The Trial - 11 Its Been a While

or the winter update.
Yes it has been quite a while since I last did a proper update on my Thompson and Morgan trial plants.  Funny how time just slips by when you take your eye off it.  I was wandering around the garden as I do and thought that it is a good time now to give an update as it is in winter that things seem laid most bare.
Let me start with a flower because winter needs flowers:
Pansy 'Mystique Blue Halo', which as been flowering away for several weeks now.  It has been frosted and even snowed on (but not a huge amount of snow) and it still looks ok.
This batch are in a pot on the garden table and this photograph was taken after quite a heavy frost the night before, so you can see they stand up to such treatment quite well.
Also outside in a pot are these Lewisia 'Elise mixed'
These plants were new to me when I received them last year.  I was unsure what to do with them but I put some into various pots and they flowered really well.  This pot also contained some petunias, they are now long gone.  I thought the Lewisia would be dead by now but they seem to be quite happy so far.
I have been growing this Photinia x fraseri 'Pink Marble' for over twelve months now.  I was sent three and all three are growing well.  This one went into a pot as I did not know where to put it at first and it has grown well.
The other two are in the Wild Garden and I did think I had lost them over the summer as they sort of disappeared into the other growings.  When I cleared the area in the Autumn there they were, still growing away quite well, so I have decided they are clearly good tough plants.  I like having this on in a pot in the Courtyard, it gives quite good foliage color.
Then there are the Garrya 'Elliptica',
I was sent three of these but this is the only one that has survived.  This is not the fault of the plants, the other two were victims of the great poplar disaster that happened this year.  They did not survive several pummellings into the ground.  This one has come through and is growing rather well.
It has developed good strong tassels this year and whilst it is a plant I feel quite ambivalent about in general, it has won itself a few points for its tenacity and it is safe for the time being.
It probably seems odd to show plants out of season, but why not, it is still growing well and if it looks alright in winter then it can only improve in the growing season.  So now I present the Rosa 'Garden Party' which I grew from seed.
Not only has this flowered well over the summer but it also survived a relocation.  All three of the plants that germinated and were planted out have survived and are growing well.  I am rather pleased with them.  They did flower in their first year which I think it pretty good for a rose and whilst small, they are rather sweet.
Finally for this post there is the Camellia rosthorniana 'Cupido'.
It has had buds on for weeks and I am incredibly excited about seeing it in flower.  I had wanted one of these shrubs from the first moment I saw them so I am looking forward to when it flowers.
I am now waiting for my delivery of seeds and plants for this year's trial and this year there will be better updates, promise.