Seasonal colour

A timely guide to spring-flowering bulbs – choices, tips, techniques and planting ideas for a display from January to May

Categories Alpine, Bee Friendly Plants, Bulbs, colour, container gardening, Cottage Garden, Cutting Garden, Dry Garden, Fragrant plants, Garden Design, General comment, herbaceous, Iris, Magnolia, my projects, Open to the public, Organic Gardening, Petersham Nurseries, RHS London Show, RHS WIsley, Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, Savill Garden, Seasonal colour, shade, Snowdrops (Galanthus), spring flowering, Spring Garden, Woodland Garden2 Comments on A timely guide to spring-flowering bulbs – choices, tips, techniques and planting ideas for a display from January to May

  More thieving from my back catalogue of articles, this one doubly so since it originally featured in September a few years ago, featuring images taken from 2014 onwards - and repeated again in April of this year. But spring-flowering bulbs are available now so this time of year is probably the most useful as bulbs can be…

Continue reading ➞ A timely guide to spring-flowering bulbs – choices, tips, techniques and planting ideas for a display from January to May

A few days …. all manner of early autumn – should I say late summer despite the current chill Bank Holiday weekend ahead? – herbaceous-ness, roses, dahlias, sunflower, more herbaceous perennials, heuchera and Solenostemon (finishing up with Crinkly Bottom….). 2015 here we come …

Categories Alpine, Architectural Plants, Autumn garden, Climbing plants, colour, container gardening, Cutting Garden, Dahlias, dark foliage plants, David Austin roses, Dry Garden, Fragrant plants, General comment, Grasses, herbaceous, Hydrangea, late summer border, Roses, Seasonal colour, Vegetables, Woodland Garden1 Comment on A few days …. all manner of early autumn – should I say late summer despite the current chill Bank Holiday weekend ahead? – herbaceous-ness, roses, dahlias, sunflower, more herbaceous perennials, heuchera and Solenostemon (finishing up with Crinkly Bottom….). 2015 here we come …

  Once more wandering through the archives of garden-visiting, photography and plant inspecting - at RHS Wisley right at the beginning of September in 2015 (four days hence and five years back). These gardens are not entirely the same now, in design, layout and content (what garden is?) but suspect that many of the plants…

Continue reading ➞ A few days …. all manner of early autumn – should I say late summer despite the current chill Bank Holiday weekend ahead? – herbaceous-ness, roses, dahlias, sunflower, more herbaceous perennials, heuchera and Solenostemon (finishing up with Crinkly Bottom….). 2015 here we come …

Hydrangeas and nothing but Hydrangeas ….

Categories Acid-loving plants, Architectural Plants, Climbing plants, dark foliage plants, Hydrangea, late summer border, Open to the public, Plants for a shady garden?, RHS WIsley, Savill Garden, Seasonal colour, shade, Summer garden, The Savill Garden, White Garden, Winter Garden2 Comments on Hydrangeas and nothing but Hydrangeas ….

What a lot of Hydrangeas - from a variety of destinations including RHS Wisley and the Savill Garden near Windsor. Probably a few from Golden Hill Nurseries down on the south coast who are specialists in this beautiful plant - definitely worth seeking out their expert knowledge at any future plant fair or flower show.…

Continue reading ➞ Hydrangeas and nothing but Hydrangeas ….

What’s five years between friends? A tour de force – a tour around RHS Wisley – first up, the Herbaceous Borders

Categories Architectural Plants, General comment, Grasses, herbaceous, late summer border, RHS WIsley, Seasonal colourLeave a Comment on What’s five years between friends? A tour de force – a tour around RHS Wisley – first up, the Herbaceous Borders

Another trip down memory lane - five years indeed to 1st August 2015 - and while there have been some significant changes at these RHS gardens - an entire new retail village and more coming besides - that particular first day of August really did look scrumptious. Enjoy.  The double herbaceous borders at RHS Wisley…

Continue reading ➞ What’s five years between friends? A tour de force – a tour around RHS Wisley – first up, the Herbaceous Borders

