Hello my dear gardening friends,

What weird weather we are enduring! We started out with rain, then for three days it was so hot that I became ill at work, and then the cold wet weather returned, with hail. Even a funnel cloud was seen in Peterborough last Sunday. Despite all these setbacks the flowers seem to be growing and especially the weeds - my roses are beautiful and the clematis even with their very slow starts are finally flowering.

“The sowing of a seed seems a very simple matter, but I always feel as if it were a sacred thing among the mysteries of God. Standing by that space of blank and motionless ground I think of all it holds for me of beauty and delight, and I am filled with joy at the thought that I may be the magician to whom power is given to summon so sweet a pageant from the silent and passive soil." - Celia Thaxter

Jack was amazed and delighted when he planted little tiny seeds and plants actually grew, not only that, but he was able to harvest and eat the peas beans, carrots etc. Just hang in there and the weather will get better and we will have our harvests - if not this year, remember the Gardeners Creed: "Next year, it will be bigger, sweeter, more wonderful, etc. Next year. "

We think so much of the plants that bloom in the daytime that we forget that there is a whole other area of gardening that some of us are not really aware of, Night Gardening. I have recently re-read that delightful little book called just that, It is the story of a stroke victim who regains her strength and vitality, and even a little romance, through gardening because the gardening is a secret from her family - she gardens at night. A delightful novel for these wet days when we are not in our own gardens - do look for it!

It is well worth braving the mosquitoes to check out your own “night garden”: the brilliant colours of daytime vanish after dark, and the white ones take centre stage. I have spent hours trying to get people to buy the white flowers, pointing out to you all that if you look down the tables full of flowering plants, it is the white ones that stand out - the reds just seem to melt away.

Back to your night gardens, with the full moon to whom we are starting to say goodbye for another month, the whites take on a glow of their own. The sights, and particularly the sounds, are different at night. I hear the steady slap of water, not the same as the "waves" created by the boats of daytime, but natural undulation, maybe the slap of the beaver's tail, and certainly the loons calling to each other. I haven't heard my bull frog this year, and I wonder if he ever perfected his croak? After trying so hard all last summer, he was like a teenager's "breaking voice". Rites of Passage even for a frog?

After dark the flowers lose their lustre and my nose takes over: it is the night blooming blossoms that one smells. The night flowers are large and their fragrances are strange and very strong (replacing the day colours), attracting night flying insects and, of course, our friends the bats. Seemingly, creatures of the night (as Dracula called them) prefer oversized and over fragrant blossoms; humans might find all this more than a little overwhelming. I am an admitted a fan of Dracula: no garlic or crosses in my house!!!

I think that the best-known night bloomer is the night blooming cereus. People plan parties around this plant to see it bloom: once a year, and then for only one night. They unfurl after dark and fade by daylight. Around 10:00 pm they begin to very slowly unfold their petals. An hour later, if you are lucky, many foot-wide blossoms are dangling in the air. Each blossom is a frilly mass of creamy white inner petals and powdery yellow stamens. Every flower sends out a sweet but cloying aroma to attract its specialised pollinators.

It takes many years for a hylocereus (an orchid cactus) to reach blooming size. When it does bloom it is amazing. It is should be treated like any other cactus; it tolerates a dry home environment, but must have lots of bright light. The plant with its thick, three ridged stems is a little large for the average home; I have seen them growing in greenhouses in San Francisco and outside in Mexico. Epiphyllum oxpetalum (common name?) puts out similar flowers, sharing the same name of night blooming cereus. The plant itself, however, is somewhat smaller, its broad flat stems are a little more suitable to our homes. It does put on a dramatic show. Cool temperatures trigger tiny buds, on this succulent, growing in the terminal notches of its leaves. The buds grow throughout the summer, but suddenly stop when they are all the same size. Then, when the temperatures start to drop in the Fall, all the buds start to swell at the same time and a month later, when matured sufficiently, they all open together. It is well worth the wait to see the dozens of highly fragrant flowers. Epiphyllum - - means upon a leaf – the flower of this plant grow on the leaf-like stem ( there are no leaves) looking something similar to a Christmas cactus but VERY large oxpetalum – is the kind that it is – denoting colour, size etc. not important to use this portion of the name.

