One to look out for
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Anemone trullifolia var. linearis
I can well recall when I first saw the SBEC introduction of Anemone trullifolia collected by Bob Mitchell and Roy Lancaster from that “El Dorado” for exciting alpine plants, Yunnan, China. It formed a vigorous planting in the acid-loving beds at the RBG in Edinburgh. The flower colour was fairly predominantly powder blue with a […]
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Erythronium tuolumnense ‘Spindlestone’
Mar/Apr 2012: Erythronium tuolumnense ‘Spindlestone’ – March 2012 I guess that the most widely grown of all erythroniums would be the hybrids including, ‘White Beauty’ and ‘Pagoda’. One often encounters mass woodland plantings of Erythronium revolutum due to its ability to set good quantities of seed, while the quite stunning E. tuolumnense is less often […]
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Plant & Garden of the Winter
PA recent visit to our daughter’s “neck of the woods” in Shoreditch, London ensured some fine exploration. One of the highlights was a walk down Columbia Road on the Sunday morning to enjoy the bustling flower market. I have seldom seen such a frenzy of activity as bunches of flowers, trays of sweetly-scented cyclamen and […]
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Chimonanthus praecox and Galanthus plicatus ‘Three Ships’
Two plants that never fail to give me some winter cheer, include, Chimonanthus praecox and Galanthus plicatus ‘Three Ships’. Chimonanthus praecox or “Wintersweet” is, in my experience, a deciduous, winter-flowering shrub but is often described as semi-evergreen. A native of China, I would recommend planting this species on a sunny wall that is afforded some […]
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Gentiana ‘Alex Duguid’ syn. G. farreri ‘Duguid’s Form
As this is a time of the year to begin promoting these marvellous gentians, I felt it would be useful to recommend one to contrast with my “plant of the month”, G. ‘Shot Silk’. Since it is now very challenging to source the true species, Gentian farreri which is one of the few members of […]
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Cyclamen purpurascens
One of the thrills of botanising in the limestone ranges of Europe is to find the sweetly scented Cyclamen purpurascens. It can be found in, both deciduous and mixed deciduous and coniferous woodland flowering over a lengthy period from June through to August. I recall finding it, in fine form in coniferous woods on the […]
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Campanula raineri
Campanula raineri will rank as one of the finest of all the truly alpine campanulas, native to Europe. It is native to the upper limestones of the Bergamask mountains near the Italian lakes. Although this species is an absolute lime lover in nature, it is easy of culture in the garden. It is best positioned […]
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Meconopsis ‘Mrs Jebb’
One to look out for May 2011 – Meconopsis ‘Mrs Jebb’ As we leave a wonderful month of weather during April, I cannot help observing that many plants are flowering several weeks earlier than in recent years. This is no more significant than in the genus of Meconopsis. This year as April closes a cultivar […]