#crambe maritima

[dat-aster]

The sea kale is blooming this year - Crambe maritima

[cactguy]

The Gardens on Spring Creek: killer landscape plants

Before we get to the cacti and succulents, I thought I’d highlight my favorite landscape plants - many of which may do well for us in Dallas (we’ll be trialing some of them!)

Geum x Scarlet Tempest - Hybrid geum

Stachys lavandulifolia - Pink cotton lamb’s ear

Geum triflorum - Prairie smoke

Crambe maritima - Sea kale

Lysimachia atropurpurea ‘Beaujolais' - Burgundy gooseneck loosestrife

[huariqueje]

Sea Kale  (  Crambe maritima  )   -    John Hedaeus , 1941,

Swedish, 1872-1967

Watercolour,  25 x 35 cm.

[kevinscottgardens]

4 through 17 May 2019

We’re busy planting in the garden and things are really starting to take off. Next week is the Chelsea Flower Show and it traditionally is a very busy week. Thankfully warm and sunny weather is forecast; however, that means irrigation has commenced as well.

I found one of my favourites in flower in the Mediterranean area of the garden, Gladiolus communis subsp. byzantinus.

Charlotte completed her traineeship and is now at Inner Temple for the summer. Brady, from North Carolina, and Naria, from northern Spain, are both fantastic interns. I love this time of year when we have international interns; they keep the garden team exciting.

I worked last weekend. Saturday, a local Japanese group hired the garden and created a most inviting and elegant picnic on the main lawn. They invited me to taste some of the food on offer; it was delicious!

Book club met last week to discuss, 'Cherry' Ingram: The Englishman Who Saved Japan’s Blossoms; it was on the floating garden, near Tower Bridge. It was wonderful to be floating on the river for the evening. The gardens are amazing and the view of the skyline is quite special. Our next book is A Buzz in the Meadow.

I was at Chester Zoo for the annual Plant Network records meeting this past Wednesday. It was nice to see some people I met at Kew and it proved an inspirational day.

Plant ident this week (the first in a while):

Apiaceae Carum carvi

Apiaceae Melanoselinum decipiens

Brassicaceae Lunaria rediviva

Caryophyllaceae Silene fimbriata

Iridaceae Gladiolus communis subsp. byzantinus

Linaceae Linum narbonense

Paeoniaceae Paeonia officinalis

Ranunculaceae Adonis annua

Ranunculaceae Ranunculus acris 'Stevenii'

Rosaceae Osteomeles schweriniae var. schweriniae

This was a first walking around London... a postbox in a tree.

This weekend I decided would be my last working for Margaret, here in Richmond. It was time to pass the baton to the next person, who is studying at Kew.

Plant of the week 10 May

Brassicaceae Crambe maritima L.

common name(s) - sea kale, sea cabbage, sea colewort, seakale, sea cole, crambe synonym(s) - Cakile pontica Prokudin; Cochlearia maritima (L.) Crantz; Crambe gigantea Kit. ex Janka [Invalid]; C. pontica Steven ex Rupr. [Invalid]; C. suecia Mill.; C. suecica see Mueller, Johann Sebastian; Crucifera maritima (L.) E.H.L.Krause conservation rating - Least Concern native to - N Africa, SW Asia, Europe location - dicotyledon order beds, accession _____ leaves - large, lobed, wavy-edged blue-green flowers - dense racemes of small white flowers in late spring habit - robust herbaceous, clump-forming perennial to 750mm tall and 600mm wide habitat - grows wild along the coasts of Europe, from the North Atlantic to the Black Sea pests - slugs, caterpillars disease - club root hardiness - to <-20ºC (H7) soil - moist and well-drained sun - full sun to part shade, sheltered propagation - seed sown in pots in a cold frame in spring or autumn, by division in early spring, or take root cuttings in winter pruning - cut down to ground in late autumn nomenclature - Brassicaceae, brassica - Pliny’s name for various cabbage-like plants; Crambe - ancient Greek name κραμβη for a cabbage-like plant; maritima - growing by the sea, maritime, of the sea NB - shoots are served like asparagus: steamed, with either a béchamel sauce or melted butter, salt and pepper; AGM

