Gardener and Photographer with a love of Roses and a magpie-eye for all things Horticultural
Buddleja White Profusion A much maligned plant, the butterfly bush, which if left unpruned can become an unmanageable monster, all arching limbs and stratospheric flowers. Prune it hard in early Spring and it becomes so much more attractive, with larger spikes of flowers blooming closer to where the average Jo/Joe might see them. It is still a…
Continue reading ➞ Dreaming Spires…
A new one on me (and I think pretty new to the market), this diminutive Anemone goes by the unlikely name of Fantasy Pocahontas. Why I know not, but it is growing on me. At first sight the small flowers (about the size of a ten pence piece) are just a mite too fussy but there is…
Continue reading ➞ Fantasy Pocahontas, I kid you not….
Friday Gallery - Roses from David Austin If there have ever been any complaints that there is no variety in English Roses, look again! My Friday Album is all about David Austin Roses, showcasing just a little of the wide spectrum of colour, form (and not forgetting fragrance) within their catalogue - and these are just…
Continue reading ➞ Thank you, Mr Austin
Helenium Sahin's Early Flowerer in the foreground, Phlox paniculata Otley Choice behind... Now here is a combination that sings (it might even shriek, just a little bit) but late summer colour in the herbaceous border is often strong, nearly always bright and usually planted with contrast in mind. These two long flowering plants are really…
Continue reading ➞ Pink & Orange – Be Brave!
Huge flowerheads of Kniphofia Prince Igor, towering over the roses and mixed herbaceous planting in the Bowes Lyon Rose Garden at RHS Wisley. Now I know kniphofia and I have had a mini-affair recently - with Mango Popsicle specifically - but this - THIS - this is a significant presence in the border, a very…
Continue reading ➞ Kniphofia Prince Igor
Rose Madame A.Meilland (1942) Claudia Dubreuil, born in 1887, became Madame Meilland when she married Antoine Meilland. She died in 1932 at the comparatively early age of 45. Six generations of Meillands have been rose growers. They are still the most famous rose growing family in France, and the family firm produces some 12 million…
Continue reading ➞ Madame A. Meilland
Hailing from the hills of Honduras/Eastern Guatamala, Passiflora citrina is a delightful form of passionflower, found growing in moist pinewoods. A beautiful free-flowering plant which may be in bloom 10 months of the year. Pollinated by hummingbirds, if you have one about your person. The leaves are very distinct, paddle shaped and quite a lot…
Continue reading ➞ Passiflora citrina
Echinacea purpurea Rubinglow and Echinacea purpurea Green Edge Here, at the top of the border near The Mount, it is a battle between the Echinacea Rubinglow and Green Edge, though the balance is far in the favour of plummy purple cultivar. Allium seed heads provide some contrast too. The ground here, as well as being…
Continue reading ➞ Piet Oudolf Borders at RHS Wisley
Some very good reviews of this Astrantia - deep rich colouring, long lasting, free flowering. I've planted 'Roma' in various gardens and am happy to recommend it, though the colour, in the warm weather we have had these past few weeks, has washed out more quickly than I would have liked. This cultivar looks like…
Continue reading ➞ Astrantia Gill Richardson
The Teddington Gardener 