A few things that caught my eye today – an early Springtime collage

Just a little colour to mark the sunshiny day we've had hereabouts - with these heralds of Spring in all their Technicolor finery. Not an exhaustive gallery, I just caught a few pics at the top and tail of the day, but you get the spirit of the season. I'll see if I can do…

Kicking off the season at the RHS Early Spring Show 2017- snowdrops and iris and more springtime lovelies … Mostly snowdrops and iris (and an inflatable, stripy tank)

Avon Bulbs and Harveys both had amazing exhibits at the RHS Early Spring show the horticultural halls off Vincent Square in central London. Jacques Armand brought out the early reticulate and other diminutuve, early Irises. Dibleys, Streptocarpus and Pheasant Acre Plants, Hippeastrum. Plenty more of course, but here's a taster. https://www.avonbulbs.co.uk/ https://www.harveysgardenplants.co.uk/index.php?route=product/category&path=69 http://jacquesamandintl.com/homepage/ https://www.rhs.org.uk/shows-events/rhs-london-shows/rhs-early-spring-plant-fair Jacques…

Getting Horticultural for the month ahead … and a little tour of Petersham Nurseries

I wrote this (longer) piece for the Petersham Nurseries blog (abridged) and it would be a shame not to recycle it here! "You know that we are passionate about horticulture here at Petersham Nurseries, with new plants coming in every week now and plenty of activity in the gardens and glasshouses. Here are just a…

Kew Gardens – Desert, Tropics, Mountains and Forest….

Through the gates on a bright, chill afternoon a couple of days ago and herewith a tour of the Princess of Wales Conservatory and Davies Alpine House by way of the Rock Garden and Woodland beneath the Temple of Aeolus. First stop, the Princess of Wales Conservatory and the Arid/Desert environments - There was a…

Hellebores for a New Year

  A picture gallery - well there are going to be a few of them, cataloguing my visit to the gardens at RHS Wisley yesterday morning. Proof, if it were needed, that these are not the dullest, least colourful or interesting times in the garden. In fact I couldn't say when those times might actually…

A Kew Gardens Miscellany – the Roses (some flower, lots of hips), a glide through the Davies Alpine House and of course, some autumn leafery (see the Ginkgos) …

An unexpected bit of free time today and lo! A parking space by the Victoria Gate which meant I had to stop - and (first things first) smell the roses. Gertrude Jekyll, Stanwell Perpetual and Madame Isaac Pereire brought High Summer right back on a mostly overcast mid-November day. Soul food. From the Rose Garden,…

Catching up on an end-of-October, very autumnal excursion through the gardens at RHS Wisley – Wild Woods and still Waters, Glasshouse Borders, Arboretum & Orchards

Well this is all very well and good but where are the words? the captions? the bon-mots and folderols? Adopting a habit of many fellow horticultural bloggers, this is Wordless Wednesday - that mid-week point when there is still so much to do and less time than you thought you had, so pictures and just…

A return to RHS Wisley – as October arrives with blue skies and the warm gold of an Indian Summer

Roses, to come, but first a gallery of late-flowering perennials, shrubs and trees bringing a rich diversity and vibrancy to these gardens as October sidles into view. The Gardens at RHS Wisley - the Royal Horticultural Society's flagship garden - never disappoint and even with frequent visits, there is always something new to delight, excite…

The Autumn Equinox – And to celebrate, a little tour of RHS Wisley

Rosa Florentina, in the Jubilee Rose Garden at RHS Wisley - this may be the autumn equinox but the roses aren't letting go of summer just yet. A little time since my last post but in my defence, I have had a holiday - a delicious time in Barcelona, if you must know - so…