In the footsteps of a Master: Graham Stuart Thomas I've had the privilege of attending the Heritage Rose Foundation Conference in Winchester today, mixing with the great and the good of the Rose World, with folk from America, New Zealand, India and closer to home - Trevor White of the eponymous rose nursery for example.…
Lady Emma Hamilton Jam…
Now I have to say first that Lady Emma Hamilton is my favourite rose, certainly my favourite from the David Austin stable and probably my favourite, full stop. Regular readers of these pages will know that Orange is a favourite colour, and Lady Emma has this in spades - a glorious bright orange richly…
Continue reading ➞ Lady Emma Hamilton Jam…
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Red and yellow and pink and green, purple and orange and blue… I can sing a rainbow, sing a rainbow…
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Only the crumbliest, flakiest chocolate, tastes like chocolate never tasted before…
Creamy, gauzy, hazy combinations of pale foxgloves, astilbe and roses with hydrangea Annabelle - and Ammi majus with muted dahlias and corn marigolds - I'm channeling the spirit of the iconic TV adverts Flake today... go on, you can hum it....! The blue of nepeta below, a misty blue, with the same mellow feeling.
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Fuchsia Dollar Princess, for the perfect big and bold, shade-tolerant hanging basket
I chose this Fuchsia, Dollar Princess, for a hanging basket by my front door - it clashes beautifully with the Victorian red-brick and the flowers have an almost ultraviolet glamour, set off well by the deep green leaves, although the flowers almost completely smother the plant already. Sometimes more is more. There is shade from…
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Roses, of course, and other floral delights for Thursday
The rich red of Tess of the D'Urbervilles, against a tapestry of blackberry and plum tones from the Penstemons, dark leaves of one hydrangea and the cranberry flowers of Pink Annabelle. These might not all be bedfellows in your border, but the colour associations can still be made. Tess is one of David Austin's Fragrant…
Continue reading ➞ Roses, of course, and other floral delights for Thursday
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A River runs through it… a momentary break from the roses at Mottisfont
The River Test runs over chalk through the grounds of the ancient Mottisfont Abbey in Hampshire. Crystal clear waters, live with fish and overhung with willow... stop for a minute and enjoy the birdsong. http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/mottisfont/
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From the top of the Pagoda, Kew Gardens: On a clear day you can see…..? But not as far as Yorkshire, or Kirstenboch
But first, a little history - the Pagoda dates back to 1762, built as a surprise for Princess Augusta, mother of George III... 253 steps, ten flights of shallow steps with a wide landing at each level with views across Kew Gardens and as you gain height, London beyond on a clear day, you can…
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June, in an English garden bordering Richmond Park
and my summer containers, barely a month planted up - some large terracotta pots and about 8 smaller, though still sizeable, Chelsea planters in complimentary colours. and a shallow bowl of house leeks, Sempervivens, in flower...
The Teddington Gardener 