A late-September taste of the gardens at RHS Wisley

A mid-week, late morning, late September tour of the RHS Gardens at Wisley. Blue skies peppered liberally with white clouds (today was a brighter, warmer clearer-skies day than yesterday, but probably overbright for my photographic skills so here we are ...) It is still quite definitely late summer, rather than full-on Autumn. Very few of…

Purple

May I refer you to Wikipedia - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Purple Sometimes more blue, or lilac, lavender, rose, red, but a not pure blue, or pink depending on which is closest, a varied palette - cool, rich, and elegant tones.  Thug, the Petersham Cat, rounding up proceedings. I rest my case ...

Pink

  Pink, by far the biggest gallery with more photos to choose from than with the others, orange, yellow, blue and white. All images taken in 2015, though concentrating on the summer and through until September. I had to stop somewhere. Hellebores early on, and a little Cherry blossom, though i could have majored on…

Blue

OK, so there is a touch of rose-making-the-blue-purple going on here too though I have weeded out the more obvious not-blues, but the theme, from palest to the boldest, with some blue-grey foliage too, is a cool blue palette. Fruit, leaf and flower all contribute and I refer you once again to Gertrude Jekyll. In…

Yellow

  From the palest blush, soft cool primrose, sulphurous, acid, gaudy, bright, golden, and adorning the garden right the way through the year - this is a richly diverse palette and can be used to many an effect. I've been reading Gertrude Jekyll's book on colour schemes in the flower garden and she is extraordinarily…

Orange

A little orange on a dull, wet day. Bring  back the sunshine ... In the meantime, this

Petersham House Gardens – formal gardens, generous borders and a vibrant Cutting Garden

After a cycle ride along the towpath and the Thames sparkling in the sunshine, and nearly being late for taking so many photographs, a look in the Kitchen Garden first, which was the vegetable garden but has been co-opted into an additional Cutting Garden, as well as having the peony beds, Hellebores, many old roses…

On Home Ground – a little peak at Petersham Nurseries

The Garden Shop at Petersham Nurseries is filled with houseplants, whose homes hail from all over the world, together with seeds and tools, pots and gardening equipment and in the blessed rain yesterday, was my home for the day. In the rare moments between torrents, I had a wander through the rest of the nursery…

Kew Gardens, Part One (there will be more tomorrow now I’ve actually booked for the Great Pagoda)

A first look at the newly restored and be-dragoned Great Pagoda. Of course I didn't think to book, so shall be returning tomorrow at 10.30am for that pleasure. I have ascended the Pagoda before, pre-restoration about what, five years ago? But the Dragons are new, 1.8m long on the lower level carved in wood, greatly…