Teddington Gardener Review of the Year – March 2014 – Kew and Wisley, The Savill Garden and Petersham Nurseries. Spring advances.

My first March visit to Kew Gardens A purchase of a very brilliant little machine - scarifying and aerating the lawn with ease... My first March visit to Kew Gardens - taking in the Pagoda, Chokushi-mon Japanese Landscape, the Xstrata and some of the arboretum. My first week at Petersham Nurseries, at the beginning of…

Teddington Gardener Review of the Year – February 2014 – Kew and Wisley, Syon and Petersham Nurseries. Spring approaches.

Primulas providing some welcome colour Birch bark at Kew Crocus at Kew and snowdrops - Ulmus villosa, also at kew The new fruit and vegetable area at Syon Park Garden Centre - my last month there before moving across the river to Petersham Nurseries in March The Orchid Festival at Kew The Rockery and Alpine…

Teddington Gardener Review of the Year – January 2014 – at Wisley and Kew. Winter breaks early.

JANUARY - Hamamelis x intermedia Orange Peel Cornus alba Sibirica in container displays at Wisley Rhododendron nobleanum Album Prunus himalaica Hydrangea paniculata Galanthus elwesii Sarcococca confusa Dogwoods at Kew and the Alpine House from the Grass Borders Galanthus elwesii at Kew and Berberis (below) Chimonathus praecox Grandiflorus Prunus subhirtella Autumnalis and Chaenomeles speciosa at the…

RHS Wisley – life and death in the Surrey hills… Hydrangeas, Camellias and Hellebores, mostly, Sorbus and Malus, Cornus, Salix and Rubus, Acer, Rhododendron, Chimonathus, Henry Moore and a Squirrel

Acer griseum, lauded for its peeling bark, caught here in the chill morning sunlight on the slopes of Battleston Hill at the RHS gardens at Wisley. The gardens feature the remnants of many fine plants, dying beautifully, hydrangeas foremost in this class, as well as the heralds of a new season, with the earliest hellebores…

I’m Dreaming of a White Christmas… Hellebores, Tulips, Amaryllis, Anemones, Narcissus, Moth Orchids, Jasmine…

Plenty of choice here if you are looking to furnish your home and compliment a winter garden with white-flowering lovelies - tulips of course will be flowering outside next Spring but here is a taster of things to come. Paperwhite narcissus are properly in bloom now and fragrant they are too - next Spring look…

Overcast all day, some rain but with some bright sparks and highlights… fiery Spirea, white/grey/yellow combinations, tall bamboos and a TARDIS-like van, new roses, a cutting garden update

Fire and gold tints throughout this display - from an unexpected source - Spirea nipponica Snowmound is better known for its smothering of white blossom on arching stems in June and July but this vigorous shrub is putting on a spectacular finish, teamed with spires of Molinea grasses, fountains of green Liriope muscari, berries of…

Plants and prospects for my new Kew Project

We're off  to a good start - breaking ground today on my Mediterranean project in Kew. The first crop of plants have been delivered, including those I bought from North Hill Nurseries last week. The (growing) list includes - Caryopteris Heavenly Blue, Dark Knight, White Surprise (7), Euphorbia White Swan (3), Pinus Mugo Mops, Amelanchier…

Spring delights in the The Savill Garden

  A pageant of colour - rhododendrons and camellias, hellebores and pulmonarias, cherry blossom, crocus, narcissus, daphne and more - but which group of plants is missing from this gallery. It's a biggie?! Links http://www.theroyallandscape.co.uk/gardens-and-landscape/the-savill-garden http://www.theroyallandscape.co.uk/seasonal-highlights/the-savill-garden/march-and-april/ http://www.theroyallandscape.co.uk/visitor-information/the-savill-building/

Fantastical hellebores at RHS Wisley

If you go down to the woods today... specifically the woods beneath Battleston Hill at RHS Wisley, there are gems to be found - double, double double hellebores, spots and speckles, rainbow colours - big bold clumps too. Very happy plants. The season continues for hellebores - I think I'll sign off now and see…