Anual trip to Crete Lodge exotic garden

So yesterday I had the pleasure of visiting Crete lodge exotic garden again.  Melissa and Keith have continued their tireless work in the garden and it was looking better than ever.  Sadly the memory card in my camera seems to have got scrambled, so I lost a lot of the photos, but some had been downloaded first.

The sunken garden is a good place to start as there is always something in flower.

Look at the size of that agave ovtifolia. Sadly it is starting to suggest it may flower, the same for the agave weberi and with the horrida in the first photo already flowering that would be three flowers in that section of the garden alone!

Ther are so many sections to the garden and that is before you even get to the cactus house and other greenhouses.  The biggest section is the main succulent bank and the new sections the other side of the path.  Looking down from the sunken garden you get the first glimpse over the green roof.

Melissa is particularly proud of the new pot.

The bank has some of the largest agave montanas scattered across it.

A bit further down and you come one of the newer parts of the garden.

I love the combination of the succulents with the traditional UK gravel garden plants.

Every angle gives you a different set of plants

The bank carries on around to a section full of yuccas and palms, these photos didn't make it, so back up to the terrace, via a lovely little olive bed. Keith does all the main structural brick work and then Melissa does the decorative fronts.  The whole garden is covered in these lovely little sections meaning no planting opportunities are missed.

The terrace has some feature agaves as well.  The larger one maybe about to flower but this time I had lost count of the number.

Annoying all the other photos were lost.  So I'll juts have to go back another time and re-take them. Those on facebook can go to their page, found here. It is always an inspiration to visit and obviously I always leave with a plant or two, even if I'm not allowed to liberate everthing I would like.

I'll leave you with one last photo looking down the main succulent section, it is hard to believe this is the UK.

How amazing is this.

Visiting a friends garden, Crete Lodge exotic garden, at the end of last year, Mel pointed out these. It seems if you leave aloe striatula seed pods for a year this is what you end up with.

 I am going to have to try this.

A major case of plant and gaden envy

One of the main reasons for the weekend in Norwich was to visit Keith and Melissa's garden.  I have posted about it a few times before, mainly here and here. Melissa makes my obsession look like a passing interest, there are succulents EVERYWHERE. Mind you it helps when you have so much space to plant them out not to mention one or two greenhouses.

This is not exactly the best time to visit her garden, the covers have only just come off, and the jungle and fern areas have yet to fill out.  Given the mild winter and early spring it was however looking the best I have seen it on these early tips.

So starting in the cactus house. Lots of very happy plants in here.  It has filled out a bit since the last visit, but there is still space for a few more plants.

This aeonium looks really strange, it seems to be forming new heads, but the rosettes are not opening. I don't think it is a weird flower. 

I have a massive soft spot on this form of agave titonata.  It has a great colour and lots of good teeth and who wouldn't want one that size! Sadly they are not at all hardy and space limits what I can bring inside.

This variegated aloe arborescens is one of the plants that got me totally hooked.  Years ago now, she posted a picture of it and it was love at first sight.   It should have formed an amazing clump by the end of the summer. The cacti on the right  reminds me of "cousin it" from the adams family.

She has recently started planting up unusual pots to enter into her local cactus and succulent society meetings. Apparently no one else does, so she always wins.  This tea cup is one of her larger ones. Her latest was an tiny snail shell.

The cactus house is on the edge of sunken garden.  Both were finished last summer and the mild winter was a welcome break to allow the plants more chance to settle.

The dalmatian puppies are all grown up, but still have their puppy energy. Apparently they are not ones for sticking to the paths and have formed their own tracks through the undergrowth.  Thankfully the sunken garden is mainly dog proof. There are so many lovely plants there including this aloe polyphylla.  It is strange that some spiral young and others take a lot longer (mine seem to be taking their time as well).

The cycad corner still looks great. I can't wait to get my cycads in the ground like this, almost more than anything they add an exotic look.

One of her larger agave parrasana which is almost perfect. It is a good combination with the ice plant and looks really blue against the bright green.

Typically Melissa got there first on the pines, although we have spoken about them before, so maybe I can claim she stole my idea. This dwarf blue one looks great, there are a few around the garden, explaining why Urban Jungle didn't have any when I was looking for them.

The other greenhouses are still in winter mode, so it would be unfair to post any photos in there, instead moving onto the main succulent plantings. Melissa has been trying to convert me to having some cacti outside and this one shows why. It is amazing what you can grow with a simple rain cover for protection.

At this time of year there is a lot of colour, from the alpines.

I am so jealous of these mounds, there are a few scattered around which are all doing well. I keep killing mine, maybe they don't cope with my flood or drought type watering.

