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What have I been up to, I hear you ask? Behold British Cut Flowers & Richmond Hill, Festive outdoor containers, twinkling lights at Petersham, Pyromania, Air plants and Terrariums, scented pelargoniums and baubles!

Categories Architectural Plants, Bulbs, Christmas, Cutting Garden, Fragrant plants, my projects, Open to the public, Petersham Nurseries, Seasonal colour, Winter GardenLeave a Comment on What have I been up to, I hear you ask? Behold British Cut Flowers & Richmond Hill, Festive outdoor containers, twinkling lights at Petersham, Pyromania, Air plants and Terrariums, scented pelargoniums and baubles!

British grown cut flowers at Petersham Nurseries this week - Cornish Anemones, Tulips, Ranunculus in mulberry shades, Woodstock Hyacinths - with Kokedama cyclamens hyacinths and other delights for the lunchtime table... A few pictures to follow, as I have been rather busy, Christmas and wotnot, visiting family Up North, and these pages have been blank…

Continue reading ➞ What have I been up to, I hear you ask? Behold British Cut Flowers & Richmond Hill, Festive outdoor containers, twinkling lights at Petersham, Pyromania, Air plants and Terrariums, scented pelargoniums and baubles!

and now for something a little tropical… the Glasshouse at RHS Wisley

Categories Architectural Plants, Climbing plants, General comment, House plants, Open to the public, RHS WIsley, TropicalLeave a Comment on and now for something a little tropical… the Glasshouse at RHS Wisley

The lilac blue flowers at the base of the waterfall are Hypoestes aristata, next to the Bird of Paradise, Strelitzia regina. Sword Agave - last seen in the Hotel gardens in Madeira... The Glasshouse at RHS Wisley https://www.rhs.org.uk/gardens/wisley https://www.rhs.org.uk/gardens/wisley/Articles/Greenspiration-at-Wisley  

Gilded Trees – Ginkgo biloba and Parrotia persica at Kew Gardens – liquid gold, ruby & emerald

Categories Abstract Photograpy, Architectural Plants, Autumn garden, General comment, Open to the public, Ornamental trees, Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, Seasonal colour1 Comment on Gilded Trees – Ginkgo biloba and Parrotia persica at Kew Gardens – liquid gold, ruby & emerald

Ginko biloba - the prehistoric Maidenhair Tree, with a weeping form which is even more of an absolute gold mine, still, with generally larger leaves and longer leaf-stalks than its upright neighbours. Parrotia persica (below) gold with flashes of red and emerald. and finally, a Grandstand Wisteria... Just half an hour today at Kew Gardens…

Continue reading ➞ Gilded Trees – Ginkgo biloba and Parrotia persica at Kew Gardens – liquid gold, ruby & emerald

This time around, a final Kew Gardens Miscellany – woodlandy, watery, with a little bird life and some proper Art

Categories Art in the landscape, Autumn garden, General comment, Japanese Maples (Acers), Magnolia, Open to the public, Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, Seasonal colour, Trees for smaller gardensLeave a Comment on This time around, a final Kew Gardens Miscellany – woodlandy, watery, with a little bird life and some proper Art

A grove, as far as I could tell, of Zanthoxylum .. The Botanical Art collection in this uber-stylish building... That's Magnolia stellata arching over the Camellia Walk and finally, Henry Moore, newly installed Reclining Mother with Child (1975-6).

Another Kew Gardens Miscellany – Autumn brilliance of course, the Xstrata Treetop Walk, the Lily Pond and a setting for The Mad Hatter’s Tea Party

Categories Architectural Plants, Autumn garden, climbing plant, General comment, Japanese Maples (Acers), Magnolia, Open to the public, Ornamental trees, Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, Seasonal colourLeave a Comment on Another Kew Gardens Miscellany – Autumn brilliance of course, the Xstrata Treetop Walk, the Lily Pond and a setting for The Mad Hatter’s Tea Party

Acer palmatum in typically bright garb.. Acer sieboldianum (below) Acer platanoides (above) with Castanea sativa, the Sweet Chestnut (below) Fagus sylvatica, a copse of very beautiful Common Beech (though there is nothing common about these specimens) - Leading us over to the Xstrata Treetop Walkway, high above the woodland floor with panoramic views, particularly through…

Continue reading ➞ Another Kew Gardens Miscellany – Autumn brilliance of course, the Xstrata Treetop Walk, the Lily Pond and a setting for The Mad Hatter’s Tea Party

A Kew Gardens Miscellany – Alpines, Trees and Random Autumn Stuff

Categories Architectural Plants, Art in the landscape, Autumn garden, Flowering Cherry, Open to the public, Ornamental trees, Royal Botanic Gardens KewLeave a Comment on A Kew Gardens Miscellany – Alpines, Trees and Random Autumn Stuff

Nerine flexuosa in the Davies Alpine House at Kew. Scilla maderense (below) This clam shell construction lies at the head of the Rock Garden, next to the Princess of Wales' Conservatory and the Grass Borders. Actually there wasn't a great deal to see in the Alpine House this time - a few cyclamen, Paperwhite narcissus…

Continue reading ➞ A Kew Gardens Miscellany – Alpines, Trees and Random Autumn Stuff

Tripping the light fantastic at Kew Gardens….

Categories Abstract Photography, General comment, Open to the public, Royal Botanic Gardens KewLeave a Comment on Tripping the light fantastic at Kew Gardens….

Kew Gardens are gearing up for their Christmas light show Extravaganza with a whole array of fixtures and fittings being installed in the parkland - the even opens on the 26th November. These are just a tiny fraction of the lighting that is being installed. http://www.kew.org/visit-kew-gardens/whats-on/christmas-at-kew-2014 I think I will be attending....

At Kew Gardens, Ginkgo biloba – a meeting with these remarkable prehistoric trees

Categories Architectural Plants, Autumn garden, General comment, Open to the public, Ornamental trees, Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, Seasonal colour1 Comment on At Kew Gardens, Ginkgo biloba – a meeting with these remarkable prehistoric trees

Ginkgo biloba at Kew Gardens today. Gorgeous golden, buttery loveliness... http://www.kew.org/science-conservation/plants-fungi/ginkgo-biloba This remarkable tree is known as a 'living fossil', as it is the sole survivor of an ancient group of trees that date back to beyond the time of the dinosaurs. Ginkgo fossils are common in the rocks of the Jurassic and Cretaceous, but…

Continue reading ➞ At Kew Gardens, Ginkgo biloba – a meeting with these remarkable prehistoric trees

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

Categories Architectural Plants, Autumn garden, Bulbs, Climbing plants, Cutting Garden, dark foliage plants, David Austin roses, evergreen perennial, Evergreen shrubs, General comment, Grasses, Hellebore, Hydrangea, my projects, Open to the public, Petersham NurseriesLeave a Comment on 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…

Continue reading ➞ 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