Gardener and Photographer with a love of Roses and a magpie-eye for all things Horticultural
Lady Emma Hamilton Jam The finished product and I'm a hopeful cook, in that this will set into some jam-like, spreadable, stays on toast consistency. (If it refuses to set, then iced rose petal granita it will be!) Four pints of water, or a little over, a kilo of jam sugar (with pectin), the juice…
Continue reading ➞ Hamilton Jam
I'm making a start on my first ever batch of Rose Petal Jam and have beheaded Lady Emma Hamilton - many of her in fact - for the purpose.... The petals have been carefully picked over to remove any unwanted joyriders but no more. They had not been sprayed with chemicals, obviously this is important…
Continue reading ➞ Boiling Lady Emma…
Dahlia David Howard I'm really taken with this dahlia, though this will probably be of little surprise, being as it is orange, but with these neat blooms sitting a top such dark foliage, it really is a winning combination. Small enough for the front of the border, or a container, but big on impact. Position:…
Continue reading ➞ Rich orange flowers and dark foliage – but not Lady Emma Hamilton?!
Dark leaved Heucheras, very useful 'evergreen' perennials Now I love a Heuchera and every season, there are more and more to delight. These three are in the darker spectrum, Mahogany (rich, chocolately), Black Beauty (glossy, deep blackcurrant) and Binoche (unusually, a matt near-black). Typically growing to between 40-80cm, a leafy crown of ruffled leaves, topped…
Continue reading ➞ Dark chocolate and blackberry
Lady Emma Hamilton Lady Emma Hamilton, my favourite English rose from the David Austin stable. I'm inflicting yet more pictures on you here, my one-man crusade to bring this rose up to the levels of popularity enjoyed by Gertrude Jekyll. Fresh, rich plum foliage, gorgeous citrus scent and glowing blooms. Healthy as anything, repeat flowering.…
Continue reading ➞ Here she comes again…
Lonicera x brownii 'Dropmore Scarlet' Bright the flowers of this honeysuckle may be, and unusual for all that too, but not scarlet. In common with many of these orange-red honeysuckles, there is very little scent but the eye catching display, from July through to September, makes up for being invisible, olfactory-wise. While it is not,…
Continue reading ➞ Very Nearly Scarlet
Rose, Rhapsody in Blue The search for a true blue rose continues though I am not convinced it is the Holy Grail it is made out to be. Having seen blue moth orchids recently, bred in Japan, while they may be dramatic, much of the classic appeal has been undermined and, to be frank, they…
Continue reading ➞ Almost Blue
I'm reprising three earlier posts, now that bulbs are arriving in garden centres and nurseries - tulips and narcissus, hyacinth, crocus and all manner of buried treasure. Tulips won't mind being planted later in this year, even into November, though the choice will become more limited as stocks go down. Buy now and keep them…
Continue reading ➞ The Bold and the Beautiful – Tulipmania
Lady Emma Hamilton - a David Austin rose with stunning colour and dark foliage This remains my favourite English Rose - dramatic colour to both the flower and foliage and a fantastic, zesty fragrance - lemons and melons and Sauternes. An intoxicating package.
The Teddington Gardener 