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19.07.2024 - 08:20 / houseandgarden.co.uk / Hazel Sillver
Bougainvilleas
A familiar sight in the Mediterranean, where it clads villas in falls of vivid cerise purple and fuchsia pink, bougainvillea is pure joy. In the UK, it can be grown on a smaller scale under cover and wheeled out to grace the terrace during the warm summer months.
In its native South America, this liana (climbing shrub) pulls itself up trees and other structures using the thorns on its stems as crampons. The colourful papery 'flowers' it is covered in during summer are in fact bracts; the true tiny flowers are nestled amongst the bracts and are often visible as white dots. At their best, bougainvilleas bulge in masses of these weird and wonderful confetti bracts, like plants made of tissue paper.
In warm climes, the more vigorous vines are capable of scaling 10 metres or more and remain evergreen. Whereas, here in the UK, they won't be as rampant and usually lose some or all of their leaves in winter.
There are 17 species, with the most cultivated being Bougainvillea glabra and B. spectabilis, which both hail from Brazil; the hybrid B. x buttiana is also widely grown. All three have fabulously gaudy bracts in shades of neon magenta, but the 300 or so garden varieties include white, yellow, orange, lilac, red, and two-tone forms.
The more compact cultivars can be grown as houseplants, but the bigger bougainvilleas will coat the sunny wall of a conservatory in a curtain of colour. In good conditions, they should perform throughout summer and into autumn, cheering you with paper clouds of electric hot pink.
In a greenhouse or conservatory, bougainvillea can be planted in beds, unless you want to enjoy it outside in summer, in which case a pot is better. The root run is deep, but some containment will enhance
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How to Plant and Grow Swiss Chard Beta vulgaris subsp. vulgaris, (Cicla andFlavescens Groups)
Hey GPODers! Today we’re back in the flower-filled garden of Heidi Weirether. We first saw her garden a little earlier on in the summer (you check check out that post here: Heidi’s Colorful Garden in Fairfield County) and it’s incredible to see how much has changed in a month’s time! As with much of the northeast this year, Heidi is experiencing incredible hydrangea blooms—but that is just the tip of the floral iceberg in her sensational garden:
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Vicks vaporub is a popular household name manufactured by The Procter & Gamble Company. It is quite effective in clearing out the nasal passages thanks to its camphor, menthol, and eucalyptus oil content. However, its uses are not limited to this, and there are a few Vicks VapoRub Uses in the Garden, too! Let’s have a look!
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