Posted on 31.05.2018 | Updated on 19.06.2018 | Added in Plant of the Month Rosa banksiae Is the rose really the queen of flowers? Long celebrated for colour, scent and shape, it has symbolised a wide range of emotions and behaviours, including debauchery, love and hope. The rose is one…

Posted on 17.04.2018 | Updated on 20.10.2019 | Added in Plant of the Month Anemones, of which there are around 100 species, are widely known to be very useful plants, and perhaps none more so than Anemone blanda. The tubers can be squeezed between plants, filling gaps, naturalising well and…

Posted on 19.03.2018 | Added in Plant of the Month Narcissus cyclamineus Whilst being one of the most popular bulbs generally, the more commonly known daffodils can sometimes be far from a gardener’s favourite plant. Requiring little skill or craft, they are grown commonly en masse in municipal and amenity…

Posted on 05.02.2018 | Updated on 09.02.2018 | Added in Plant of the Month Helleborus oriental hybrids Selection of oriental hybrid flowers Not all hellebores are created equal, and we have preference for the much more herbaceous, acaulescent (meaning without stems) hellebores over the semi-woody caulescent (meaning with stems) types.…

Posted on 02.01.2018 | Added in Plant of the Month Chimonanthus praecox Despite being long described elegantly in terms of notes, chords and harmonies, scent is the most primitive of our senses. Set deep in our memories, interpreted faster than sound and extensively associated with sexual attraction and death, it…

Posted on 12.12.2017 | Updated on 15.12.2017 | Added in Plant of the Month Viscum album When Bing Crosby sang about his plans to be home for Christmas- alongside the powdery snow and obligatory gifts, he also requested the presence of a semi-parasitic plant with poisonous berries. This would seem…

Posted on 14.11.2017 | Updated on 26.11.2017 | Added in Plant of the Month Neoshirakia japonica In the arboretum nursery at Kew Gardens In woodland at Kew Gardens Ever since I first saw the fascinating Neoshirakia japonica growing at Kew Gardens many years ago, it has been one of my…

Posted on 18.10.2017 | Added in Plant of the Month Sternbergia It is at this time of year, when it is possible to get so excited about choosing and planting bulbs for spring, that we so easily miss the autumn flowering bulbs that provide some relief from the shorter and…

Posted on 16.09.2017 | Added in Plant of the Month Lagerstroemia Driving through the south of France this summer, I spotted many delightful Lagerstroemias along roadsides and in gardens, reminding me of the largely dismissive attitude we have towards them here in the UK. Providing elegant structure and many vibrant…

Posted on 03.08.2017 | Updated on 05.08.2017 | Added in Plant of the Month  Phygelius Phygelius Display If you were to visit my mother’s garden in Lancashire, you would possibly be dazzled by her collection of Fuchsias. Dancing away through the summer months in baskets, pots, tiered up the walls…

Posted on 05.07.2017 | Added in Plant of the Month Penstemon As recalled in the well worth a read, ‘Growing Guide to Penstemons’, the founder of what is now ‘Thompson and Morgan’ wrote in 1855 that should he have to pick just two plants to sell, they would be the…

Posted on 01.06.2017 | Updated on 05.07.2017 | Added in Plant of the Month The Himalayan blue poppy Meconopsis betonicifolia. Meconopsis have a reputation for being stunning but tricky to grow, especially when compared to other members of the family Papaveraceae. Relatives such as the many Orientale poppy (Papaver orientale)…

Posted on 01.05.2017 | Updated on 02.05.2017 | Added in Plant of the Month There are a selection of unassuming trees that for most part of the year blend seamlessly into the landscape providing sufficiently fine form and structure, however at this time of year, really come into their own.…

Posted on 01.04.2017 | Updated on 05.04.2017 | Added in Plant of the Month Arum Arum is a genus of tuberous perennial plants belonging to the Araceae family, the genus is made up of around 25 species native to Europe, Northern Africa and Western Asia to the Western Himalayas. Many…

Posted on 27.02.2017 | Added in Plant of the Month Erythronium E. tuolumnense E.albidum It is a sure sign that spring has settled in once the ‘Galanthophiles’ and ‘Croconuts’ have had their fix and quietly, another group of plants, perhaps one for the more discerning gardener, start to make their…

This is my final contribution for ‘Plant of the month’ and as it’s February (probably the worst month of the year in which to find photographs), it was suggested that I might reflect on what makes a good choice for ‘Plant of the Month’. This intrigued me, as although I’ve…

Hedera colchica ‘Paddy’s Pride’ AGM (syn ‘Sulphur Heart’) January is a strange month to contend with in the garden. Extremes of weather, from the sublime to the ridiculous, can rattle through in the space of a week, leaving the humble plot-tender bewildered. Already this year in Herefordshire, we’ve had temperatures…

Malus hupehensis AGM As gardeners, rather than just Hardy Planters, winter presents us with a range of challenges. Most of us wish to retain our gardens as places of interest and tranquillity during the cold months and this requires us to embrace different strategies than when flowers abound. Structure and…

Posted on 29.10.2016 | Updated on 27.11.2018 | Added in Plant of the Month Strobilanthes rankanenesis I must admit to a little hesitation over this month’s choice, on two counts. First, maybe this slot should go to a truly hardy November plant that shrugs off harsh weather and still shines…

Posted on 29.09.2016 | Updated on 11.11.2016 | Added in Plant of the Month Dahlia ‘Glorie van Heemstede’ AGM I’m so glad that dahlias have come back in from the wilderness. Fashion did us a great disservice when for many years it decreed that no discerning gardener could look at…

Posted on 31.08.2016 | Updated on 04.09.2016 | Added in Plant of the Month I’m sorry that the word ‘jewel’, applied to gardens, has received such celebrity endorsement over the last few years. A bit like Hovis and the New World symphony, it has given it a ubiquity that de-values…