Taking a peek inside the Alpine House at RHS Wisley – and a scented meander down through the Rock Garden into Seven Acre Wood ….

A little peak inside the Alpine House which sits atop the Rock Garden in the RHS gardens at Wisley (the rose garden is behind, an allée of Bonsai trees to one side and the vegetable garden too, if you need to get your bearings. This is a traditional glasshouse where the plants are mostly displayed…

Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered – by these colourful, beguilingly fragrant Witch Hazels at RHS Wisley

A fine day yesterday, after that miserably wet weekend but still, having a day off, a chance to head over to the RHS gardens at Wisley. My mission: to stop by the Alpine House, take in a few snowdrops, inhale my first fragrant dose of Daphne bholua, bag the first of the Hellebores and of…

A little Kew Miscellany – everything else from a chill Tuesday in January (or Heraldic Beasts and where to find them)

Just mopping up with the remainder of the photographs taken last week when I headed off to Kew Gardens, warmed up in the Princess of Wales Conservatory and then joined the 'Meet the Experts' tour talking all things Snowdrop. A random selection though I wish you could take in the delicious fragrance from the Chimonanthus…

A Petersham Nurseries Gallery – one the eve of opening in the heart of Covent Garden, a few images from the source of its inspiration …

Puddles, Dahlias, among many more colourful floral delights, cats and sparkly things ... everything you might expect from Petersham Nurseries - and you can enjoy of all of these things (cats excepted) from tomorrow when they open in Covent Garden tomorrow (King Street/Floral Street). Can't wait to see the new store myself next week. Business…

A few things that caught my eye today – a little tour of Petersham Nurseries on the longest Day of the Year

No captions this time - far too hot to be bothering with detail like that I'd say - but a few images from a post-lunch ten minute trot through the Nurseries, the Cutting Garden and plant benches. All quite colourful I think you'll agree (and of course, I can take a lot of pictures in…

A Cutting Garden with Tulips in abundance, Fritillaries both imperial & persica, the first Roses, Hawthorn, Camellias, still, cherry blossom, still, spicy Wisteria, chartreuse Euphorbia, a country churchyard and an old deer park – plus a cow or two … tales from Petersham Nurseries

A few images from a day at the Nurseries. I've been tweeting and instagramming over the past few days and posted a couple of videos too - they'll be easy to find from the links on my blog - featuring amongst other things, this vibrant Cutting Garden. They will give you an overview of this…

A view from Kew – a blossomtastic Spring morning in these Royally Botanic Gardens

It certainly pays to make an early start, especially on such a bright and beautiful morning - and even more so when school holidays are upon us and Kew Gardens becomes a beautiful flower-filled playground and a great spot for a family picnic. For someone as bah-humbug as I about having unpopulated pictures - flowers…

April is the cruellest month ….

  A poetic diversion, since the first lines had been running around my head and, down the rabbit hole, the rest had to follow ... The Waste Land T S Eliot I. The Burial of the Dead                 April is the cruellest month, breeding Lilacs out of the dead land, mixing Memory and desire, stirring…

Spring colour-bombs a riverside Nursery (can you guess which one?)

Flowers inside and out, flowers everywhere -  and a few grateful bees to feast on the early Spring bounty. A kaleidoscope of colour, bright, bold, brash and beautiful but we forgive this extravagant generosity - nothing clashes in the garden at this time of year, as the new season unfolds in our gardens. It's welcome antidote…