I can remember a time when I did not like begonias. I pigeon-holed them into a particular box labelled 'little old lady plants' and gave them little thought. The closer I get in age to little old ladies, the more I realise how much they know a good plant when they see one. I shall however promulgate the myth that they are old lady plants in a pejorative way to leave all the more for me (which I suspect is the general tactic being deployed). Consequently I have a few begonias these days from the very tall Begonia luxurians to some smaller bedding versions and others in between, all quite different, all very loved.
Moving on, picture the scene, there I am wandering my twitter timeline the other day and there is a rather nice begonia, an unusual begonia, one I do not own and yet I want to possess. It had been shown by my friend Colin from Swines Meadow Farm Nursery, a nursery I like and need very little excuse to go and visit. I mentioned that I liked the look of the plant, Colin mentioned he had a few and lay one on one side for me and that they had a Fenland HPS plant fair coming up and the deal was done. I knew there was little chance I would return with only one plant. Dear reader, say hello to Begonia koelzii.
Apparently this plant produces baby begonias from the centre of its leaves. I shall let you know if this is what is going on here.
Dear reader, also say hello to Begonia Fusca.
Look at the size of those leaves! It jumped into my hands, no, it flew like Dumbo, flapping and flapping. I was powerless, powerless I tell you, to resist.
Then this Sinningia nematanthodes Evita waved at me from the across the greenhouse. On the label it says it is 'reputedly hardy', which in my world is code for 'keep it out of the winter frosts until you have successfully rooted a couple of contingency cuttings so you can risk it'. The same goes for the two begonias above.
It is such a stunning flower. I could not resist.
Finally I bought this Amarine hybrid. This is a cross between an amaryllis and a nerine. I was at a Nottingham Hardy Plant Society talk about these plants only the other day and it was on my mind that I wanted to get some. To find a nice pot full of them, one with a flower bud just waiting to open, was clearly fate. These are also not going straight into the garden. After listening carefully to the talk I now know that these plants are probably not going to enjoy the thick heavy clay in my garden. I do have a part of the garden that is quite well drained so I might split this pot and try some there; that will be a spring decision.
I wended my way home, with a passenger seat full of plants, always a favourite passenger.