Hellebore Mrs Betty Ranicar – definitely not a Tasmanian devil…

Sometimes nature does all the work - this beautiful, double white hellebore was a chance find in a Tasmanian garden, albeit the garden of the noted plantswoman who has given her name to this snowy Lenten Rose. Like all hellebores, give it deep, rich soil, in semi-shade and reliable year-round moisture and enjoy... a Tasmanian…

Rhododendron nobleanum album – an early flowering beauty

Rhododendron nobleanum album - at least two specimens on Battleston Hill at RHS Wisley were in flower when I last visited a couple of weeks ago - this old variety will flower anytime between January and March and perhaps even later, after the last frosts. Mid-January, it was the first of the rhododendrons I saw…

I can resist everything but (Skimmia) Temptation

Hermaphrodite Skimmias offer, if it needs to be said, the best of both worlds - self-fertile plants with flower and fruit. Here are two - Skimmia japonica Temptation and a form of Skimmia japonica subsp. reveesiana - Chilan Choice. Admittedly the flowers are not the Main Event that they are with, say, Skimmia rubella or…