Penstemon Dark Towers A change from the usual Penstemon, not so much on account of the flowers though they are delightful, but for the dark tints to the leaves and the branching habit of the stems. A wholly beautiful combination. Not as dark, perhaps, as the sticky toffee pudding I've just had, but just as…
Autumn garden
White lace, emerald and gold
Anemone Honorine Jobert I'm borrowing an excellent and quite perfect description of the Old Rose, Madame Hardy, 'White lace and Emeralds'. For this excellent Japanese Anemone, there has to be gold. White lace, emerald and gold. One extra photograph of this superlative plant in flower. Couldn't resist! My earlier post (9th September) gives a little…
Naked Ladies….
Colchicum Glory of Heemstede - the autumn crocus and the pure white variety... Colchicum speciosum 'Album' Naked ladies eh? That should increase the visitor numbers to this blog, though how disappointing to be confronted with the Autumn Crocus! Naked, because the flowers appear before the leaves. X-rated this is not. There are crocuses which flower…
Blue Lagoons
Pansy Beacon Blue Such intense colours, on a plant that could go on flowering right through until next spring - unfazed by much that a typical winter can throw at it. Deadhead regularly keep in a sunny spot (but remember they don't like too much heat) trim back if the plant gets too leggy watch…
A classic – Anemone ‘Honorine Jobert’
I'm going straight to Carol Klein here, writing in The Telegraph on 28th September 2002. This beautiful plant was a classic then, and for 150 years before that, and so it remains. How to grow: Anemone 'Honorine Jobert' Carol Klein on the unexpected joy of these classy white flowers that shine in the shade Anemone…
A garden for all seasons
The Sir Harold Hillier Gardens, Hampshire An extraordinary garden containing probably the finest Winter Garden in the UK and not looking too shabby late summer either. Few gardens offer as rich pickings as these, growing over 11,000 different types of plant, in over 40,000 plants and holding 13 National Plant Collections, set in a complementary…
Bringing the tropics to TW11
Hibiscus Hamabo A medium-sized deciduous shrub, bearing these striking mallow flowers from late summer into autumn. Position in full sun, in a sheltered site and it will grow up to 1.5m tall and through. Holding a prized Award of Garden Merit from the RHS - The Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit (AGM) helps…
Antiques Roadshow…
Viola F1 'Antique Shades' The following is from the Seedaholics website I have recommended before and is more complete than I could possibly be. Plants are on sale now in garden centres and nurseries, though seeds might be the way to go next year.... Some unbelievably coloured violas have come on the market in recent…
Life after the petunias….
Viola Beacon Blue - just one from a myriad choice of violas and larger flowered pansies Large-flowered Cyclamen, bringing colour to autumn and winter containers September next week it is, and the nights are drawing in. Containers full of summer colour - lobelias, petunias, marigolds, begonias and all that - might be looking a little…
