Green

  Well I thought I had created a monster gallery of pink, but it turns out that Green really has the stage. Again, all photographs from 2015, and pretty much everyone has the name of the plant embedded in the data. Very organised I was then, and how many photos, especially in July, August and…

White

Every shade of white .... no need for a white garden to be sterile, with coolness and warmth, blushes of yellow and pink, blue and lime. Keep the palette calm, with grey and silver foliage, add some soft yellows, blue-greys, to keep the colour scheme less static. Vary the shape, foliage, horizontals and verticals, for…

A long-overdue visit to the gardens of RHS Wisley – a riot of colour and scent this early May Day

Hawthorn, Bluebells, Azaleas and Rhododendrons, flowering Viburnums, a craft fair, tree-trunk sculpture, sunshine and fragrance. A fine start to a long-overdue visit to these gardens. Sunshine and a few scattered squalls, sometimes a bit over-bright for good photography, but glad to have made the effort to get out here today. The Craft Fair - huge -…

15 Favourites – Garden Plants

At Petersham Nurseries, we are planning our 15th Anniversary this month of May, celebrating the past decade and a half under the stewardship of the Boglione family and the development of the Nurseries and the expert team behind its horticultural reputation. We are choosing 15 favourites, roses of course, garden plants and houseplants, (for we…

15 Favourites – Roses

My fifteen favourite roses

Winter Border Workshop at Petersham Nurseries

I have a workshop this week where we will delve into turning our gardens, in the chill months ahead, into winter borders filled with interesting plants, colours and textures. Anchor plants with attractive foliage, the tracery and silhouettes of seedheads and dried stems and flower heads, and ornamental fruit, evergreen shrubs with scented flowers for…

Kew Gardens – a taste of Autumn in late October

A beautiful cycle ride along the towpath from Teddington Lock, past Petersham Meadows, Richmond and on towards Kew, with Syon House on the opposite bank. 12km enjoying the start of autumn. Clocks back this weekend, and the coldest October day in 10 years, so hats, gloves and scarves were the order of the day. Isleworth,…

Blue

OK, so there is a touch of rose-making-the-blue-purple going on here too though I have weeded out the more obvious not-blues, but the theme, from palest to the boldest, with some blue-grey foliage too, is a cool blue palette. Fruit, leaf and flower all contribute and I refer you once again to Gertrude Jekyll. In…

Yellow

  From the palest blush, soft cool primrose, sulphurous, acid, gaudy, bright, golden, and adorning the garden right the way through the year - this is a richly diverse palette and can be used to many an effect. I've been reading Gertrude Jekyll's book on colour schemes in the flower garden and she is extraordinarily…