I don’t know if this winter will be as severe as the last one but I’m not taking any chances. I have two cold frames (only one has a lid) and they are both full up.
The open one has all the leftover hyssop plants and echinacae that I dont’ want to risk planting out for the winter. Neither likes wet feet and our garden can get very wet in winter. They are all perfectly hardy but the root systems are not bursting out of the pot so they will be cosseted over the winter and hopefully get off to a flying start in the spring.
The covered cold frame is housing all the tanecetum niveum Jackpot plants that I grew from seed. Also in there are some cuttings of rue Jackman’s Blue, which will form a partial low hedge around the yellow border in the front garden. Also destined for the yellow border after their winter in the cold frame are some cuttings of penstemon Russian River. Yes, I know they’re purple, but purple is the opposite of yellow which will give good contrast and make the yellow look even more yellowy.
I have sown some left over sweet pea Spencer variety in toilet roll innards packed into a flowerpot. The seeds are a few years old, but we’ll see what happens. I cut off a branch of euonymous fortuniei Emerald ‘n’ Gold that had reverted back to green, trimmed it to a cutting and potted it up. There are plenty of shady spots in the garden so if it does get away it will certainly find a home.
Last, there are two teapots of mint (one black peppermint and one ginger). These spent the summer on the garden table and were nipped and nibbled. Naturally, mint isn’t particularly happy in teapots and the plants have died off much quicker than all the other plants whether they are in the ground or bigger pots. Not to worry. If they decide to sprout up again in the warmth of the frame, all well and good. If not, they’ll be released from their confines in the spring in their new homes.
Now that all these plants have been tucked away off the nursery area floor, this means that the remaining plants are all wild strawberries (Mignonette). Saves on labelling.
Tags: cold frame, echinacea, euonymous, ginger mint, hyssop, mint, penstemon, peppermint, sweet pea, tanacetum niveum Jackpot
