Dagy 5 - Friday June 6th

Raing, rain and still more rain. Lats years trip was entirely on the sunny side, During one whole week we did not see one single drop of rain which mys be quite unique in southern England I guess.

Nature seeks equilibrium, it is said, and comparing this weeks weather with last years makes me believe it's true. We have had rain almost every day, and increasing day by day until now. Not that we were not prepared, with ubrellas and raincoats, but a litte less rain would have been appreciated.

<- The Exotic Garden

But isn't that Hemingway? That was my first thought when Will Giles greeted us at the entrance of his Exotic Garden in the center of Norwich. Will Giles major challenge is to bring tropical plants to thrive (or at least survive) in England's grim (well) climate.

We were offered warming tea as we stray around in the lush garden with its exotic plants, cats and Buddha statues. A great contrast to the gardens and office buildings in the neighborhood.
 

PW Plants / Hardy Bamboo ->

We travelled on in the rain towards our next stop PW Plants, specializing in bamboo. Paul Whittaker greeted us welcome and gave us a quick course in bamboo knowledge before we entered  the jungle.

We learned that no one knows how long time it is between flowering (it has only happened once so far), and that not all bamboo varieties die after having flowered (there are two main types and those who mainly spread by rhizomes does not die), and how to identify Phyllostachys from other varieties (depressions on alternating sides of the culm between the nodes).

This, and much more, can be read in the book "Hardy Bamboos - Taming the Dragon" by Paul Whittaker. Many of us took the opportunity to buy the book on site an get it signed by the author.

Trick question: How old is the bamboo Paul is holding in his hand? It is 34 feet (10.3 m) high and has grown here in his garden in England.

<- RHS Garden Hyde Hall

Designer: Dick & Helen Robinson, RHS
Style: 20th- and 21st-century informal
Size: 11 ha

Hyde Hall in Essex lies on a windy and muddy hill in one of the driest parts of  England. This place gets just as much, or little, rain as Jerusalem every year! To create a lush garden here certainly seems lika a challenge.

Dick och Helen Robinson moved here
in the fifties and unknowingly started to build their garden despite the inhospitable conditions. Thanks to their  persistence and with some help from people around them they succeded.

In 1992 the garden was handed over to The Royal Horticultural Society by the Robinsons. RHS now owns and manages the garden. One of the most recent additions is the Dry Garden which was built in 2001 and relies entirely on natural rainfall, without irrigation.
 

Paul Whittaker, Hardy Bamboo                              

I ditn't see any Pandas. Was it the weather...