Gardener and Photographer with a love of Roses and a magpie-eye for all things Horticultural
The Most Beautiful Water Lily, Nymphaea Bimini Twist, photographed in the Lily House at Kew this week. Electric! "Nymphaea 'Bimini Twist' is an exciting new tropical waterlily hybrid that creates a new unique look with an abundance of petalloid stamens making for an exceptionally full flower. This tropical waterlily also has the benefit of vividly…
Continue reading ➞ Bimini Twist
Historical information The Princess of Wales Conservatory was commissioned in 1982 to replace a group of 26 smaller buildings that were falling into disrepair. It was named after Princess Augusta, founder of Kew, and opened in 1987 by Diana, Princess of Wales. It is the most complex conservatory at Kew, containing ten computer-controlled climatic zones…
Continue reading ➞ Glasshouses at Kew
The Duke's Garden, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew A modestly sized garden, to be found behind the grass beds and beyond the Alpine House and Princess of Wales Conservatory. A wide lawn with deep, generous herbaceous borders enclosed behind tall brick walls. Impressive, bold block planting of some outstanding perennials including the brilliantly named daylily, Burning…
Continue reading ➞ Burning Daylight
Tropical rainforest in the Princess of Wales Conservatory at Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Well, it was so hot and humid outside and I had finished one job nearby, and there was a parking space just by Victoria Gate (as if by magic). Had to pop in! Hot and humid inside too but a complete change…
Continue reading ➞ If you can’t stand the heat….
Having just come back from a Yorkshire tour and visiting Malham Cove, where there is an excellent example of a limestone pavement, complete with clints and grykes au naturel, this garden spoke to me! One of the Conceptual Gardens, a category unique I think to the Hampton Court Flower Show, this jigsaw of polished limestone…
Continue reading ➞ Clints and Grykes
Garden for Joy, a garden created for QEF (Queen Elizabeth's Foundation for Disabled People) at the RHS Hampton Court flower Show, which finished yesterday. "Purple is the colour that appeals to QEF's disabled young residents and was chosen as our logo colour - the planting scheme revolves around purples e.g. salvias, eryngium and echinops mixed…
Continue reading ➞ Garden for Joy
A Gold Medal winning exhibition from David Austin at the RHS Hampton Court Flower Show, which finished yesterday. By far the most exuberant staging from any of the rose nurseries, dominating the Rose Marquee. If only there was a 'scent' button on your keyboard.. A comprehensive selection of their English Roses, displayed enclosed within a…
Continue reading ➞ David Austin Roses at RHS Hampton Court Flower Show
A look at the other rose nurseries exhibiting at RHS Hampton Court Flower Show, which finished on Sunday. Mattocks, Fryers, Bill le Grice, Style Roses, Harkness, Peter Beales, Eastcroft Roses, Pococks.... The Historic Roses Group too, a member of which I now am. Hybrid Teas and Floribundas, in the main, with modern shrubs, some climbers…
Continue reading ➞ The Rose Marquee at RHS Hampton Court Flower Show
The Calla Lily, Zantedeschia The ghostly-white and deep purple-blacks of the Arum Lily retain their pre-eminence and they are glorious, but these cheery yellows and vibrant oranges take the plant out of the gothic (or goths) and into more upbeat company. Rich soils, moist, full sun with winter protection.
The Teddington Gardener 