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…

Nymans, pure Romance …

  Lockdown continues and these gardens, as are all, are closed to the public and so it is back to the archives and this collection of photographs from early May last year. I've brought it forward as the Wisteria has really taken to the warm days we have enjoyed this past few weeks and is…

A Grand Day Out – Loseley House & Gardens – Within the Walled Garden, a Rose Garden, Flower Garden, White Garden, Herb and Edible Garden, and then a Moat, Tudor House, Parkland ….

Thank goodness for that - only having lived within striking distance of this Tudor House, Walled Garden and Parkland just down the A3 between Guildford and Godalming - for nigh on 19 years - we got there! And we were not disappointed. This is a busy estate and a very busy wedding venue - so…

Nymans, pure Romance …

  After dropping my Sister- and Mother- in law off at Gatwick Airport, a short drive down the M23 to Nymans, a National Trust Property of great charm. Romantic ruins, beautiful gardens, far reaching views across woodland and downs, formal gardens and naturalistic, some tragedy, some infamy, quite a lot of beauty. Sadly too early…

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 -…

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 -

A Cutting Garden with Tulips in abundance, Fritillaries both imperial & persica, the first Roses, Hawthorn, Camellias, still, cherry blossom, still, spicy Wisteria, chartreuse Euphorbia, a country churchyard and an old deer park – plus a cow or two … tales from Petersham Nurseries

A few images from a day at the Nurseries. I've been tweeting and instagramming over the past few days and posted a couple of videos too - they'll be easy to find from the links on my blog - featuring amongst other things, this vibrant Cutting Garden. They will give you an overview of this…

Gilded Trees – Ginkgo biloba and Parrotia persica at Kew Gardens – liquid gold, ruby & emerald

Ginko biloba - the prehistoric Maidenhair Tree, with a weeping form which is even more of an absolute gold mine, still, with generally larger leaves and longer leaf-stalks than its upright neighbours. Parrotia persica (below) gold with flashes of red and emerald. and finally, a Grandstand Wisteria... Just half an hour today at Kew Gardens…

A Kew Gardens Miscellany – Alpines, Trees and Random Autumn Stuff

Nerine flexuosa in the Davies Alpine House at Kew. Scilla maderense (below) This clam shell construction lies at the head of the Rock Garden, next to the Princess of Wales' Conservatory and the Grass Borders. Actually there wasn't a great deal to see in the Alpine House this time - a few cyclamen, Paperwhite narcissus…