Tag: Weekly HighlightsPage 2 of 3

Maximising stem space

The mature specimens of Maytenus boaria seen in the garden are laden with flower buds. As these open the four yellow anthers are prominently displayed proud of the…

Better in bud

With leaves unfurling and flower buds poised to burst Viburnum buddlejifolium is an open growing wide spreading semi evergreen shrub native to Central China. In its present stage…

A poor year for old crocks

The extended cold has taken a toll on clay pots. These pots are absorbent and susceptible to freezing and thawing temperatures. Dependant on the kiln temperatures when fired…

Best black from Belgium

Hellebore seed gifted from a contact in Belgium was sown six years ago in the nursery. The resultant seedlings were grown on and flowered for the first time…

All a tangle

This is a Clematis like no other; a leafless tangle of green reed like stems. The scandent growth mounds over itself reaching 1.5metres in height. A native to…

A Georgian gem

Aipyanthus pulchra was growing in association with Daphne, Pulsatilla, Scabiosa in grassland when collected on Mt Kazbegi in Georgia at 2298 metres. Found throughout the Caucasus and western…

What a difference a few days make

Leaving Scotland’s driest and sunniest month of March since 1929 for the east winds that turned the balmy high teen temperatures we had been used to for 10…

Traditional bedding

The two strips of planting leading into the Temperate Palm House represent spring bedding at its best. These two cultivars; Polyanthus ‘Crescendo Yellow’ and Tulip ‘Purple Prince’ make…

Perfect petals

Rhododendron campanulatum ssp. campanulatum is found throughout the Himalayas. Seeds were collected in Nepal from a collection made at c. 3500 metres. This seed has grown into a…

Colour in the copse

The path leading into the copse from the south is the most colourful approach to this area of the garden. The mass of of yellow with a comparable…

Three stunners to herald spring

Pulsatilla turczaninovii is a native to the grassy slopes of E & N Asia into Siberia. It is a herbaceous clump former amassed with flowers. The sepals a…

A crown at the Royal

Towering through the Herbarium border is the bright flowered Fritillaria imperialis ‘Orange Beauty’. These “Crown Imperials” are members of the Liliaceae family. ‘The terminal head of flowers is…

Arctic willow

Collected from the North eastern area of the Russian Federation; Petropavlovsk – Kamchatsklly, Salix sphenophylla is a prostrate hugging deciduous sub shrub. More used to a boreal maritime…

Gold for the Alpine team

A fine start for the Alpine team at the garden. The team have won gold medals for displays of alpines at Stirling, Hexham and Edinburgh this year. These…

Mini and maxi – blasts of yellow

Narcissus minor; one of the compact members of the genus is always a reliable species to flower. Preferring an open position in full sun it is flowering in…

Spring temperatures and still the need for a thermos?

Thermopsis villosa a native to the coastal states of south eastern USA where it is found growing in forest clearings. The rhizomatous herbaceous growth shoots away in April…

Two Rocks and a Schilling

Growing in the copse are progeny of Joseph Rock’s selection of Rhododendron adenosum, collection number 18228 from the mountains of Sichuan province, China. Grow in open woodland where…

A plantsman’s plant

All the way from the South Korean countryside, Aristolochia manshuriensis is worth growing against a west facing wall for the unusual flower structure. The calyx is an inflated…

Honesty enduring

Perennial Honesty is a plant of the cottage garden. Scented flowers reliably produced on this herbaceous member of the Cruciferae family. The plant of Lunaria rediviva in this…

Musical notes with a frond melody

Osmunda regalis ‘Hillii’ is a cultivar of the deciduous species. As shoots sprout from the base the growing points elongate and unfurl at different rates. These shoots are…