Tag: Weekly HighlightsPage 1 of 3

Coming of age for old fibre

A huge mass of Osmunda regalis has been dug out on its eighteenth anniversary, see attached image. A mass of fibrous root is a characteristic of this terrestrial…

Prickly phyllodes

Acacia verticillata in flower on the front glasshouse border. A mass of mini citrus yellow bottle brushes. The flowers are a mass of densely packed stamens. The sharp…

Mountain Pulsatilla

Pulsatilla turczaninovii, a plant from  seed collected on the Russian Altay where it grew on the banks of the River Bashkaus. Sown and grown and now flowering on…

The genus Magnolia

A selection of the Magnolia species and cultivars are in full flower at RBGE. These magnificent trees are at their best when the sun shines and the air…

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…

Magnifying mirror

Look inside the open flower of Fritillaria imperialis ‘Aurora’ at the base of each of the six petals is a perfect white circle that magnifies the nectar pool….

Looking for inspiration

There was a double take when looking up from the new growth of Polygonatum x hybridum shooting up with closed stems to the hooded parasols on the terrace….

Beauty and the beast

Two Daffodils, two completely different flower forms. Narcissus ‘Golden Cycle’ a clump filling a crevice in the rock garden with the early morning sun making the golden colour…

A most distinctive colour

Warmth in the air and a lack of frost will give a good flowering season amongst the Rhododendron collection. One worth searching the copse for is Rhododendron davidii….

A blue lagoon

A mass planting of Omphaloides cappadocica can be seen in the upper woodland garden. This evergreen herbaceous plant clumps and appears as one mass; creating, when in flower,…

Two fine frits

On the grass meadow to the west of the new alpine house are a collection of Fritillarias. F. assyriaca ssp. assyriaca is in full bloom, drooping flower head…

The Campbell’s are coming

The Magnolia season is well and truly with us, the weather conditions have been perfect for these magnificent deciduous trees to bloom in profusion and for such an…

Curling and unfurling

This is the time of year for young growth to exhibit some, not all, of their best characteristics. The young foliage of Anemone x hybrid is pushing through…

Primula marginata

Filling an alpine trough with colour is Primula marginata, a native to the Alps. The rosette of evergreen foliage is toothed around the edges and white farina is…

Hedge your bets 5 of 5: Maintenance

  Maintenance Maintain a weed free root zone. Water establishing plants in a prolonged dry spell. Only cut when the bird nesting season is over. Forming the shape…

Hedge your bets 4 of 5

Hawthorn, Crataegus monogyna, the stock fence on farmland. Deciduous, spiny, flowering, berrying and impenetrable to livestock. These days, often cut with a tractor mounted flail mower. Craftsmen traditionally…

Hedge your bets 3 of 5: Tsuga heterophylla

Tsuga heterophylla, the Western Hemlock, neat and dense, withstands close clipping and retains its shape. A tree of forest proportions in its native Western North America. A Pacific…

Golfing Azaleas

If you have been watching the Masters 2014 Golf from Augusta, Georgia, USA you may have spotted the Rhododendrons (Azaleas) in flower particularly at the 12 and 13…

Hedge your bets: Holly 2 of 5, Hedge your bets: Holly, Ilex aquifolium

When does a hedge become a windbreak? The attached image illustrates Ilex growing in the Garden. As a windbreak the plants are left to grow, gaining not just…

Hedge your bets 1 of 5

Hedges are integral to the design and ecology of the garden. Forget the quick fix provided by larchlap panels, take time to make a choice of the many…