Weather and climate have colluded this year to ensure a magnificent flowering season. Mature trees have excelled in their flower production this year and currently Fraxinus ornus var….
Four and a half pages of tight text indicate the importance that WJ Bean placed on this species of tree Paeony, Paeonia suffruticosa, in his book “Trees and Shrubs…
Chaenomeles japonica is often referred to as Quince. This common name should be reserved for Cydonia oblonga. The fruit of both do however make a very fine jelly;…
Exochorda x macrantha a garden hybrid between E. korolkowii and E. racemosa introduced c. 1900. At this time of year the leafy growth is covered in racemes of…
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…
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…
Scopolia carniolica var. carniolica a member of the Solanaceae family and found throughout Europe. Lush foliagesprouts rapidly from the rhizomes as soil temperature rises and days lengthen in…
A late flowering, ground hugging evergreen member of the sweet scented genera Daphne; Daphne blagayana is just now opening its spear shaped buds. Terminal sulphur yellow flower buds…
Early to leaf out; Sorbus caloneura is at its best as the winter buds burst and the fresh foliage expands. This wide branched small tree has deeply veined…
It is evident spring has arrived and settled in when the Rhododendron collection rewards us with masses of colour. Many of the species are now blooming profusely through…
Growing in the Middle Atlas mountains of Morocco at subalpine altitude; 2000 – 2500metres, Ranunculus calandrinoides demands a rocky free draining substrate where the roots can grow down…
Sycopsis sinensis is an evergreen shrub in the family Hamamelidaceae. A native to central and western China where it grows as understory in evergreen forests on hillsides at…
Alnus japonica, a deciduous pyramidal tree, this specimen collected in 1987 by Warner and Howick during travels to Hokkaido Province, Japan. The parent plant was found growing at…
After the snow, there is the promise of colour to come. In the rock garden are specimens of a naturally occurring hybrid Rhododendron; Rhododendron charitopes ssp. tsangpoense x…
A cold winter puts strain on the food resources that the gardens’ bird population depends on. Capsules on the spent herbaceous flower stalks are one source of food…
A small leaved Holly, introduced by E.H. Wilson from Sichuan province, China, during an expedition funded by the Arnold Arboretum. It grows amongst forests and woody cover in…
The image shows the shoot and branch framework exaggerated by snow cover. Abies alba, the “European Silver Fir” sprinkled with snow appears to have a fishbone structure. A…