ABC Wednesday 4/VPGGB: J is For...

...Jenny

During March, my local garden centre issues a half price plant voucher for any plant in stock - yes any plant - including enormous cloud-pruned creations at over £1,500. Of course I can't resist an opportunity to grab a bargain: a couple of years ago I invested in a golden fastigate Yew (still to be planted), last year it was a Clematis x aromatica (also still to be planted) and last week saw me bring the lovely Jenny home (guess what - she's not planted - yet) to come and live on next door's garage wall. It'll be a lovely warm south-westerly facing spot for this self-fertile kiwi fruit to clamber up the trellis next to Clematis 'Freckles'. Emma Cooper lost her heart to Jenny last year and I have to confess her smitten posts influenced greatly my final choice of plant this time round. At £7 instead of the usual £14, she's got to be worth a try :)

For other Juicy posts today, head on over to ABC Wednesday.

Comments

  1. EG CameraGirl24 March 2009 at 20:51

    I do hope Jenny and her not-yet-planted siblings find their permanent homes soon. However they must know you love them if they keep going in their pots. ;-)

    I would be afraid to over-winter plants in pots in my climate. You must live in a much fairer clime.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Anonymous24 March 2009 at 21:30

    I hope Jenny does really well for you!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Anna24 March 2009 at 21:30

    I thought for a minute that Jenny was going to be the narcissus of that name, then took a close look at your photo :) I look forward to hearing about her progress. I fancy having a go at growing a kiwi.

    ReplyDelete
  4. CanadianGardenJoy24 March 2009 at 21:57

    VP .. if I can grow a self fertile kiwi YOU can TOO girl !! .. Welcome to the club : ) .. glad you got a giggle over my post .. I laughed all the way through it myself !

    ReplyDelete
  5. Anonymous24 March 2009 at 22:35

    Will you get kiwi fruit from it here in the UK? Do you know, it never occurred to me that we could grown them on a south facing wall in the UK, I suspect it might find Wales a bit wet ... ummm interesting.
    K

    ReplyDelete
  6. Aunt Debbi/kurts mom25 March 2009 at 01:41

    Great, now I want a kiwi. I am going to end up with a container orchard on the deck.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Tumblewords:25 March 2009 at 04:43

    Fascinating - I can't imagine growing a kiwi... A clematis, I had one time... The growing season here is almost too short for grass. Lovely post!!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Hermes25 March 2009 at 06:20

    The garden centre in Devizes did this a few years ago but didn't like me choosing their best bay tree. Bur I was pleased and it stands proudly by the front door (but needs a good prune this year).

    ReplyDelete
  9. Unknown25 March 2009 at 08:27

    Hey good luck with the kiwi! We grew one a while back not knowing what it was as it was given to my father in a job lots of plants. Its a very vigorous climber, but a good grower!

    Keep us updated!

    Ry

    ReplyDelete
  10. TYRA Hallsénius Lindhe25 March 2009 at 08:38

    Please VP you got to plant the poor souls, I can hear them 'please VP plant me, I need grow free'
    Good luck with Jenny and please keep us updated.

    xoxo Tyra

    ReplyDelete
  11. Anonymous25 March 2009 at 10:03

    I wonder how vigorous it will be in this country?
    What a nice garden centre you have - none of ours give cut price vouchers. Just as well I suppose as it would be too tempting.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Helen/patientgardener25 March 2009 at 12:13

    I did laugh at your list of non-planted plants! I feel better now about my collection which is only a year old!

    ReplyDelete
  13. annalarssonphotography25 March 2009 at 12:23

    Good luck with Jenny!

    My J-post is up too!
    Have a great ABC :)

    ReplyDelete
  14. Nutty Gnome25 March 2009 at 12:49

    Wow - a kiwi in the UK - not sure how well one would do on our fairly windswept Derbyshire hilltop though, even on a south facing wall! Good luck.

    Oh, and thanks for making me feel better about my year old unplanted stuff!

    ReplyDelete
  15. Sherrie25 March 2009 at 13:05

    Hi!
    Jenny sounds lovely! And bears fruit also! Hope she gets a new home soon! Have a great day!!

    Sherrie

    ReplyDelete
  16. Anonymous25 March 2009 at 13:31

    I thought Jenny would be something with a beautiful flower, but instead she turns out to be a fruiting vine! How lovely, and unexpected!

    I hope she fruits well for you. :)

    ReplyDelete
  17. Rose25 March 2009 at 14:26

    An ingenious idea for J, VP. I'm curious, like Karen, whether you will get any fruit from this. They're lovely plants; you'll enjoy this one whether it bears fruit or not.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Anonymous25 March 2009 at 19:03

    Hi VP. I had a kiwi some years back - they're lovely, aren't they - but it just died one winter, not sure why. Best one I know grows in the tea garden at the John Lewis gardens at Longstock - their water gardens are worth a visit when they ope,, and the money goes to charity - very nice people.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Elizabeth Musgrave25 March 2009 at 19:29

    Yeah! Someone else with non-planted (but still loved and cared for) plants!

    ReplyDelete
  20. Anonymous25 March 2009 at 20:07

    Hi VP
    I've got a 'Jenny' planted against a fence. Sadly she was a disapointment last year (although her hairy red stems and leaves were attractive), so fingers crossed she fruits her socks off this year. I'm also giving Actinidia arguta a go this year - the fruit are only about the size of a grape, but the bods at DT Brown (where I got it from) reckon it has the potential to be used for commercial crops in the UK.

    ReplyDelete
  21. Dragonstar25 March 2009 at 20:19

    I do like kiwis. I don't see any chance of growing them here.

    ReplyDelete
  22. Anonymous25 March 2009 at 20:42

    Don't know whether this is going to work as no word verification is showing. Odd, I thought.

    I went into minor panic for a moment until I realised that you had put self fertile! Many moons ago when kiwis were very new in the UK and were not for outdoor use, I had a pair/couple in my conservatory. Sadly they didn't thrive. Possibly they didn't get the TLC they deserved - I did have 2 teenagers, a lively 8 year old, an English Setter and 2 cats as well as PD at the time, so .......

    Anyway, good luck with your Jenny. I'm sure she will have all the encouragement she needs. I know you will inform us of her progress. x

    ReplyDelete
  23. Anonymous25 March 2009 at 20:44

    Dur - didn't read that you'd taken WV off! Senior moment!

    ReplyDelete
  24. Anonymous26 March 2009 at 05:29

    Seems like that was a real steal. But we have so many things that aren't planted-- don't we? I wonder if I'll get all my seedlings in the ground? Oh , well---there is always next year. Who can pass up a good bargain.

    ReplyDelete
  25. VP26 March 2009 at 21:06

    Hi everyone - thansk for your comments and I'm heading over for a visit :)

    A number of you have been surprised that we can grow Kiwis in the UK. I think most of them are on the tender side (so the south west wall will help) and I'm fully expecting Jenny not to be very productive in the kind of summer like we had last year. Summers like 2006 I'm hoping will be a totally different proposition.

    Martyn - I'm tempted to give A. arguta a go after your comment, especially as our allotment soc gets us a discount.

    And those of you who are amused at my lack of planted plants - just you wait until Friday's post ;)

    ReplyDelete
  26. pictureeachday28 March 2009 at 07:06

    I never would have have guessed that a kiwi would grow in England. I guess I always assumed they needed a tropical climate. How exciting, and such a deal!

    ReplyDelete
  27. VP30 March 2009 at 08:39

    Pictureeach day - welcome! I thought they couldn't grow here either. Though I think they're still rather tender for this climate.

    ReplyDelete

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