Outdoor begonia trial

I’m trialling two outdoor begonias from the Dutch company, Beekenkamp – Waterfall and Beauvilia, which is new this year. The good-sized plugs arrived like this in the post today, with care instructions,  and looked reasonably happy (below) after their journey.

The growers promise guaranteed  ‘exuberant’ flowering in all kinds of weather conditions well into late autumn, so it will be interesting to see how they fare in a London garden. Having potted the plugs up, I’m playing safe and will keep them indoors on the kitchen bench for a few days until the current cold snap ends. Then it’s out on to the terrace, and I’ll be reporting back on their progress.

The Beekenkamp begonia collection is available on the internet from www.bloomingrand.com and in the UK from Squires, Frosts and Alton Garden Centres and the RHS Plant Centres at Wisley and Harlow Carr.