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 -…

15 Favourites ….

A little more detail on my favourite roses - of course I'll have changed my mind tomorrow, and the next day, though No. 1 will always be Lady Emma Hamilton ... 15 favourite garden plants next methinks .... Lady Emma Hamilton - a deliciously fragrant English rose, of rich tangerine with golden centre, paling to…

15 Favourites – Roses

My fifteen favourite roses

Floating Flowers …. almost igniting this huge bronze bowl at Petersham Nurseries (a new institution!)

We have really enjoyed floating all manner of seasonal flowers in this wide, shallow and beautifully scrolled bronze bowl, which we began in February. Then it was a huge brass urn from the Bank of Rome (it was one of a pair, one since sold, the other, available...) but we swapped to the lower, pedestal-less…

Petersham House Gardens – formal gardens, generous borders and a vibrant Cutting Garden

After a cycle ride along the towpath and the Thames sparkling in the sunshine, and nearly being late for taking so many photographs, a look in the Kitchen Garden first, which was the vegetable garden but has been co-opted into an additional Cutting Garden, as well as having the peony beds, Hellebores, many old roses…

Roses at Petersham Nurseries

Roses are at the fore of Petersham Nurseries with a fantastic selection of floriferous and healthy plants on display, with some quite amazing fragrance. New 2018 introductions, the Mill on the Floss and the single yellow Tottering-by-Gently - are exclusively available at a few choice nurseriess, me included! And please pop your nose into Lady…

Hampton Court Flower Show – Part 2 (Festival of Roses)

Mottisfont Rose Gardens

Overblown, blowsy, beautiful, fragrant, lush, a little ragged, absolutely in need of some serious dead-heading - but equally glamorous and hopelessly romantic, there are no rose gardens quite like Mottisfont. Soulful, they inhabit the walled gardens of this ancient priory, clambering through the many venerable apple and pear tress, hopelessly constrained by box or lavender,…

A snapshot from the RHS Gardens at Wisley

With a friend visiting from Melbourne and cool, cloudy weather, an opportunity to explore RHS Wisley and with 20 Plant Societies - Delphiniums and Cacti, Hostas and Bonsai, Pitcher Plants, Heathers, Vegetables, Dahlias and more - no better excuse to spend three hours in these varied landscapes. We explored the Cottage Garden - gorgeous planting,…