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Overnight Freeze

The overnight freeze left a myriad of ice crystals covering the garden this morning. The coldest day yet this year at -3.1 °C. These during and after images of…

Review of the year 2017

January 1st 2017 arrived with a light overnight frost and bright sunshine. The mild weather continued and with it the fragrance from the open flowers of Sarcococca, Hamamelis and Viburnum…

Bright berries

A light, open growing deciduous shrubby Honeysuckle, Lonicera deflexicalyx bears its fruit in pairs at the leaf axles or nodes, along the stem. These small berries are a…

Grey and silver in low light

The bright sunny days we have had are ideal for highlighting the soft shades of grey and silver in the garden. The foliage of Geranium traversii var. elegans,…

A plant with potential

A young plant of Nyssa sylvatica planted on the pond lawn is colouring well. A native to Eastern North America where it adds considerably to the swathes of…

A good crop of berries

A compact herbaceous woodland native, Paris quadrifolia, has fruited well this season. The flower stalks appear above the deeply veined leaves. There are still remnants of the green…

A woody legume

A young specimen of Colutea cilicica, native to SW Asia is flowering well in the border behind the new alpine house. An unusual genus to find in cultivation,…

Two interlopers

A consequence of a wet spell and the holiday season has resulted in the lawns not being cut as frequently as usual. Two plants have taken advantage of…

Continental colour combo

There is a winning combination in one of the alpine stone troughs. Here two surface hugging plants from separate continents have combined, growing through each other, their flower…

Two South African plants

Both of these plants were collected in Lesotho at the southern end of the Drakensberg Mountains, growing in grassland. Both appreciate an open sun drenched position with good…

Subshrub

Parahebe perfoliata is flowering profusely; it must be our climate, this mild winter, benign spring weather and the plant also has the benefit of a southerly aspect situated…

Perfect green panicles

Walking out of the John Hope Gateway into the Biodiversity garden  this wide spreading specimen of Acer caudatum ssp. ukurunduense is now mature enough to flower profusely. Collected…

Botanics Sparrowhawks – What’s that noise?

Welcome back to the Botanics Sparrowhawk blog. No photos this time I’m sorry to say. My camera is just not up to the job although I got quite…

Hygrophorus hypothejus- the Herald Of Winter

The appearance of Hygrophorus hypothejus– commonly known as The Herald of Winter- traditionally signals the beginning of winter and the end of the mushroom season. Hygrophorus mushrooms- commonly…

Discover Botanic Cottage…

‘Edin. 29th March 1765. Received from Dr John Hope Professor of Botany in the College of Edinburgh, the sum of fifteen pounds ster for making Plans and Estimates…