Plant of the Season
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A must have Jewel for the Summer
Background This species is now well established in cultivation and can be purchased as young plants or raised from fresh seed (for members of the Meconopsis Group). It was first discovered in north-eastern Tibet (now Qinghai province) in 1884 by the Russian Przewalski and soon thereafter herbarium material collected by Potanin. It was eventually introduced […]
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Plant of the Season, Winter
Helleborus niger For many years I made a poor showing of my cultivation skills with the “Christmas Rose”, Helleborus niger. This was always a disappointment as my parents seemed to succeed by growing their plants hard up against the south-facing brick wall of their house, extra warmth generated from the wall I felt. Many years […]
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Plant of the Season, Summer
Rhodohypoxis baurii cultivars, ‘Pictus’, ‘Albrighton’ and ‘Fred Broome’ As the current summer continues to impress both north and south of the border, I am taking careful note of certain trends in the garden. One such trend is the way that Rhodohypoxis species and cultivars have prevailed due to a series of mild winters and favourable […]
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Plant of the Season – Spring
“Snowdrops” Galanthus ‘Gerard Parker’ I’m often asked, “Which are the ten snowdrop cultivars one cannot do without!” My choices have remained pretty static over a number of years, however, I do occasionally have to make some alterations/additions. More recently I have added the magnificent form of Galanthus plicatus, ‘Gerard Parker’. I have not yet managed […]
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Plant of the Season – Autumn
Sternbergia sicula I have to say that, over the years, I have been fairly unsuccessful with the cultivation of Sternbergia species in the open garden. I had always felt that the bulbs, despite being planted in an open, well-drained position did not receive sufficient heat and summer ripening, so often a handicap of gardening in […]
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Plant of the Season – Summer
Roscoea purpurea ‘Red Gurkha’ AGM I am delighted to recommend this late summer–flowering roscoea which has become more widely available in the trade in recent years. The plant was introduced into cultivation in September 1993 from material collected by Baker, Burkitt, Miller and Shrestha in the Buri Gandaki valley, Nepal. It was initially named R. […]
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Plant of the Season – Spring
Primula allionii As the great alpine plant author, Reginald Farrer wrote, “this is the jewel of jewels among our European saxatile species”. Yet, I feel that there is little value in extolling the virtue of a stunning plant purely for its natural beauty when it gives the keen gardener little or no chance of cultivation. […]
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Plant of the winter months
Snowdrops and Irises Garden visits are beginning to become a reality as we plan our weekend trips and as January develops into the spring months, Snowdrops will be the most frequently observed flower in British gardens. Oh yes, there will be gasps as we lean into a well-flowered shrub of Daphne bholua ‘Jaqueline Postill’ or […]
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Plant of the month – Oct/Nov
Gentiana veitchiorum As I write this piece in early October, a whole range of autumn-flowering gentians of the Frigida section are showing their abundance of flowers. In general this group of alpine plants is flowering much later (some 2 weeks) than is the norm, but with the ample, autumn sunshine their flowers are a real […]
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Plant of the month – July/Aug
Campanula zoysii This is surely one of the most celebrated of all the European alpine campanulas. Popularly known as the “Crimped bellflower”, it is native to the Eastern Alps and can be found in Austria, N. Italy and Slovenia. It is highly revered in its native Slovenia and was first discovered here, by botanist Karl […]