All the primulas both inside the alpine house and those outside are also enjoying the absence of sunshine and are growing like cabbages. What effect this will have on next years flowering remains to be seen. I am giving them a regular dose of dilute potash in an effort to try and harden the foliage and maybe set some flower buds for next year. The fuchsia 'Swingtime' plants, rooted earlier from the tip cuttings taken from the parent plant, have now been planted in a hanging basket. This will be kept in a shaded part of the garden to grow on and provide some colour in the autumn when some of the other baskets get tired.
Fuchsias just love the cool damp weather, and some of the cuttings are already sporting flower buds.
I find that fuchsias perform best in late summer and early autumn when the nights are cooler, and don't mind a light frost at this time. Some years they flower until the middle of December if the weather is not severe. The wooden trough under the porch to the left of the front door has been planted with variegated pelargoniums including the lemon scented variety Crispum Variegatum. The description on the label says it is supposed to grow to about three feet, and I intend to leave it there all winter where it should survive with the shelter of the wall. This variety produces a nice lemon scent when the leaves are touched, and hopefully will have the desired effect by the door in the wintertime.