Echium pininiana 'Snow Tower'
15th July 2012
A couple of years ago there was a magnificent display of Echium pininiana in a garden just up the road from me.
I congratulated the owner with a big smile. I was monsterously envious. I keep getting the timing wrong
and plant them out just before we get a string of cold winters.
I am going through an Echium free period, so when I saw a seedling of 'Snow Tower' for sale I decided to have another go.
There is a strange logic at work. The white flowered one is not as spectacular as the blue, so when it dies
(as it inevitably will) I won't mind as much. I nursed it through the winter in the conservatory and I had a clever plan to plant
it in the greenhouse with the Agave and then raise a thousand seedlings to plant around the garden. In the event, my history with
'clever plans' is about the same as my history with Echium. In the spring I needed to replace some plastic sheets in the greenhouse
roof so while that was going on I stood the Echium in a bucket outside to get some air and toughen up.
A month, some forgetfulness and several heavy storms later I removed the sodden corpe from a couple of gallons of water
and sighed ruefully.
I would like to say that I live and learn. The evidence is limited.