Gardener and Photographer with a love of Roses and a magpie-eye for all things Horticultural
Hamamelis x intermedia Orange Peel - a fine, deeply coloured witch hazel Hamamelis x intermedia Orange Peel (above and below) a fine specimen at the base of Battleston Hill at RHS Wisley. (below) Hamamelis x intermedia Pallida - lighting up the woodland slopes at Wisley (above) Hamamelis x intermedia Pallida is deservedly one of the…
Continue reading ➞ All about witch hazel – Hamamelis of every hue at RHS Wisley
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
Prunus himalaica, Battleston Hill, RHS Gardens Wisley Equally as stunning as Prunus serrula, (but with a darker, richer tea/walnut tone where the former is more shining copper), the rain-streaked bark of the Himalayan Cherry. A multi-stemmed example on the main flank of Battleston Hill (between two very fine peeling specimens of Acer griseum). I had…
Continue reading ➞ Prunus himalaica
A diversion this afternoon, after all my chores, to Battleston Hill - the enchanting woodland at the RHS Gardens, Wisley. Between rain showers and with a careful watch on the sodden earth, I found my first snowdrops. Galanthus elwesii is one of the first to flower, tall, with large flowers and distinctive blue-grey-green foliage, the…
Continue reading ➞ Galanthus elwesii – the first snowdrop of 2014
Cold and moderately wet, still - and little to entice you out and and in to the garden - so best to enjoy houseplants and glasshouses and conservatories and indoor-iness generally. Zygopetalum are orchids that last in flower almost as long as the more common Phalaenopsis (moth orchids) but with a touch more drama. The…
Continue reading ➞ Time for a bit of colour – Zygopetalum Orchid
A very wet, chill and windy day today, the first of 2014 - and I was out and about in it all - thermals, waterproofs and wellies (my trademark hat too) keeping me warm, toastie and mostly dry. More of the same tomorrow but with the hope of drier and brighter weather before we're back…
Continue reading ➞ and welcome to 2014….
Cotoneaster frigidus 'Cornubia' loses its leaves in winter. Its habit is upright when young, then arching. The leaves are long, narrow, veined and mid-green; the flowers and the red berries are very thickly borne and showy. This is a plant for a prominent position in a large garden. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/gardening/howtogrow/3338891/How-to-grow-the-best-cotoneasters.html What a busy year! The first…
Continue reading ➞ That was 2013….
A frosty morning with the few roses cocky enough to be flowering all rimed with ice. A little rose garden with climbing rose The Generous Gardener on tall black obelisks, accompanied by a trio of English shrub roses also from David Austin, Gertrude Jekyll, Geoff Hamilton and Winchester Cathedral. The whole scheme is bordered by…
Continue reading ➞ Jack Frost comes calling….
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)
The Teddington Gardener 