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Autumn colour in the Yorkshire Arboretum
Pyrus faurieiA surprisingly lovely day and the chance to get out into the arboretum revealed some really lovely examples of autumn colour on a wide range of trees - of which this is a small...
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Some Ethiopian plants
The fabulous Acanthus sennii, a prickly brute of a suckering shrub with satin flowers, common in scrubby roadside places at 2500-3000 m.I have been in Ethiopia for a couple of weeks, principally to...
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Margaret Owen, MBE 1930-2014
Margaret Owen, among the old fashioned daffodils she championed in Acton Burnell churchyard.The death of Margaret Owen in late October, sad though it is, came as no great surprise: she had never really...
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Ethiopian alpines: 1
The fabulous dwarf form of Kniphofia isoetifolia, apparently known only from this ridge.In 2003, travelling on what was then a rotten road, and in a hurry to get to our lodging with no time to stop, I...
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Ethiopian alpines 2: the Sanetti Plateau
The dramatic profile of Lobelia rhynchopetalum: so unexpected in a high alpine environment.The high point, in every way, of the trip to Ethiopia, was the day we had in the Bale Mountains National Park;...
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Unintended consequences of a blog post.
The fantasy flowers from the National Gallery's Virgin of the RocksIn January 2012 I wrote about a visit to the great exhibition Leonardo da Vinci, Painter at the Court of Milan, at the National...
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Peacock project 2014
Peachicks at about ten days old: the one on the left was assumed to be female, and the other two males (brothers) almost from hatchingI have always had 'a bit of a thing' about peacocks, as may have...
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Bean Online
The home page of 'Bean Online', showing one of several banner images (Ray Wood in this case).Before this year comes to an end I must post about a project that has taken up a good deal of my time in...
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Garden people 2014
Florist: Phillipe ChadwickAmerican galanthophiles: Susan and Kent Cadwalader, Ernest Cavallo, Susan AlexanderPogonophile: Razvan ChisuStudent: Terry HuangDesigner: Arabella Lennox-Boyd Plantsman: Tom...
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Plant of the Year 2014: Dactylorhiza × grandis
Dactylorhiza×grandis from Blackthorn Nursery, in the garden border June 2014. My Plant of the Year 2014 is the hybrid marsh orchid, Dactylorhiza×grandis, which impressed me this year in many places,...
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The importance of records
Rhododendron'Fugen-no-tsuki' (flower is 3 cm across)Before Christmas I was surprised to find a few flowers on an azalea in our garden in Ray Wood at Castle Howard. I took a sprig home with me, writing...
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The defrosting North
Cyclamen coum and Polypodium cambricum Cambricum Group early this morning. After a long weekend away I returned home on Wednesday morning, travelling through green countryside until just past York. At...
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Seattle Gardens 1: University of Washington Botanic Gardens
How have I failed to see Camellia × williamsii'Hiraethlyn' before? Such a beautiful simple flower.I got back yesterday from the inside of a week in Seattle - far too short a time sandwiched between...
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Farewell to The Patch
Galanthus elwesii'Margaret Owen'In November I reported the death of Margaret Owen, whose garden at The Patch, Acton Pigott, Shropshire, was a noted repository of good plants. Thanks to the generosity...
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A damp day at Colesbourne Park
Cyclamen coum with Galanthus'S. Arnott'. The Cyclamen have been spreading well now for about ten years, enjoying the thin, short turf.The reasonable weather of Saturday turned on Sunday to leaden...
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A good gardening day
Eranthis Tubergenii Group 'Guinea Gold' is the last to open here and perhaps the most spectacular.A really productive session working on the main border. A big clump of Nepeta was edited out.Today has...
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48 hours in Ireland
The flowers of Chrysosplenium macrophyllum contrast with and are complimented by the reddish foliage.Chrysosplenium macrophyllum is perhaps a little too happy on the banks of the Hunting Brook! The...
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University of Leicester Botanic Garden - an unexpected gem
Formal garden with traditional (immaculate) box hedging and spring bedding.With a colleague I attended a Plant Network meeting on Friday, at the University of Leicester Botanic Garden. Had I been...
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A wet day in Maidenhead
Magnolia'Star Wars' at its best - the buds burst but not blowsy.I was at my parents' in Maidenhead on Sunday, and although it was an unpleasant wet day their garden was looking nice, with lots of...
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Rhododendron species portraits from Ray Wood, 6 April
Rhododendron calophytumR. mucronulatumR. fulvum'Windlesham White'R. pierceiR. pocophorum var. hemidartum Rock 11179R. temenium var. gilvum'Cruachan'R. lanatoides KW 5971R. diphrocalyxR. barbatum: the...
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