On the alpine wall baking in the June heat is Jasminum parkeri. With the familiar Jasmine shaped flowers this is a ground hugging evergreen shrub native to northern India. Introduced to Britain in 1923 by a Mr RN Parker who, in 1925, was the founder of the Botanic Garden annexed to the Forest Research Institute of Dehra Dun in northern India. He authored several books, amongst them; A Forest Flora of the Punjab 1918 and Forty Common Indian Trees 1933. This Jasmine has small yellow flowers throughout June held singly over the plant. A welcome addition to the alpine wall, if allowed to mature and develop will form a tumbling mass gradually covering the depth of the limestone wall. As a complete contrast a walk to the south side of the rock garden will be rewarded with a mass of Tropaeolum polyphyllum dominating a sun drenched mound. The hot dry weather we are experiencing has replicated the conditions of the dry mountain scree that this plant inhabits on the slopes of the Chilean and Argentine Andes. Covered in rich yellow flowers with plenty of metallic ice green geometric buds yet to open.

Jasminum parkeri

Tropaeolum polyphyllum