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…

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  

Pink, Orange, Gold (Euonymus ‘Red Cascade’, Hydrangea Annabelle, Ginkgo biloba, Parrotia persica) at RHS Wisley

Euonymus europaeus Red Cascade at RHS Wisley this weekend. Intensely bright pink parachutes with intensely bright orange seeds. https://www.rhs.org.uk/Plants/99750/Euonymus-europaeus-Red-Cascade/Details http://www.telegraph.co.uk/gardening/3336362/How-to-grow-Euonymus-europaeus-Red-Cascade.html How to grow: Euonymus europaeus 'Red Cascade' 12:01AM BST 08 Oct 2005 Matthew Wilson on how to grow a taste of the blazing glory of New England Very little compares to a really good show…

Luxuriating in decay – the Glasshouse Borders at RHS Wisley

The Glasshouse Borders at RHS Wisley There is much to recommend these borders - the long double beds running down from the Fruit Mount to the Lake and running in concentric, linking arcs around the reflecting mirror of water and bounding the Glasshouse. Add a clear sky and low slanting sun, at the end of…

A little light scrumping in the apple orchards…. plus pumpkins and the very curious medlar

Holstein was a rich golden-green, with a lovely balance of acidity and sweet fruit and the trees were laden down. Barnack Orange too had this astringent freshness. Ingrid Marie awaits the taste test. In fact, the harvest appears to be rather splendid - the orchards go on for row upon row into the far distance…

Bare naked ladies, cholera and the beautiful Colchicum, the Autumn crocus (and a Waterlily that is a lily, not a crocus, but not ‘that’ waterlily…)

Colchicum Waterlily growing in the woodland edge of the EA Bowles Garden at RHS Wisley earlier this week. Delicate they look, but are clearly tough enough to rough it out with the other woodland floor dwellers, like the Arum marmoratum in the foreground there. The leaves make a brief appearance in spring but are gone…

A beautiful, evolving landscape with naturalistic planting and great style – the Glasshouse Borders at RHS Wisley

Helenium The Bishop, with Eupatorium Purple Bush - one part of the matrix of planting, mixing perennials, grasses and some shrubbery, in the double border leading up from the Lake through to the Fruit Mount. Introduction from the RHS website https://www.rhs.org.uk/gardens/wisley/garden-highlights/the-glasshouse/Glasshouse-Borders Drift through foliage and flowers along the Glasshouse Borders as you enjoy glorious views…