Gardener and Photographer with a love of Roses and a magpie-eye for all things Horticultural
See the humble aquilegia, Granny's Bonnet, a favourite cottage garden plant, single and double forms, familiar names like Nora Barlow, pale pastels though even sultry forms like Black Barlow, William Guinness. Now see the State Series (Montana, Oregon, Louisiana, Virginia, Florida, Alaska et al). Imagine that Grandma took a flight to America, bought a…
Continue reading ➞ Have a nice day… Aquilegia State Series
Calling into Kew this afternoon (I am making the most of my Hillier Gardens membership card), the plant centre had the most beautiful collection of auriculas, yours for £10 each, including Victorian clay pot! Difficult not to fall in love, sell the family silver and start a collection...
Very probably the No. 1 Frequently Asked Question I hear deals with shade and what to plant in the supposedly inhospitable, gloomy parts of the garden. Of course there are different kind of shade, from buildings, fences, other plants, overhanging trees, deep shade, dappled shade, dry shade, damp shade, partial shade, at different times of…
Continue reading ➞ Plants for a shady garden?
Well here I am, sometime in the very early 80s (I decline to be more exact, though it could be the very, very late 1970s), with a prize-winning sun flower (2nd). The family garden in Winchmore Hill, North London, which thinking about it now, was a rather good garden. Dutch Elm disease did away with…
Continue reading ➞ Once upon a time….
Wisteria sinensis - a vigorous, deciduous twining climber, suitable for growing on trellises, pergolas, and walls; also it can be trained as a standard - and the examples I have seen, in full flower with heads more than 4' across - magnificent. I'm reading from the RHS Encyclopedia of Planting Combinations for further information... The…
Continue reading ➞ Chinese Wisteria
I've been working on a new project, a Strawberry Hill garden in a triangular plot, with circular lawn, mellow brick boundary walls, NW facing, a beautiful camellia and mature cherry. And lots of new, deep loamy soil. Just me and the planting. I will photograph it in a month or so, once the plants bed…
Continue reading ➞ New planting schemes and new plans
Another fritillary, the Crown Imperial, Fritillaria imperialis. Hailing from Turkey, this is an imposing plant with mature bulbs throwing up stems up to 1m tall. Atop a bare stem, up to 6 nodding bright orange (or yellow) flowers, rich in nectar, below a pineapple tuft of green foliage. Excellent container plants and equally happy in…
Continue reading ➞ Crown Imperial
One of the classic tulips, Red Apeldoorn, with strong outline and bold colour. A Darwin Hybrid Group tulip bearing cherry-red flowers with signal-red margins. Insides are signal-red with yellow-bordered black marks and black anthers. Mid-spring flowering (whenever that might usually be, though now, in my garden). Height to 60cm with wide, blue-grey leaves. Darwin Group…
Continue reading ➞ The Bold and the Beautiful..
The Teddington Gardener 