Gardener and Photographer with a love of Roses and a magpie-eye for all things Horticultural
Betula utilis var. jacquemontii - one of the most desirable forms of Birch tree, with clean white bark. Brand new flesh, here.... with a gentle blush Betula szechuanica, above A young trunk which will mature to display chalk-white, textured, peeling bark. There is a grove of Birch trees, of many different varieties, at the top…
Continue reading ➞ Birch – Himalayan and Szechuan
I couldn't resist revisiting this admirable collection of Hamamelis - Witch Hazels - part of the Mediterranean Landscape at Kew. For details of the 'How to Grow' and 'What are They' variety, please re-visit my earlier post - just enter 'Hamamelis' into the search-query-box-thing.
A grove of Witch Hazel, Hamamelis, at Kew - like those at RHS Wisley, in profuse bloom - these specimens are obviously in full sun rather than a woodland setting - they form part of the Mediterranean Garden displays, a setting for King William's Temple, and they seem to be liking it! Smaller plants than…
Continue reading ➞ Bewitched… Hamamelis at Kew
Whether a single specimen, a small copse or more generously planted, these Birch trees add such contrast and definition to a garden. Light canopies, butter-yellow autumn colour and then such strong stand-out silhouettes from Autumn to Spring. Look out for cultivars with such evocative names as Grayswood Ghost, Snow Queen and Silver Shadow. Weeping forms…
Continue reading ➞ Bone-white Birch
Malus transitoria, the cut-leaved crab apple (photographed at RHS Wisley earlier this week) Crab apples are often excellent small trees for the garden, with late spring blossom to rival many of the Japanese Cherries, persistent fruit (attractive but only barely edible in the strictest sense). The blossom can be exceedingly fragrant and runs the gamut…
Continue reading ➞ Malus transitoria – crab apple delights
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…
Continue reading ➞ A Whiter Shade of….. Rowan (Sorbus glabrescens)
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…
Continue reading ➞ Christmas Eve at RHS Wisley
Acer palmatum dissectum Acer palmatum Atropurpureum Acer griseum These three acers are all in pots, at the bottom of the garden and effectively screened from the house by a miniature forest of boisterous bamboos and all manner of more traditional ever-greenery. They form a backdrop to the thatched Breeze House (placed under the canopy of…
Continue reading ➞ Acers in my garden
Arbutus unedo - the Strawberry Tree A slow growing, evergreen tree that deserves to be more popular here in the UK - it is already widely planted in the Continent, even used in street planting and is attractive on so many fronts. Evergreen, of course, is always useful - a flowering tree ticks more boxes,…
Continue reading ➞ Strawberry Tree
The Teddington Gardener 