Saturday 4 February 2012

It's Snowing At Last

And about time too.


I thought I would feature this Clivia miniata to brighten things up a bit in the depths of winter. It's not flowering at the moment. In fact, it won't be flowering at all this year. Don't worry, it's still alive and well, but it's still recovering from the last two severe winters. I purchased it many, many years ago. It flowered every spring in a cold conservatory, and even set seed. I grew on several seedlings, and several of them flowered too. And then disaster struck; two very severe winters put paid to the seedlings, and badly damaged the mother plant. I managed to remove and pot on a small clump before the mother plant died. It's now growing quite happily indoors. Don't you just love a happy ending ?

Clivia were introduced to England in the 1800s from South Africa. They were named after Lady Charlotte Clive, the Duchess of Northumberland, who was the first person to grow them in England. And in Victorian times they became very popular as indoor plants. No, I don't remember that far back, by the way. In recent times, hybrids have been introduced of many different colours, some fetching quite high prices. I won't be buying one of those anytime soon then.

As the snow is falling quite heavily here, I came across this saying on t'internet:

'If February brings drifts of snow,
There will be good summer crops to hoe.'

I've not heard this saying before, so I can't comment on how reliable it is, but I hope it's right.

12 comments:

  1. Clivia, one of Myras favourite house plants, no chance of it surviving the Winter in our greenhouse. I am pleased to tell you we still haven't had any of the dreaded white stuff, although I have been keen to photograph the garden covered in it.

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    1. Myra has excellent taste. Glad to hear you've not got the snow yet. We only had 4 inches, but it stopped all the buses running.

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  2. The Clivia flowers look like orange crocus don't they - I'm pretty hopeless at keeping pot plants alive so I will just admire yours instead.

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    1. Yes, they do look a bit like crocus don't they ? Never noticed that before.

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  3. We got the white stuff last night here in London, 12-14cm of it! Good photo opportunity, but I'd rather have winters without any snow if it was up to me!
    The Clivia miniata looks gorgeous, never seen it before.

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    1. Can't say I'm that keen on the snow either. Glad you like the Clivia.

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  4. Your Clivia is just beautiful and so good to hear you were able to keep it going.

    Is snow typical where you are? We had snow last year which is quite rare here. After several days of warm weather we will be quite chilly for the next few days, currently 43F/6C mid-afternoon.

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    1. We've had a long run of mild winters with no snow, which is why I got caught out a couple of winters ago when the snow returned. We've had a fairly mild winter this year though, until now.

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  5. The photo is gorgeous, I hope your plants reach the same success. I like the saying about February snow and good crops to hoe! Sounds good!

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    1. I took the photo a few years ago, when we were still having mild winters. It will be a few years before it flowers like that again, I'm afraid.

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  6. Gorgeous Clivia! and I am glad you were able to save a bit from your original plant, makes it all that much more special, doesn't it? I received a slip from a gardening friend last year, and keeping it in the shade outside it did grow well. Hopefully it will flower just as beautiful as yours.

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    1. They take a few years to mature, but it's worth the wait.

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