Whether it can cope with cool wet Plymouth winters is another matter and I won't be trying to overwinter it outside until I have enough to risk a plant.  In the meantime it can summer outside on a small, shaded shelving unit with other tender begonias and a few houseplants.

I couldn't resist the patterning on the foliage and it's supposed to get better as it grows larger.

It will be interesting to see these develop.

Some Garden Views

All taken May 6th 2024 and all taken in our rear garden.  There's a lot of plants still to emerge - the Hedychiums especially - but even so it's looking quite full for early May given the cold wet spring we've had so far.  As always, click to embiggen.

Chaemerops humilis, European fan palm - 24 years in the ground - and Cordyline 'Red Star'.  They work well together,

A view of the little pool area with my one and only Dicksonia antarctica tree fern and Camellia 'Anticipation' still in flower.  The fern was planted 20+ years ago as a little baby and I wondered if I would ever be able to sit in it's shade.  I can!

Looking back across the little pool (which needs topping up) towards the house the Trachycarpus fortunei fan palm and Camellia 'Anticipation' dominate at the moment but Tetrapanax papyrifera will soon fill in the gap where you can see Maria's workshop.

And here's the understory  with Persicaria 'Red Dragon' and Acanthus mollis filling the floor.

Looking back towards the house from what was a patio but is now filled with vegetable pots.  Musa basjoo is beginning to develop some decent leaves on the right while Acca sellowiana hides the area in front of the living room window.

Looking back from the other end of Maria's workshop we have Chaemerops humilis on the right, the Musa basjoo in the center, underplanted with Acer palmatum dissectum, in the centre and a stainless steel shelving set on the left that I fill with seasonal interest for the summer.  This includes some of my houseplants.