Gardens Open Day on Ham Common

Categories Open to the publicLeave a Comment on Gardens Open Day on Ham Common

Gardens Open Days are a delight, an opportunity to visit private gardens, all within a pleasant stroll of one another, representing a diverse collection of garden styles -  gardens from (very) large and grand to postage stamp and intimate - attached to properties many centuries old or with just a couple of years under their…

Continue reading ➞ Gardens Open Day on Ham Common

Penshurst Place, Kent – a magical tour …

Categories Architectural Plants, Art in the landscape, herbaceous, Magnolia, spring flowering, Spring Garden, Summer garden, WisteriaLeave a Comment on Penshurst Place, Kent – a magical tour …

A dazzlingly good day out visiting Penshurst Place, near Tonbridge in Kent. A medieval masterpiece set within 11 acres of walled gardens, much remaining true to their Tudor design. Gobsmacked and flabbergasted am I - already planning a return visit ....

I’m ready for my close-up – A macro lens at Petersham Nurseries in early May

Categories Abstract Photograpy, Architectural Plants, Bedding, Bulbs, herbaceous, House plants, macropetala, Petersham Nurseries, Plants for a shady garden?, Seasonal colour, shade, spring flowering, Spring Garden, Summer garden1 Comment on I’m ready for my close-up – A macro lens at Petersham Nurseries in early May

A little blur of a tour of the Nurseries on a fine May day - stuffed full of plants inside and out and a day of bright welcome sunshine too. Captions and plant names to follow - rush rush!

The best of the rest from RHS Wisley; a grand Stachyurus, a great Edgworthia chrysantha Grandiflora and a huge Fuji Cherry, Corylopsis (2), many Corydalis and Camellias and other Woodland Stars plus the Plant Centre (see the Fritillaria meleagris & persica Ivory Bells) …! @RHSWisley #Wisley #SpringAtWisley

Categories General commentLeave a Comment on The best of the rest from RHS Wisley; a grand Stachyurus, a great Edgworthia chrysantha Grandiflora and a huge Fuji Cherry, Corylopsis (2), many Corydalis and Camellias and other Woodland Stars plus the Plant Centre (see the Fritillaria meleagris & persica Ivory Bells) …! @RHSWisley #Wisley #SpringAtWisley

A revisit to RHS Wisley in March 2015, to compliment my recent workshop on shade gardening – and there is certainly no lack of colour to be had in these woodland places ….

The Teddington Gardener's avatarThe Teddington Gardener

IMG_0490IMG_0488IMG_0486Stachyurus chinensis, a beautiful golden rain next to the House at RHS Wisley, looking across to the Lily Pond, past the King and Queen..

IMG_0492IMG_0435IMG_0419IMG_0422IMG_0426IMG_0418An exceptional specimen this, spicily fragrant and with larger flowers than the common-or-garden variety – there is one Ordinary specimen next to the Stachyurus pictured above that is going over now, while this one, in a shadier spot in the centre of the Bowles Corner garden, is much fresher altogether.

IMG_0454https://www.rhs.org.uk/gardens/wisley/wisley-blogs/wisley/July-2014/rediscovering-bowles-corner

IMG_0439IMG_0441IMG_0450IMG_0451IMG_0446IMG_0416IMG_0415IMG_0412Working my way now back along the upper path above the meadow towards the Rock Garden…

IMG_0410IMG_0405IMG_0402A little collection of Corydalis now in the shade of one of the larger trees, though with no labels to tell me which they might be..

IMG_0397IMG_0394IMG_0393IMG_0391IMG_0390IMG_0387Curious flowers, these and I have never been sure that I actually like them – seeing them in this mix, little pockets of colour among other spring bulbs, I think I might…

IMG_0386IMG_0384IMG_0381IMG_0380IMG_0377A…

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In dappled woodland shade, much colour at Kew Gardens … a veritable rainbow of red, yellow, pink, blue, orange, purple (somewhere), green of course – and white … @kewgardens #SpringAtKew

Categories General commentLeave a Comment on In dappled woodland shade, much colour at Kew Gardens … a veritable rainbow of red, yellow, pink, blue, orange, purple (somewhere), green of course – and white … @kewgardens #SpringAtKew

A reblog of a Spring post from the Woodland Garden at Kew – the end of March 2015. Adding some colour to the long lists I’ve just posted on the art of gardening in shade …

The Teddington Gardener's avatarThe Teddington Gardener

IMG_9568 Leucojum aestevum against blue Scilla

Leucojum aestuvum in great drifts in the borders surrounding the Temple of Aeolus, the very cultivated woodland area at Kew Gardens. Hints of the expansive carpets of Scilla in the background.

