Though I couldn't find a plant label for this magnificent stand of Heleniums in the Duke's Garden at Kew, it is most likely Sahin's Early Flowerer, with an Award of Garden Merit. Long ray florets are a mixture of yellow and brownish red in irregular streaks and surround a brown centre and it flowers from…
herbaceous
Garden for Joy
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…
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A Yorkshire Tale
Newby Hall & Gardens, Ripon A week exploring North Yorkshire and much to see was there! Newby Hall & Gardens, near Ripon, was near the top of the list of attractions and a real plant hunters delight with much that is rare and unusual. The National Collection of Cornus kousa, a whole garden of salvias…
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Return to Roehampton
My first visit in over six months, to the borders I created last Spring in this large Roehampton Garden. Deep breath, eyes open, great relief! They have had to look after themselves following the tidy-up I was able to give them before Christmas and I am thrilled that they have survived such a cruel and…
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Blue Fin Roof Garden, community gardens, Wren churches and The Temple.
As part of London Open Garden Squares Weekend, the roof garden at the Blue Fin Building (IPC Media) on Southwark Street was opened and provided a real treat, a surprising garden and panoramic views across London.40m/ten storeys up above London's streets, it is a substantial terrace on three sides of this distinctive building, with extensive…
Continue reading ➞ Blue Fin Roof Garden, community gardens, Wren churches and The Temple.
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What do Red Rum, Tequila, Manhatten, Towering Inferno and slippers have in common?
Lupins - Masterpiece (purple) and Beefeater (red) - two outstanding, robust and free-flowering cottage garden plants from West Country Lupins (their website noted below). Strong of stem, these sturdy plants giving several weeks of flower in the early summer. Fantastic colour combinations in varieties such as Towering Inferno, Manhattan Lights, Persian Slipper, Tequila Flame and…
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Piet Oudolf, pom-poms and fish fingers
A double border, 147 m long and 11m wide, designed by Piet Oudolf using large swathes of herbaceous perennials, grasses and shrubs - plants repeated along the length of this extravagant piece of theatre, running down to the lake and Glasshouse. Today, the pompom heads of Allium Purple Sensation provided the fun and drama, bouncing…
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Peonies – which to choose & how to look after them…
Crocus, the online plant retailer, builder and planter of many Chelsea show gardens etc., have just sent out their June Plant Care newsletter featuring peonies. I've included it in full here as I think it covers a lot of ground. Admittedly dense text, without their pictures, sorry. Do persevere... Long-lived and beautiful at every stage,…
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The Red Peony of Constantinople, no less…
Paeonia peregrina, on the Rockery slope at RHS Wisley today, basking in warm sunshine (truly). The Byzantine Peony or The Red Peony of Constantinople. Marvellous!An extremely important plant for breeding (the RHS Encyclopedia of Perennials tells me), its unusual combination of pigments being largely responsible for the development of coral-coloured flowers in hybrid peonies. Spreading…
Continue reading ➞ The Red Peony of Constantinople, no less…
The Teddington Gardener 