31.03.23
It is the end of March and our garden, like most I suppose, is still cold and sopping wet underfoot from all the rain of the past two months. It hasn’t been a harsh winter here on the South coast but it seems to have been a long one. At last we have some Cowslips and Fritillaries just coming out now on the front and back meadows, but still probably two weeks short of their peak. Our soil is a very heavy clay, and slightly acidic. The wetness borders on waterlogging through winter but it does suit the Fritillaries. They are increasing gradually and I plant some more each year.
I find it best to buy pots of Fritillaries “in the green” in garden centres or supermarkets when the flowers start withering. They are then cut-price for a quick sale. The bulbs can be kept just moist and planted out on the meadow in autumn, so as not to cause unsightly digging holes and trampling in spring. I have usually had a very poor success rate when buying packets of dry bulbs in the autumn. Most of them have dehydrated and are already dead.
I also planted a lot of Cowslip plug-plants last autumn. Unlike the established one in this photo they are still small but doing O.K. Probably they tolerate the clay but would rather be on chalky soil.
Meanwhile I have been growing many orchid plantlets from seed during autumn and winter. They spent 6 weeks in the fridge as protocorms on Petri dishes, and have all been transferred into jam jars. The first green leaves are elongating rapidly now. In the photo are some Loose-flowered orchids (Anacamptis laxiflora) and Southern Marsh orchids (Dactylorhiza praetermissa). They are on a nutrient oats / agar medium with symbiotic fungus, and like to have moderate but not harsh sunlight at this stage. An East or West facing window-ledge is ideal.
The greenhouse orchids are waking up too. These are some Bug orchid plants (Orchis coriophora), a European species. With me they are wintergreen in that the first green shoots come up in winter, but they don’t tend to grow much until the temperature warms up in spring.
Photos above from top to bottom: 1. Fritillary (Fritillaria meleagris), 2. Cowslips (Primula veris), 3. orchid plantlets from seed, 4. Bug orchid (Orchis coriophora)
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