IMG_9537 Summer snowflake – Leucojum aestevum

IMG_9539 Great drifts of vigorous Scilla

IMG_9548 Scilla colonising these banks

IMG_9546 Scilla in detail

IMG_9552 Iris lazica

IMG_9560 Iris lazica

IMG_9550 Pulmonaria rubra

IMG_9575 Stachyurus praecox var matzuzakii with great pendant curtains of flower

IMG_9578 Stachyurus praecox

IMG_9580 Drifts of scilla continue

IMG_9570 Magnolia stellata and the Temple of Aeolus on the mount

IMG_9581 Renovation work on the grass edging

IMG_9585 Crown Imperial Fritillaries

IMG_9586 Scilla and daffodils in the dappled shade of the woodland

IMG_9587 Blue and white Scilla

IMG_9605 Arum creticum

IMG_9597 Arum creticum

IMG_9599 More blue and the rarer, white scilla

IMG_9610 Highly scented Crown Imperials

IMG_9615 Loving the dappled shade, these Fritillaria imperialis

IMG_9622 Cornus mas

IMG_9628 Cornus mas with matching lichen

IMG_9640 Hercules and Aechelus in the lake

IMG_9641 Plaque for the lake fountain sculpture and…

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Kew Gardens – the Woodland Gardens providing welcome shade, dappled and deep and a rich tapestry of leaf, flower & fragrance

Categories General commentLeave a Comment on Kew Gardens – the Woodland Gardens providing welcome shade, dappled and deep and a rich tapestry of leaf, flower & fragrance

I thought I’d reblog this post following my workshop at Petersham Nurseries earlier this week – gardening in the shade – Spring through early Summer. This post was in June 2015. My notes for the workshop will be up in a new post soon.

The Teddington Gardener's avatarThe Teddington Gardener

After giving a talk on the beauty and possibilities of gardening in the shade – indeed on a day like today and with temperatures set to soar next week, the necessity of shade and all that means, it was a timely visit to the woodland gardens beneath the tall trees that wrap around the lower slopes of the Temple of Aeolus. These are well tended, heavily mulched and well watered gardens though many of the plants will cope with much drier soils and some, deeper shade again.

Green is the thing – with such a variety of leaf shape, form, colour and texture that it is by no means boring. Bold, grass-like, pleated, rough, shiny, tiny, the filtered light allows all of the detail to be seen. While the over-arching colour scheme is green, the same cool light allows the flowers to stand out – they pack quite a punch…

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A Cutting Garden with Tulips in abundance, Fritillaries both imperial & persica, the first Roses, Hawthorn, Camellias, still, cherry blossom, still, spicy Wisteria, chartreuse Euphorbia, a country churchyard and an old deer park – plus a cow or two … tales from Petersham Nurseries

Categories Bulbs, Climbing plants, colour, Cutting Garden, David Austin roses, Flowering Cherry, Fragrant plants, General comment, Petersham Nurseries, Roses, spring flowering, Spring Garden, WisteriaLeave a Comment on A Cutting Garden with Tulips in abundance, Fritillaries both imperial & persica, the first Roses, Hawthorn, Camellias, still, cherry blossom, still, spicy Wisteria, chartreuse Euphorbia, a country churchyard and an old deer park – plus a cow or two … tales from Petersham Nurseries

A few images from a day at the Nurseries. I've been tweeting and instagramming over the past few days and posted a couple of videos too - they'll be easy to find from the links on my blog - featuring amongst other things, this vibrant Cutting Garden. They will give you an overview of this…

Continue reading ➞ A Cutting Garden with Tulips in abundance, Fritillaries both imperial & persica, the first Roses, Hawthorn, Camellias, still, cherry blossom, still, spicy Wisteria, chartreuse Euphorbia, a country churchyard and an old deer park – plus a cow or two … tales from Petersham Nurseries

A view from Kew – a blossomtastic Spring morning in these Royally Botanic Gardens

Categories Architectural Plants, Bulbs, Flowering Cherry, Fragrant plants, General comment, Mediterranean Garden, Open to the public, Ornamental trees, Rhododendron & Azalea, Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, Seasonal colour, Shrubs, spring flowering, Spring Garden, Trees for smaller gardens, White Garden, Woodland GardenLeave a Comment on A view from Kew – a blossomtastic Spring morning in these Royally Botanic Gardens

It certainly pays to make an early start, especially on such a bright and beautiful morning - and even more so when school holidays are upon us and Kew Gardens becomes a beautiful flower-filled playground and a great spot for a family picnic. For someone as bah-humbug as I about having unpopulated pictures - flowers…

Continue reading ➞ A view from Kew – a blossomtastic Spring morning in these Royally Botanic Gardens