Open to the public

Sorbus glabrescens & Sorbus alnifolia – White and Red

Categories Autumn garden, General comment, Open to the public, RHS WIsley, Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, spring flowering, Trees for smaller gardens, Wildlife gardening, Winter GardenLeave a Comment on Sorbus glabrescens & Sorbus alnifolia – White and Red

Sorbus glabrescens with Sorbus alnifolia in the background Sorbus glabrescens, with white fruit (above) and (below) the red fruit of Sorbus alnifolia All change - Sorbus alnifolia with Sorbus glabrescens in the background Sorbus alnifolia by the Chokishi-Mon in the Japanese Landscape at Kew I've come across Sorbus glabrescens in the Arboretum at RHS Wisley…

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A ferocious cycad – Encephalartos ferox

Categories General comment, Open to the public, Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, Travel broadens the mindLeave a Comment on A ferocious cycad – Encephalartos ferox

Not for the average conservatory, Encephalartos ferox, almost a living fossil and apparently a ferocious one too (ferox). And Orange, or reddish-orange, these cones. Altogether striking, enjoying the heat and high humidity of the Palm House at Kew. http://www.kew.org/plants/cycads/pollination.html

Chokushi-Mon, a Japanese Garden at Kew

Categories Architectural Plants, evergreen perennial, Flowering Cherry, Garden Design, Grasses, Japanese Maples (Acers), Open to the public, Plants for a shady garden?, Rhododendron & Azalea, Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, Winter GardenLeave a Comment on Chokushi-Mon, a Japanese Garden at Kew

The Japanese Garden at the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew. Beautiful here in mid-winter, with sculpted box, evergreen waves of Liriope muscari, flowering Iris unguicularis, clipped Pachysandra terminalis, Cotoneaster and Callicarpa in berry, a few choice Chaenomeles flowers, beautifully spreading Winter Cherry - Prunus subhirtella Autumnalis, sunshine and raked gravel.   http://www.kew.org/heritage/places/japaneselandscape.html

A Whiter Shade of….. Rowan (Sorbus glabrescens)

Categories Autumn garden, General comment, Open to the public, RHS WIsley, Seasonal colour, spring flowering, Spring Garden, Trees for smaller gardensLeave a Comment on A Whiter Shade of….. Rowan (Sorbus glabrescens)

Sorbus glabrescens in the arboretum at RHS Wisley The arboretum at RHS Wisley in Surrey is a useful place to see many varieties of tree in a relatively small area - in particular it is possible to compare many different types of Silver Birch, or Rowan (Sorbus) or  Crab Apples (Malus) although the specimens planted…

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Boxing Day Greetings

Categories Fruit Trees, General comment, Open to the public, RHS WIsley, Seasonal colour, Winter GardenLeave a Comment on Boxing Day Greetings

Boxing Day and a brief hush before the next round of hospitality. The apples in the foreground, small brightly-red baubles, are Cocket's Red - windfalls from the orchards at RHS Wisley collected on Christmas Eve. Fragrant, crisp, lilac-scented fruits only a tad larger than a golf ball and rich ruby-red. The two named trees at…

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Christmas Eve at RHS Wisley

Categories Alpine, Architectural Plants, Camellias, evergreen perennial, Fruit Trees, Garden Design, General comment, Grasses, herbaceous, Open to the public, RHS WIsley, Roses, Seasonal colour, Shrubs, Trees for smaller gardens, Wildlife gardening, Winter GardenLeave a Comment on Christmas Eve at RHS Wisley

Bright stems of dogwood, willow and ornamental blackberry by the lake in the RHS Gardens at Wisley There was a little doubt whether these gardens would be open today after the storms over night - many gardens have been forced to close today - but hard work on the part of the garden team made…

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Virginia Water in Autumn

Categories Autumn garden, General comment, Open to the public, Seasonal colourLeave a Comment on Virginia Water in Autumn

A walk around the whole of Virginia Water, from The Savill Garden, past ruins and totem poles, cascades and beneath glorious autumn colour. Low, slanting sun, blue skies, golden foliage... Rejuvenating! http://www.theroyallandscape.co.uk/gardens-and-landscape/virginia-water/

The Savill Garden in Autumn (Part 1)

Categories Autumn garden, General comment, Open to the public, The Savill GardenLeave a Comment on The Savill Garden in Autumn (Part 1)

A tour this afternoon around The Savill Garden, part of the Royal Landscape of Windsor Great Park. Bright blue skies, bright autumn colours - from the Japanese Maples in particular - but all manner of autumn glories too. Recommended! http://www.theroyallandscape.co.uk/gardens-and-landscape/the-savill-garden/