Gardener and Photographer with a love of Roses and a magpie-eye for all things Horticultural
Forthergilla Mount Airy Fothergilla gardenii - dwarf Fothergilla Fothergillas have assumed their rightful place in American gardens as magnificent shrubs that offer superb flowers and foliage, in both summer and autumn, as well as sun and shade tolerance. They do not have a bad season. The habit of dwarf fothergilla is significantly variable, from a…
Continue reading ➞ All things bright and beautiful
C. cirrhosa var. purpurascens 'Freckles' Clematis cirrhosa species is an early-flowering, evergreen climber from southern Europe and the Mediterranean region. The flowers are cream, cup-shaped, often red-flecked and up to 7cm (3in) across, appearing in winter or early spring, and followed by attractive seed heads. This attractive, vigorous cultivar was raised by Raymond Evison of Guernsey…
Continue reading ➞ Liver spots – Clematis cirrhosa ‘Freckles’
The kousa dogwood - - a most elegant dogwood, but often lost in the landscape shadow of Cornus florida. For many parts of the country however (referring to the US), C kousa is probably a better choice. In youth the habit is stiffly upright, almost vase-shaped, but with age it becomes rounded to broad-spreading, with…
Continue reading ➞ More strange fruit… Cornus kousa ‘John Slocock’
Hippeastrum Royal Red Sarah Raven, never one to shy away from strong colours, expounds on the beautiful amaryllis/hippeastrum... The Telegraph 16th November 2007 http://www.telegraph.co.uk/gardening/3345515/Amaryllis-the-power-flower.html Dazzlingly over-the-top, amaryllis are the perfect cut flower for Christmas. Sarah Raven shows how to grow and arrange them Amaryllis have replaced poinsettias as Britain's favourite Christmas plant and that's a…
Continue reading ➞ You say amaryllis, I say hippeastrum
An apple variety curiously called Winter Banana Hailing from Indiana, USA and introduced in the 1870s - an large sweet apple, with alleged banana flavour (that was distinctly missing from the example I scrumped!) A creamy yellow, pink flushed skin might contribute a little to its naming, perhaps - late ripening, a touch of frost…
Continue reading ➞ Winter Banana
We've been here before, the double borders created by Piet Oudolf at Wisley, combining perennials with grasses, wave after wave - and the equally dramatic planting around the lake, concentric arcs of repeated blocks, catching the low autumn sun. The Piet Oudolf Borders pre-date the Glasshouse and are relatively mature now, evolving along their considerable…
Continue reading ➞ Piet Oudolf & Tom Stuart-Smith at Wisley
Cordyline australis, in my garden today, flowering extravagantly - again Yucca with dramatic flower spike - Twickenham, today The long tail of Autumn and the mild weather that has continued for these past few weeks has triggered a second flowering for the Cordylines in my garden - the one closest to the house is branching…
Continue reading ➞ Prickly customers – Yucca and Cordyline
Echinacea Hot Papaya These magnificent blooms are the first ever orange-red double coneflowers - the colour stays true and doesn't fade. The fragrant flowers are borne on strong stems are excellent for cutting. Attracts butterflies in a wide variety of garden settings. Full sun, moist but very well-drained soils. Flowering June-September/October. Height and spread 80cm…
Continue reading ➞ No shrinking violet.. Echinacea Hot Papaya
More strange fruit, this time the berries of Callicarpa bodinieri var. giraldii 'Profusion' AGM This mature specimen photographed at RHS Wisley, on the lower slopes of the Rock Garden and in the woodland margin, is particularly eye-catching ~ leafless now and with a profusion of these uncommonly coloured spherical berries. This article, from Horticulture Week,…
Continue reading ➞ Beautyberry
The Teddington Gardener 