Gardener and Photographer with a love of Roses and a magpie-eye for all things Horticultural
A lovely warm September day and the sunflowers in the Cutting Garden at Petersham Nurseries were glowing as I left for the day. Towering above the not insubstantial dahlias, cosmos, lavatera, zinnia, verbena bonariensis, remnants of sweet peas and so much more, there are several varieties planted - I picked out two here, a tawny…
Continue reading ➞ Marmite, Poodles and Sunflowers
Another satellite dish of a Hibiscus, this time a rich brick-red. The same family as the white/blush pink cultivar I posted about a few days ago, and I was rather smitten with that one. That affair is over. My heart belongs to this one now. Here it is in shaft of sunlight -
Hibiscus (detail) - these are in fact blooms at least 5" across (in old money), serene satellite discs with frosted icing, blushed pink and with beaujolais wine centres and a scaffolding of creamy white stigma and stamens. I don't know the cultivar but am told it is hardy (root hardy maybe?). I might have the…
Continue reading ➞ Sky News – a stunning Hibiscus
Back to Hydrangeas and their capacity to look good even as they fade and dry - this arrangement will have weeks - months - to go before they pass over to the other side...
Agapanthus Queen Mum - broad, strappy leaves with tall stems topped with these large, bi-color globes (individual flowers are blue and white on the outside/pure white on the inside). From this angle, the blue is reserved for the sky.... Writing in the Telegraph, Bunny Guinness expands on the subject - How to get the best out…
Continue reading ➞ Gawd Bless ‘er – Agapanthus ‘Queen Mum’
This is my favourite Crocosmia, surpassing the ubiquitous Lucifer by a country mile. More compact and vigorous but not thuggish, the mid-green strappy leaves are a great foil to the golden egg yolk flowers. Height and spread 60cm. George Davison' is named after the head gardener at Westwick Hall, an early crocosmia enthusiast who bred…
Kirengeshoma palmata (below) Actaea rubra ssp argenta (below) and in the Salvia borders... just beginning to colour up (the show ought to go on until November) The last image is of Salvia argenta - silver-fur and quite gorgeous. The name plates for almost all the salvias in the border are lost amongst the exuberant foliage.…
Mayfield Lavender Farm, near Banstead, Surrey I had my camera with me this time, having passed this way almost a month ago on my way to pick up some pots from a nearby nursery. Returning for more pots, I was prepared and stopped and had a heady, fragrant wander through the lines and lines -…
Continue reading ➞ Mayfield Lavender Farm – brought my camera this time….
The rich red of Tess of the D'Urbervilles, against a tapestry of blackberry and plum tones from the Penstemons, dark leaves of one hydrangea and the cranberry flowers of Pink Annabelle. These might not all be bedfellows in your border, but the colour associations can still be made. Tess is one of David Austin's Fragrant…
Continue reading ➞ Roses, of course, and other floral delights for Thursday
The Teddington Gardener 