Gardener and Photographer with a love of Roses and a magpie-eye for all things Horticultural
Sarcocca confusa These small tassel-like flowers, on a glossily evergreen shrub, pump out a sweet perfume - over-rich when planted in quantity and to be used sparingly if brought into the home - an undemanding plant for a shady corner, in most soils (including the more difficult drier spots) and prepare to be caught by surprise…
Continue reading ➞ More fragrance in the winter garden…
Scent in the winter garden - Chimonathus praecox 'Grandiflorus' Several fine specimens by the lake edge at Kew, near to the Plant Centre... I'm bewitched by scented plants and I do seem to have stumbled upon some quite spectacular examples in the few short hours I spent at Kew and Wisley earlier this week. I'll…
Continue reading ➞ Winter sweet – Chimonanthus praecox ‘Grandiflorus’
(above) Daphne bholua (above) Daphne bholua Peter Smithers (more reliably evergreen than some, for example the more commonly available Jacqueline Postil which can drop many of its leaves after flowering) (above) Daphne odora Mae-Jima - with more gold than green (above) Daphne x hybrida Battleston Hill, a woodland garden of winding paths was rich…
Continue reading ➞ Daphne in the woodland gardens at RHS Wisley
I saw these pots at Wisley earlier in the week and very effective they are too! Cut 'canes' have been inserted into planted containers - I can see muehlenbeckia in one, though the choice is endless. Left to their own devices, these stems will very likely root but that isn't really the idea. Equally this…
Continue reading ➞ Dogwoods and container displays…. and car parks
Just photographs for this piece, although I am sure I have written about these invaluable providers of colour (and form) in the winter months on other occasions - most likely with reference to the varied stand of dogwoods, willow and rubus at Wisley - like here, planted to double the enjoyment, reflecting their myriad colours…
Continue reading ➞ Cornus – bright stemmed dogwoods at Kew
Golden brown texture like sun Lays me down with my might she runs Throughout the night No need to fight Never a frown with golden brown Every time just like the last On her ship tied to the mast To distant lands Takes both my hands Never a frown with golden brown Golden brown finer…
Continue reading ➞ Golden brown texture like sun…
Iris rosenbachiana - from Russian Central Asia Iris planifolia (above) from the Mediterranean Iris bakeriana - Turkey, Iran, Iraq From Israel and Jordan, Iris regis-uzziae The Davies Alpine House at Kew - home to so many miniature wonders, including these iris, hardly taller than their labels and perfect little works or art - beautiful.
Under the graceful ululations of the Japanese Maple (Acer palmatum Dissectum Atropurpureum) that is a joy of fine foliage, form and startling colour both in Spring and Autumn, something that must surely draw a gasp from every lucky passer by. Set within the bulky rockery of the Alpine Beds, adjacent to the Salvia Border and…
Continue reading ➞ The return of the snowdrop – Galanthus elwesii at Kew
Prunus serrula, a young specimen just inside the Victoria Gate of the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew - Prunus serrula is rather better known, I think, than the Himalayan Cherry, Prunus himalaica, with its darker glossy bark. It is a small but vigorous deciduous tree of which the main attraction is the glossy, copper-red bark.…
Continue reading ➞ Prunus serrula – the competition from Kew Gardens
The Teddington Gardener 