Celebrating gardens, photography and a creative life
Matsumoto asters are popular with florists, being larger and showier than your average aster. This posy was part of an arrangement in the floristry section of this year’s Southport Flower Show. More from there to come. Continue reading “Flower of the Day: Lavender Matsumoto Asters”
Last month I was lucky to see a rare tropical shrub/small tree, Osa pulchra, in full bloom. Huge, trumpet-shaped flowers hung just overhead, still and improbable, translucent against light pouring through the magnificent high roof of one of Kew Garden’s conservatories.
At the time I didn’t understand what I was looking at, but I knew it was special. To an observer I must have appeared like a human version of the His Master’s Voice dog. Continue reading “Osa pulchra: a rare tropical plant that needs a midwife”
I’m sure many people do a double-take when they first see this unusual delphinium. While the ruffled flowers are a bold, sweet colour – we might call it light red, perhaps, or coral or salmon, with just a hint of a green stripe – they are contrary to what we’d expect. Continue reading “Delphinium ‘Red Lark’”
Cee likes vintage cars, so I’ve included several, together with a couple of modern curiosities. Continue reading “Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge: Cars”
Plant combinations fascinate me, so I loved the way these flowers, foliage and billowing grasses were painting their lines and colours against the textured background of a gravel mulch in the most alluring feature garden at this year’s Hampton Court Flower Show.
The effect previewed the romantic, soft planting trend that would be taken further at the Tatton Park Show a few weeks later.
The plants pictured here include:
Allium sphaerocephalon (drumstick allium; purple)
Galactities tomentosa alba (milk thistle; creamy-white)
Verbena officinalis var grandiflora ‘Bampton’ (vervain Bampton; lavender-pink)
Erigeron ‘Dimity’ (fleabane; pink)
Nepeta racemosa ‘Walker’s Low’ (catmint; lavender-blue)
Santolina chamaecyparissus (cotton lavender; yellow)
Stipa tenuissima (Mexican feather grass) Continue reading “Carol Klein’s Iconic Horticultural Hero Garden”
The Chelsea Plant of the Year (from 2021) is a deciduous, multi-stemmed redbud tree that keeps fairly compact at under 4 m / 13 ft. It’s something of a curiosity. Continue reading “Cercis canadensis ‘Eternal Flame’”
Susan Rushton 