Kew Gardens – a look back in anticipation of looking forward to a visit soon …

Categories Architectural Plants, Art in the landscape, Bedding, colour, conifers, Dahlias, dark foliage plants, David Austin roses, Dry Garden, evergreen perennial, Exotic, Fragrant plants, Friends, Garden Design, General comment, Grasses, herbaceous, House plants, late summer border, Lawn Care, Mediterranean Garden, Open to the public, Ornamental trees, Roses, Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, Seasonal colour, shade, Shrubs, Summer garden, Trees for smaller gardens, Tropical, Water gardening, Wisteria, Woodland GardenLeave a Comment on Kew Gardens – a look back in anticipation of looking forward to a visit soon …

  A look back to a visit in early August 2018 when the Pagoda was reopening after a refurbishment and the installation of the dragons. If you want a look inside the pagoda, or a look at the landscape from its heights, you can use tags or search functions. The gardens are open again after…

Continue reading ➞ Kew Gardens – a look back in anticipation of looking forward to a visit soon …

It’s all going Vincent van Gogh – Sunflowers on trial at RHS Wisley

Categories annuals, Architectural Plants, Autumn garden, Bee Friendly Plants, colour, Cottage Garden, Cutting Garden, General comment, late summer border, Open to the public, Organic Gardening, RHS WIsley, Seasonal colour, Seeds, Summer gardenLeave a Comment on It’s all going Vincent van Gogh – Sunflowers on trial at RHS Wisley

More from the Trial Fields at RHS Wisley, time-travelling back five years but a sight that still sticks in the memory. Such variety in height, flower size, colour, texture and bringing out the child in every one of us who ever grew them and watched them tower above us with delight. So, 2015 it is…

Continue reading ➞ It’s all going Vincent van Gogh – Sunflowers on trial at RHS Wisley

An Afternoon at RHS Wisley – the Double Herbaceous Borders, Cottage and Jubilee Rose Gardens, a touch of woodland and more …

Categories Architectural Plants, Bedding, Climbing plants, Cottage Garden, Cutting Garden, David Austin roses, Dry Garden, Fragrant plants, Fruit Trees, General comment, herbaceous, Hydrangea, Open to the public, Plants for a shady garden?, RHS WIsley, Roses, Seasonal colour, Summer garden, White Garden, Woodland GardenLeave a Comment on An Afternoon at RHS Wisley – the Double Herbaceous Borders, Cottage and Jubilee Rose Gardens, a touch of woodland and more …

  Another - sigh -trip down memory lane though I have booked our timed visit for mid-July and hope the gardens might look something like this, from a visit a year or three ago. Always something to admire, some combination of plants, a design feature, something new you might not have seen before. And such…

Continue reading ➞ An Afternoon at RHS Wisley – the Double Herbaceous Borders, Cottage and Jubilee Rose Gardens, a touch of woodland and more …

The shady garden in summer and autumn… beginning an A-Z

Categories Bedding, Bulbs, Camellias, Climbing plants, container gardening, evergreen perennial, Fragrant plants, General comment, Grasses, Hellebore, herbaceous, Hydrangea, Japanese Maples (Acers), late summer border, Plants for a shady garden?, Rhododendron & Azalea, Seasonal colour, Summer gardenLeave a Comment on The shady garden in summer and autumn… beginning an A-Z

  I had been preparing for a workshop covering the possibilities for gardening in a little - or a lot - of shade and put together the gallery last year to illustrate some of the contenders that anyone tackling such a proposition might entertain. A perennial question, this, what to plant, planting combination and health…

Continue reading ➞ The shady garden in summer and autumn… beginning an A-Z

Arabella Lennox Boyd – invention and boundless imagination in the gardens at Gresgarth Hall

Categories Architectural Plants, Art in the landscape, Autumn garden, Clematis, container gardening, Fragrant plants, Garden Design, General comment, Grasses, herbaceous, Kitchen Garden, late summer border, Mediterranean Garden, Open to the public, Ornamental trees, Rhododendron & Azalea, Roses, Seasonal colour, Shrubs, spring flowering, Spring Garden, Summer garden, Travel broadens the mind, Trees, Water gardening, Winter Garden6 Comments on Arabella Lennox Boyd – invention and boundless imagination in the gardens at Gresgarth Hall

A garden, though visited in 2015, that has a hold on me still, with vivid memories of superb planting, striking vistas, artistry and sheer passion for the gardens and countryside around. The season 'up north' will be naturally a little later than here, 'down south' so while I visited at the beginning of July, climate…

Continue reading ➞ Arabella Lennox Boyd – invention and boundless imagination in the gardens at Gresgarth Hall