Gardener and Photographer with a love of Roses and a magpie-eye for all things Horticultural
The Botanic Gardens in Funchal, Madeira, are, and this is not a surprise, steeply terraced gardens with a mix of native and international flora, displayed in tropical, desert, formal, forest, succulent, medicinal and herbal.... different zones with winding paths leading up and down the hillside. There is a sad and unnecessary aviary here too with…
I'm reprising these photos, taken almost exactly a year ago, in The Savill Garden, part of Windsor Great Park, cosseted by Virginia Water. I must return there soon, before the strengthening winds strip the trees bare. I hope these pictures might convince you to put on your wellies and get out there too - or…
Situated in the town of Monte, high up to the north of Funchal and accessed by the Cable Car (and the excellent bus services that criss-cross the capital and environs), this is a rescue project with ambition. Monte Palace was once a prestigious hotel that fell out of favour, and then out of time, until…
The gardens of Quinta da Palheiro are famous not only for the variety of plants that grow there but also for the beauty of their setting in the hills to the east of Funchal, the capital of Madeira. Madeira has long been called the Garden Isle and it seems that almost anything will grow in…
A base for a couple of weeks horticultural adventuring - and a little relaxation - on the island of Madeira, a volcanic outcrop in the midst of the Atlantic with a bewildering variety of exciting plant life to explore. Our hotel, Quinta da Casa Branca, despite the greenery and seclusion evident from these photographs, is…
Just a couple of violas, one deep blackcurrant, the other a luminous orange. Will still be in flower in three or four months making these diminutive charmers both beautifully and astoundingly good value. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/gardening/howtogrow/3346277/Winter-pansies-and-violas-How-to-grow.html
Cobaea scandens - the cup and saucer vine - is more commonly found with creamy-green-to-rich purple-fading-to-pale-lavender flowers though also in a ghostly white. Tender here in the UK, it is grown as an annual though these examples, in the Cutting Garden at Petersham Nurseries, survived through the mild and wet winter and continued to grow…
Continue reading ➞ Cobaea scandens – the cup and saucer vine with an eye on world domination
The David Austin rose, Constance Spry, here, winding and spiralling around some birch posts forming a substantial wigwam/obelisk in the Cutting Garden at Petersham Nurseries. Looking forward to my rose-themed workshop tomorrow and hoping that the rain will have rained all it can overnight. A little sunshine would be very welcome!
The cosmos are still floating around at head height, self-supporting and with ferny-filmy foliage - they have just kept on going and going this season with more to come... Likewise the sunflowers have had a great season, though their flower power is slowing down and much seed is being set. The zinnias, another late season…
The Teddington Gardener 