Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered – by these colourful, beguilingly fragrant Witch Hazels at RHS Wisley

A fine day yesterday, after that miserably wet weekend but still, having a day off, a chance to head over to the RHS gardens at Wisley. My mission: to stop by the Alpine House, take in a few snowdrops, inhale my first fragrant dose of Daphne bholua, bag the first of the Hellebores and of…

My first visit to the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew (well, my first this year) – Witch Hazels aplenty, Alpine beauties – Magnolias! – and more… Welcome to Part 1

Hamamelis x intermedia Vesna Happily, Kew Gardens are a short distance from Teddington HQ (too) and as long as there is a parking space close to the Victoria Gate entrance, there is no excuse for me not to stop off and take a look inside. Sometimes this is just a short stop, perhaps less than…

Walk with me through the woodland landscapes at RHS Wisley – a fragrant, colourful tour for these unexpectedly mild days …

I had the time to visit the gardens at RHS Wisley on Wednesday this week, the sunniest of days and quiet too (everybody else was at the work, or the supermarket, or on the M25... ) The colour and fragrance on offer was unexpectedly generous, with Camellias and Rhododendrons, Witch Hazel, Chimonathus and Edgworthia, Hellebores…

If you go down to the woods today (reprise) – Scented Witch Hazels, Daphne & Sarcococca, Edgeworthia too at RHS Wisley

You are met, as soon as you walk into the gardens at RHS Wisley, by the seductive scent of Sarcococca, the Winter Box, in this case with pure white threadlike flowers on arching stems, set against deep green leaves. It is a fragrance that carries on the wind, a siren-call to the few pollinators out…

Still bewitched by Witch Hazels…

The woods of the Wild Garden, betwixt the Rock Garden, Alpine Meadow and Seven Acres (at RHS Wisley) were bright and fragrant with witch hazels, with names I had read about but not seen either on Battleston Hill nor at Kew. These delicate thread-like flowers are completely hardy and will thrive, unharmed by snow and…

Bewitched… Hamamelis at Kew

A grove of Witch Hazel, Hamamelis, at Kew - like those at RHS Wisley, in profuse bloom - these specimens are obviously in full sun rather than a woodland setting - they form part of the Mediterranean Garden displays, a setting for King William's Temple, and they seem to be liking it! Smaller plants than…

All about witch hazel – Hamamelis of every hue at RHS Wisley

Hamamelis x intermedia Orange Peel -  a fine, deeply coloured witch hazel Hamamelis x intermedia Orange Peel (above and below) a fine specimen at the base of Battleston Hill at RHS Wisley. (below) Hamamelis x intermedia Pallida - lighting up the woodland slopes at Wisley (above) Hamamelis x intermedia Pallida is deservedly one of the…