Tag: JanuaryPage 1 of 4

White stemmed Rubus

These images are of one of the white stemmed brambles that since leaf fall are now more obvious in the border. The white indumentum over ruddy brown stems…

A fine ground covering plant

Now well established in the Copse is the evergreen Vinca difformis. Straggly bootlace shoots are sent out over ground at a rate of knots. Occasionally rooting down at…

Compost and the need to nourish the soil

Much of the work to be done in the garden at this time of year produces quantities of pruning’s and other green resource material. Note the use of…

Bright and cheerful

Jasminum nudiflorum; the ideal plant to appreciate from the warmth of your home and a pleasure to encounter when garden visiting at this dreich time of year. The…

Gaultheria poeppigii

An evergreen shrub with glossy berries native to Chile and Argentina where it was found colonising dry, rocky areas. The plant growing in the peat walls has reached…

Bird food

There is an untidy mass of evergreen growth on the northern raised border within the Queen Mother Memorial Garden. Jasminum humile produces copious amounts of black fruit. Pigeons…

Blue sausage

The deciduous stalks of Decaisnea insignis are prominent in the upper woodland garden. Hanging from these bare stalks are the fruit; blue sausage shaped receptacles that contain a…

Hanging by a thread

Jasminum nudiflorum; bright yellow flowers on chlorophyll green stems. This one, a stem layer that caught itself under the fence post and rooted into the mortar joint. The…

Review of the Year – 2018

Following on from a Met Office decreed White Christmas in 2017, Edinburgh had a day of snow and then Storm Dylan blew through on the 31st. Fortuitously, the…

Splash of colour

Euonymus are a genus of evergreen and deciduous woody plants. They have a habit of producing variegated sports which are then nurtured and bulked up by the nursery…

Seedling surprise

Looking for a cheap source of plants to bulk up your hedge or boundary shelter? Stay observant as you weed through the borders. There are often numerous seedlings…

A propensity to propagate

Cover, undergrowth, shrubbery; all terms for a mass of woody growth that provides shelter to biodiversity. Flowers, foliage and fruit through the seasons add to the interest of…

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…

Ten years of seasonal plants of interest – 12 that flower or colour reliably year on year.

A lot of plants have caught my eye during the past decade while compiling a weekly profile on a seasonal plant of interest. Below are the consistently reliable…

Rampant Ivy

Two images, Ivy, Hedera helix covering both plants. The pine trunks are sturdy and it will take several seasons to smother these. The Viburnum is different, colonised at…

Prune and support

The season of gales and heavy rain can conspire to unseat climbing plants from their supports. Take a pair of secateurs and reduce the overhang growth which can…

Save a seed pod

The long arching seed pods of Glaucium flavum are splitting lengthways into longitudinal sections. The seeds long gone, now just sections of the pithy packaging remain within. Found…

Fresh and golden start to the year

During the short days it is good to have flowering plants in the garden; Lonicera myrtillus is a low growing deciduous shrub. The fresh yellow tubular flowers hang…

Scented pathway

The Hamamelis have been in flower since mid-December but it is only now that the scent from the flowers is becoming distinctly evident when walking past the palm…

Hemispheres collide

The evergreen Prostanthera cuneatea is not enjoying the heavy rain and lately the frosts we are experiencing this winter. A native of the Southern Hemisphere it is dropping…