The shady garden in summer and autumn… beginning an A-Z

  I had been preparing for a workshop covering the possibilities for gardening in a little - or a lot - of shade and put together the gallery last year to illustrate some of the contenders that anyone tackling such a proposition might entertain. A perennial question, this, what to plant, planting combination and health…

A return to the gardens of RHS Wisley – a riot of colour and scent (well it will be and most definitely was last year)

Closed still of course, so a look back to a tour I did this time last year. These photos bring it right back into focus, and I can so clearly remember the paths and turns taken. Fresh greens, bright flowers and scent. Enjoy.   Hawthorn, Bluebells, Azaleas and Rhododendrons, flowering Viburnums, a craft fair, tree-trunk…

The shady garden in summer and into autumn … beginning an A-Z

  I'm preparing for a workshop covering the possibilities for gardening in a little - or a lot - of shade and have begun to put together the gallery (above, but more to come) to illustrate some of the contenders that anyone tackling such a proposition might entertain. Damp shade and dry shade, dappled shade…

A long-overdue visit to the gardens of RHS Wisley – a riot of colour and scent this early May Day

Hawthorn, Bluebells, Azaleas and Rhododendrons, flowering Viburnums, a craft fair, tree-trunk sculpture, sunshine and fragrance. A fine start to a long-overdue visit to these gardens. Sunshine and a few scattered squalls, sometimes a bit over-bright for good photography, but glad to have made the effort to get out here today. The Craft Fair - huge -…

Exbury Gardens, Hampshire

A trip down to Southampton this morning, to drop family off at the airport and then a convenient drive into the New Forest, ponies galore, and the gardens at Exbury. I've never been though know of their reputation for Rhododendrons, Camellias and Azaleas, and for a fine autumn showing of mature Acers. Obviously we are…

A few hours at Kew Gardens – the newly re-opened Temperate House, Alliums on the Broadwalk, treetop walkway, the Hive, gorgeous Wisteria, a Rhododendron or three, and laburnum arches, waterlilies, the Davies Alpine House and Rock Garden, peonies galore, many remarkable trees, a Japanese landscape and the Pagoda … and much more-

If a picture is worth a thousand words, here's a million. Kew Gardens today. Amazing, as ever -

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…

Kew in the Country – Wakehurst Place, water gardens, wetland, woodland and wildflower meadows…

An afternoon wander through the woodland, wetland, water gardens and wildflower meadows at Wakehurst Place, Kew in the Country (and National Trust too, but the parking is only free to Friends of Kew.. a big issue, this...) There is much, much more to see here within the greater parkland and more formal gardens at Wakehurst…

If you go down to the woods today – neon rhododendrons, bluebells, magnolias (still), bergenia, Flamingos and a glorious Staphylea emodi – at RHS Wisley

A perfect wander through the meandering paths on Battleston Hill at Wisley - quiet too (it usually is) giving you the peace and solitude to really appreciate the diverse planting, the understory, shrubs and tall mature trees. The magnolias were until recently the thing here, some real superb specimens, absolute stars, and the hellebores too…