References, bibliography:

Gledhill, David, (2008) “The Names of Plants”, fourth edition; Cambridge University Press; ISBN: 978-0-52168-553-5

ÍIUCN [online] https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/176431/7240134 [19 May 19]

Plant List, The [online] http://www.theplantlist.org/tpl1.1/record/kew-2741304 [19 May 19]

Royal Horticultural Society [online] https://www.rhs.org.uk/Plants/4710/Crambe-maritima/Details [19 May 19]

Wikipedia [online] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crambe_maritima [19 May 19]

Plant of the week 17 May

Calceolariaceae Jovellana violacea (Cav.) G. Don

common name(s) - violet slipper flower, violet jovellana synonym(s) - Boea violacea (Cav.) Pers.; Calceolaria violacea Cav.; Fagelia violacea (Cav.) Kuntze conservation rating - none native to - Chile (and possibly New Zealand) location - future medicine bed, accession _____ leaves - ovate, toothed or lobed, carried on dark red stems; minty-spicy aroma when rubbed flowers - sprays of nodding, bell-shaped flowers appear in summer, pale purple with a yellow throat marked with small, dark purple spots habit - semi-evergreen, upright, suckering, sub-shrub, to 1m tall and 1m wide habitat - cooler climates of southern Chile, stream banks and forest margins pests - generally pest-free disease - generally disease-free hardiness - to -5ºC (H3) soil - well-drained; not clay sun - full sun, sheltered propagation - semi-ripe heel cuttings of side shoots in late summer pruning - mid to late spring; damaged, dead, diseased or to shape nomenclature - Calceolariaceae, calceolaria - slipper-like, calceolus; Jovellana - for Don Caspari Melchior de Jovenllanos (Jove Llanos) (1744-1811), Spanish statesman and patron of botany, student of Peruvian plant life; violacea - violet-coloured, violaceus NB - a common error in New Zealand to refer to J. punctata as J. violacea; true J. violacea has a larger leaf, though of similar form, a smaller flower – though also similar – and a deeper colour

References, bibliography:

Gledhill, David, (2008) “The Names of Plants”, fourth edition; Cambridge University Press; ISBN: 978-0-52168-553-5

ÍIUCN [online] http://www.iucnredlist.org/search [19 May 19]

Jury Garden, The [online] https://jury.co.nz/tag/jovellana-violacea/ [19 May 19]

Plant List, The [online] http://www.theplantlist.org/tpl1.1/record/tro-29203749 [19 May 19]

Royal Horticultural Society [online] https://www.rhs.org.uk/Plants/9473/Jovellana-violacea/Details [19 May 19]

[wildlifeecogardens-blog]

Plant of the Week ~ Crambe maritima (Sea Kale)

Plant of the Week ~ Crambe maritima (Sea Kale)

Botanical art of Crambe maritima

It’s time for our plant of the week and this time we are taking a look at Crambe maritima (sea kale). This member of the Brassica family (Brassicaceae) is a perennial that can grow to 0.6 metres in height and spread. Though in the wild it grows in coastal habitats, it does not require these conditions in order to thrive.

Cultivation & Care

Crambe maritimain full…

View On WordPress

[karlsauraus]

The seakale seed comes with it’s own little corky shell. Pretty excited for this maritime gem. 

[facetnation]

Sea Kale,  Crambe maritima, in bloom, Dungeness, England

[twinleeks-blog]

Sea kale (Crambe maritima)

Sea Kale just sprouting

Sea Kale has large fleshy leaves and lots of small white flowers. It produces pods with seed. The plant is edible as a blanched vegetable. It became popular in the early 18th Century as a garden vegetable. The shoots are served like asparagus: steamed, with either a bechamel sauce or melted butter, salt and pepper. It can get bruised or damaged easily and should be eaten very soon after cutting. Blanching can be achieved by covering it with opaque material, bucket or using a deep, loose and dry mulch to keep stems tender and pale.

N.B. Sea Kale produces hundreds of seed and self seeds naturally and prolifically.

Sea Kale sprouting from root

Sea Kale at Easter