Tag: Weekly HighlightsPage 1 of 3

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…

Snake bark maple

Now that the foliage is clearing from the deciduous canopies the full beauty of the trunk of Acer pensylvanicum is revealed. This seedling is now eight years old;…

Fermenting apples

Sorbus harrowiana is not the best specimen for displaying ornamental fruit but it does have a related back story. It is native to SW China where, as can…

Last vestige of autumn colour

Wrap up warmly and take the opportunity to appreciate the remainder of the autumn colour on the deciduous trees. The colder nights see the leaves dropping as the…

Styrax fruits

One of the Styrax officinalis plants growing at the west gate has produced several fruits. These hang elegantly from the previous season’s growth. The fruits resemble a grey…

Out of season Daphne

Daphne gemmata, is compact, with an inflorescence of clear yellow flowers. This species, a native to SW China where it is found growing in sun, well drained, stony…

Out of season beauty

In the corner of the QMM garden is a columnar tree full of lightly scented musty white flowers. Awash with flowers this Hoheria populnea is a deciduous member…

Sky blue under a leaden sky

Despite the past week of storms, rain and battering inclement weather this scandent Delphinium sp. has proved resilient. It has sparse growth but from this is thrown a…

The season to prune

Now that deciduous foliage has fallen, the canopies of trees and shrubs are opened up. An ideal time to prune. During the dry summer we had this year,…

Autumn

Fruits abound this autumn, some less noticeable than others. Tucked away in the rock garden’s east valley is Euonymus nanus. As its name suggests this is a dwarf…

Takeover Day Scotland

Takeover Day Scotland is a celebration of children and young people’s contribution to museums, galleries and historic homes. It is a day on which they are given meaningful…

Tepee town

Coincidentally set out to resemble a group of tepees, the giant leaves of Gunnera manicata have been cut down. Left to stand, the winter winds would gust through…

Cleaning seed

Most people gather seasonal fruits for preserves. At the Garden we collect a selection of material for seed sowing demonstrations as class practical’s for the various horticultural courses…

Bright white to lift a grey November day

A sub shrub, one that continues to increase in woody growth until a severe winter cuts it to the ground like an herbaceous plant. The growth habit of…

Malus yunnanensis

A good year for apples, cultivated and botanical. Malus yunnanensis is no exception. A native to south western Provinces of China. The seed was collected in Yunnan Province…

Last gasp of autumn colour

Ribes vilmorinii planted on the Chinese hillside has the remains of startlingly bright leaf colour. This is a deciduous species native to NW Yunnan into Sichuan and Hubei…

Police truncheons; an impending shortage

The media is full of information on Chalara dieback of Ash; Chalara fraxinea. Below are web links that give information on the fungal disease that will cause loss…

Lawn invaders

At this time of year you may observe two interesting fungal colonisers through lawns. These gain a foothold during dank and humid conditions where they often colonise poorly…

Ligularia dentata

This species is a native to Japan where it establishes on forest margins and in clearings. When in cultivation; enjoying a position on a stream side with exposure…

A late entry into the Alpine House

Single golden yellow flowers are perched on the end of 150 – 180mm long stems of this autumn flowering bulb, from warm temperate Uruguay and Argentina. It is…