An equally famous bloomer is the popular "Lady-of-the Night". This orchid has a profusion of white, spider-like blossoms and an insipid scent. Brassaavola nodosa remains open both day and night giving us a chance to enjoy its beauty. It is only scented after dark and although it has beautiful three inch wide blossoms, its smell is not that inviting - a sort of tawdry "come hither" quality.

Brassaaavola nodosa is one of the easier plants to grow in a notoriously difficult family, not only is its compact habit conveniently "apartment sized", but this orchid actually thrives in the home environment. The Lady of the Night needs at least 5 hours of bright natural light, or 14 hours of fluorescent light every day. If you wire its small pseudobulbs to a bark slab, water thoroughly twice a week, allowing the bark to dry out completely between waterings. With correct care your brassavola will bloom in the fall. After blooming, rest the orchid for a couple of weeks - do not water during this period.

Most gardeners do not realise that Allamanda cathartica "Williamsii" is fragrant too. The allamanda is a rambunctious vine: it climbs very quickly if trained onto a large trellis. Its four to five inch bright yellow, trumpet shaped flowers appear in masses throughout the year. By day the petals bend back; at night they lie flat and delicate with a delightful fragrance.

Equally famous, perhaps even more so is the Angels Trumpet. These beautiful plants are in the Brugmansia genus (family), also known as Datura. With oversized dangling trumpets, they come in several pastel shades. I love my white edged with pink one. It looks ghostly at night; a few stray blooms grow all the time in the summer, but on alternate full moons, Brugmansia suaveolens produces literally hundreds of blooms from a small tree. Each flower glows and illuminated by the light of the moon they are spectacular. During the day the flowers are limp, but once it gets dark, they swell up and give off a musky honey scent that fills the night air.

Every part of this plant is poisonous. In small doses it was once used as an anaesthetic during minor surgery. If you eat it in large quantities you can fall into a deadly stupor. Primitive tribes often employed members of this plant in their rituals. South American Indians gave it to their youths during initiation ceremonies. The drug induced comas in the young men during which time they were expected to forget their boyhood and be open to and receive their forefathers’ teachings. In Columbia, a drink of datura was given to the wives and slaves of a dead man before they were buried alive in their master's tomb. In South America, people still believe that death will haunt anyone who sleeps under a brugmansia tree!!

Brugmansia can grow very large, but they bloom easily and you can prune them to fit into any home. I bring mine inside in their pots for the winter. They need sun to bloom; mine are outside right now (somewhat waterlogged at present). Instead of constantly repotting, just fertilise generously and keep it potbound. You can just cut off any roots that appear below the pot; keep the top trimmed at the same time.

When a plant is truly pot-bound the roots will come through the bottom of the pot – usually it is at this stage that it is re-potted into a one size larger container

Another lovely plant is the night blooming Jasmine Cestrum nocturnum. It has a delightfully sugar-sweet smell, though it can be heady and a little 'too much" in large doses, or in a small room. The flowers are somewhat insignificant, especially compared to the other night bloomers I have been telling you about. It is not in fact related to the real Jasmine, it only smells the same. Its tiny sweet smelling flowers look like little oboes.

Cestrum nocturnum is a large bush that must be kept in check; it can be quite a bully and takeover a large space. It blossoms in the summer, so it is safe to prune heavily in the winter and then let the tips shoot out in June. Again, you need full sun to make it grow and produce its pretty blossoms. This is a bushy shrub (tree in it natural environment) of the Nightshade family – with slender branches and creamy white flowers, it is very fragrant at night.

Nocturnal aromas are only one of the small pleasures for gardeners who spend time with their plants after dark. At night, Nature puts on many shows from the Northern Lights to Lunar Moths and the heady smells of the flowers. Do stay outside, pop on a sweater and go for walk. Look at the beautiful night skies: you will soon be able to enjoy the showers of falling stars - think of all the wishes you will be able to make.

I will deal with herb vinegars next time and even chat a little about your tools.

Hats, even if they are rain hats, garden gloves, sunscreen, bug repellent, and a big hug to someone that you haven't hugged in a long time.

Lovingly, Beryl