Onto the bank and some of the agaves are a really decent size now.  Last summer and the mild winter means there are all in good shape. I am certain it makes a massive difference to hardiness if plants have a good summer to put on some growth and then a gradual led into the cold giving them a chance to shut down.

One of her groups of agave montana, I thought mine looked good, these are even better. I am guessing they must be some of the biggest in the UK.

Back towards the sunken garden on the middle path and there are more pines.  Are you seeing how well they work yet?

If you don't like the blue creeping forms, you can go for one of the cone or bush shapes.

Finally my favourite yucca this year. It is strange I usually just walk past this one, but this year have added it to my list of plants to find.

The middle path takes you via the green roof which was already looking good.  The alpines are just getting going here.

It is always worth the drive to visit the garden and Melissa and Keith are great hosts.  My only complaint is the plant and general garden envy I always leave with.

To finish a couple more pictures of the dogs, I know there are a few dog lovers who look in.

Spot the dalmatian

Ok so that one was a bit easy.

I have posted about Keith and Mel's garden before , usually I end up visiting at the end of spring, before the covers are off.  Like this post.

Mel is the remaining bad influence in my plant buying, so visits usually revolve around some shopping trip.  If it's not plants it's dalmations and they have just picked up two new puppies.  Both are deaf, which makes life interesting when they are charging around and you can not shout at them to stop.

I am sure the dogs will make an appearance in the post, so keep your eyes open.

So the sunken garden is finished and even after only a couple of months looks fantastic.

You can literally walk around and want to take a photo of every plant, which of I did, but a few highlights.

Agave ovatifolia, with dalmatian

aloe polyphylla & agave parryi

The cycad corner

Keith does most of the hard landscaping, and Mel then decorates and plants it.  Each section has a different panel.

 There are lots of fun things hidden in the walls when you look closely

 

This is the view from their kitchen door

Mel tends to worry about me left alone in the green houses, so she sets guards to protect them.

 

The boards are to stop the puppies going inside, as they started to show too much interested in some of the plants.

Both the tall cacti were rescued, but seem very happy now.

 I love the low coloured wall.  The light doesn't tend to be bright enough for much colour like this, but it really works here.  If nothing else I will be steeling the idea a similar type of wall in the new garden.  

Anyone who tries growing succulents outside in the UK will loose plants every now and then, but it's always worth keeping solid sections of trunk as you never know what will happen.

Outside again and a tour of the different parts to the garden. The right hand side is a bamboo forest, not a bad place to sit.

This swimming pond was their project a few years back. The hut the other side is made out of a set of electricity poles Keith found got from recycling site.

The fireplace is another of Mels creations.  If you get bored of sitting by the pond, you can move up to the summer house, just visible on the left hand side of this picture.

Continuing around you get to the succulent bank.

Sadly they lost a couple of large yuccas over the last bad winters, the problems of trying to really push what you can grow. It is slowly filling out again and there is always something ready to fill an empty spot.

The bank curves around to run down the side of the house to the newer bits.  It has been so tough weather wise, there are several casualties.

Did you spot the dalmatians?

I mentioned that everywhere you look there are fun bits, a fish on a electricity pole. I love that they have left the warning sign on the pole.

Some of the agaves are getting big now, I've not seen an agave mitis this large in the UK.

No agave likes being in the ground as much as agave montana.  There are quite a few dotted around.

Then into the new bit, which was only finished last year.

Every time I see an agave potatorum it strikes me how good a plant they really are.  Another of the overlooked plants I think.  They are marginal in the UK, getting through in the warmer parts, but do best with rain covers.

This echeveria has formed nice clumps. The colour contrasts really well with the other plants in the bed.

On the way up to the greenhouses the green roof, well sort of green roof, is doing well.

It is funny seeing it at the end of summer, the plants shining are different from those in spring when it was the alpines strutting their stuff.

Finally looking back down the garden.

For the first time, I didn't really need to go in the greenhouses as everything had been moved into the garden. Being the end of summer also meant the more jungle sections of the garden were worth photos.  Going down the other side of the house are two walled gardens. Looking into the first one.

With another bench to relax on.

Then the jungle garden.  it is so lush, the photo doesn't do it justice. There is a jungle hut in there, but you will do well to spot it.

As you can tell, they garden takes a huge amount of work, and everyone helps out.

Don't be fooled though, The second you take your eyes off them, they are off looking for trouble again.

During all the times I have visited I have never seen Keith relaxing during the day.  There is always a new project, so I will end with the rarest photo of all.

I asked if the garden was now finished, and although there may be a short rest, I think Keith has his eye on a fernery. Well I guess not everything can be spiky.