This weekends local Plant Fair

The twice yearly local plant fair is always worth going to, as I choose a few new plants I may not have considered growing in my garden.  Our local garden centre closed down some time ago, although they mainly stocked the usual limited range of plants found at most garden centres.  Most of my plant purchases are made over the internet when I have something particular in mind, but I much prefer looking around and seeing what catches my eye.  A lot of the sellers at the Fair are small or specialist local nurseries, and the quality is usually very good for the price.  The plants are also likely to be those that grow well in this part of the country, unlike some of those sold by big name garden centre chains.  I'm aways surprised when I hear someone say that if it is sold in a garden centre that means it will grow well in the gardens here.  I don't believe that to be the case at all, but that topic is for another blog post.

KING FERN 

I always love the first stall I encounter from the front entrance that is full of ferns and shade loving plants, especially as much of my garden is in partial or light shade a lot of the time.  I came away with two huge ferns, one was a King Fern (Dryopteris affinis 'Cristata'), which is semi-evergreen and doesn't mind dry shade.  The other fern was a Polystichum setiferum, which seemed more graceful so I put that one in a large container on the deck under the semi shade of the tree canopy.

POLYSTYCHUM SETIFERUM

I'll take my own photos of them once they have settled down a bit in their new home, and they look really good planted with Orchid Flower Primrose (Primula vialii) which I hope will grow well in soil that is not really moist enough.  I have to hand water everything too at the moment, as no hose can easily reach from my kitchen (no outside tap) and over a really high wall and up a hillside to that part of the garden.  My next job therefore will be fixing guttering on the small summerhouse so I can have a water butt there to collect rain water, and that's after I have replaced the roofing felt which blew away in strong winds. 

Another plant I bought was Saxifraga fortunei ‘Crystal Pink’ as I love saxifrages and their delicate looking flowers.  This one has interesting foliage, a mix of green, cream and pink. It flowers late from September to October with dense clusters of white flowers, held on short stems above the foliage.  Another shade loving plant, a native of Japan, and one that I will have to make sure doesn't dry out either.  I may move it to my 'winter interest' container in the front garden and swap it with the mossy saxifrages which are not doing very well there.

I noticed when I was planting out the ferns today that a similar type of saxifrage (whose name I forget) that I planted last year is now in flower.  So I will take a photo of that one for the next 'what's in bloom in my garden now' blog post.

The other plant I bought at the Plant Fair was a Euphorbia ‘Diamond Frost’

Flowers May to Sept.  Prefers full sun to partial shade in free draining soil or compost.

Plant can withstand temperatures down to -5°C (23°F), but need to be brought inside for the winter.

Heat and drought-tolerant plants; clouds of airy white flowers all season; low maintenance.

Prefers full sun (at least 6 hours of sun a day), but will perform admirably in part shade and shade conditions also.  Height:  12-18 inches.

I love researching info about any plant I've bought once I've got my plant home, and I was surprised that this delicate looking plant is supposed to be quite tough in terms of where it will grow, despite needing winter protection.  It can continue blooming as a house plant indoors in the winter, and has a very long flowering season, needing no maintenance once established.  It has also won various awards.  I wish I'd bought more of them now, and the only reason I buy so few of anything initially is because I'm never sure whether anything new I buy will survive in my garden or not.  Once I know what succeeds and what just keels over never to revive, I can always buy more of the same later as I prefer planting in bigger clumps or drifts.  

There is another Plant Fair here in the autumn, so hopefully that will give me enough time to know whether it is worth buying more of anything I bought today.