Gardener and Photographer with a love of Roses and a magpie-eye for all things Horticultural
Hellebores running wild in the woods of Battleston Hill at RHS Wisley. I have an inkling that these are just a little wild, I have never seen any them labelled (and pretty much everything else thereabouts is name-plated). There will be more of them in due course, these are the vanguard of a great swathe…
You are met, as soon as you walk into the gardens at RHS Wisley, by the seductive scent of Sarcococca, the Winter Box, in this case with pure white threadlike flowers on arching stems, set against deep green leaves. It is a fragrance that carries on the wind, a siren-call to the few pollinators out…
Galanthus nivalis - nothing common about this common snowdrop There's snow Up North and temperatures hereabouts are heading back down to near freezing. There was an icy wind gusting around the glasshouses at Petersham this afternoon though a wintry sun made a welcome but unheated appearance between some very driven bouts of rain. To buoy…
I visited Standen at the beginning of April 2013 and took these photographs then. March, as I recall, had been a frozen tundra of a month with temperatures barely reaching about freezing day or night. The first daffodils were only just coming through, so different to the early Spring enjoyed last year. I am minded…
Continue reading ➞ Standen – A meeting with some Remarkable Espalier Apple Trees
and the Museum reflected in the lake, late afternoon sun Winter Box, Sarcococca, heavily fragrant by the Victoria Gate complex. Meanwhile, in the Davies Alpine House These Hamamelis on sale in the Garden Shop. Vesna (above and below) The sun is shining (well, it is now) and Kew Garden beckons with so much to…
Roses to the left of me, roses to the right! A fresh delivery today including many classic Old-fashioned roses, climbers and ramblers, some modern introductions too, in the classic style. Many names new to the Petersham Collection and quite a few varieties that I'm looking forward to getting familiar with. These will compliment the expanding…
A touch on the chill side this morning, with pretty much everything rimed with frost until the sun was able to warm things up just a little, though I think a repeat is due tomorrow morning. These hellebores were unfazed by the deep freeze though not everything will be as forgiving, so a roll of…
Continue reading ➞ A Touch of Frost
The Princess of Wales Conservatory, never a dull destination within the expanse of Kew Gardens, is preparing for their annual Orchid Festival - it begins on the 7th February and runs through to the 8th March. http://www.kew.org/visit-kew-gardens/whats-on/orchids From past experience, it is going to be an intensely colourful and beautiful extravaganza and with temperatures outside…
Care of apples and pears and a winter pruning guide We are looking at fruit trees - apples and pears just now - and specifically winter care, pruning and management. Young trees, old trees, productive trees and lost souls alike. We have a lot of ground to cover here but don't panic, we can…
The Teddington Gardener 