What a change in the weather – we are told these are the hottest temperatures for October ever recorded. It was certainly back to the serious watering and I am filled with hope that over the next few days all of my green tomatoes will ripen to a beautiful and tasty red.

Having talked last week about the importance of evergreen plants in the garden I thought I would check over my camellias. I have two, both have always been in large pots, and are really mature plants. The oldest, ‘Debbie’, is about fifteen years old and is a really good plant to grow, she is a semi-double in a wonderful shade of deep pink. The other one I have had about eight years and is an un-named variety of ‘waterlily’ camellia bearing beautiful double pink flowers. I was surprised to see one of the buds on the latter breaking colour, about five months earlier than normal. Other good flowering evergreens to look out for include ceanothus (Californian lilac). If this is the one that takes your fancy choose carefully as some kinds can be over vigorous for a small garden. They provide a dark green leafy background all year round and then, for just a short period in the spring, they are transformed by a profusion of brilliant blue flowers. If any pruning is necessary do this as soon as flowering has finished as they will flower the following year on wood made in the current year.

Another excellent choice is Choisya ternate (Mexican orange blossom). These hardy plants can begin flowering as early as January with sweetly scented white blooms. The variety ‘Sundance’ has lovely golden yellow foliage but is on the tender side.

Don’t overlook evergreen climbers. Hedera (ivy) is amongst the easiest to grow and most varieties can cope with shade and once established can deal with dry conditions, but keep new plants well watered. Clematis armandii, with its large leathery leaves and sweetly scented white flowers in April, can quickly cover large areas of fence. Although I must say I put in two plants last autumn and they didn’t survive the really harsh winter. Admittedly conditions were exceptional so next spring I will probably try again. By planting earlier they will have more of a chance to put out strong root growth.

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