The blog of BaggieAggie, designer of bags, gadget cases and other fabulous accessories handmade in Wales. Sprinkled with recipes, gardening chat, the odd piece of short fiction, and anything else that inspires (or annoys!) me. So pull up a comfy chair and stay a while.


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Friday, 8 June 2012

A Brand New Honeysuckle for Small Gardens

A brand new honeysuckle - L. japonica 'Princess Kate'. Named after the Duchess of Cambridge.Before this wet and wild weather hit South Wales with a vengeance, I cut down a straggly and very ugly Lonicera Japonica 'Halliana'. About four years old, and against a north-west facing fence behind a Rugosa Rosa 'Hansa', this honeysuckle has never done well. The plan was to replace it with something else entirely, but then I came across a newly-introduced and very gorgeous honeysuckle - L. japonica 'Princess Kate' (pictured left, and named - you've guessed! - after the dazzling Duchess of Cambridge).  A very hardy evergreen variety with variegated leaves of an unusual shape, and pink-tinged yellow flowers, I couldn't resist! Plus, it grows to a height and spread of only 7 feet, so is perfect for smaller spaces.

OH isn't convinced it'll do any better than the deceased 'Halliana', nor is he convinced that it will be fully evergreen, but I've decided to plant it a few feet away from the old honeysuckle site in the hope that extra light and sun will do the trick.

But before I can put my gardening hat on again, I'll need to wait for the weather to calm down. I was out in torrential rain and 70mph winds earlier, picking up blown-over apple-trees in pots from the deck and anchoring them to the balustrade. I'm still drying out now! So until it improves, I'll be searching for a Clematis Montana to grow up the trees in the hedgerow at the bottom of the garden. Gardening online isn't quite as therapeutic as the real thing, but it's a close second!

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