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The Savill Garden, Windsor Great Park.
Lysichiton camtschatcensis, The Western Skunk Cabbage. Last weekend the sun came out. For those of you who are not British, sunny weather, even when it’s still cold, means the UK population suddenly...
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Saltwood Castle, Hythe, Kent
The far south east corner of Kent is frequently overlooked, regarded by many as nothing more than the down-at-heel gateway to the delights of France and continental Europe. Yet behind the white cliffs...
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Daily Flower Candy: Double-Flowered Azaleas
Normally, I’d say two doses of Daily Flower Candy in one day would be bad for one’s health, but I couldn’t go to bed without sharing at least one of the sugary delights from today’s visit to Sandling...
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A Spring Spectrum – Sandling Park, Kent
There are those that frown upon the lusty delights of rhododendrons, camellias and azaleas. I am not one of them. I expect these naysayers are the same folk who dislike orchids, with their similar...
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Daily Flower Candy: Deciduous Azaleas
I find deciduous azaleas completely irresistible, although I don’t have the right conditions to grow them. They are now lumped in with the extended rhododendron family, but are unrivalled for the...
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Daily Flower Candy: Rhododendron macabeanum AGM
No, it’s not an exotic ginger or some new discovery from the steamy rainforests of Vietnam, it’s the detail of the bud scales of Rhododendron macabeanum . One of the easiest of the large-leaved...
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Sea Air and Shopping
Over the last two days I’ve experienced complete sensory overload. Yesterday’s highlight was the RHS London Plant and Design Show, where I was dazzled by oceans of irises and fountains of rare and...
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Sandling Park Open Day 2014
Spring 2013 arrived fashionably late. This was convenient for us, as we’d been travelling in Bhutan during the prime time for camellias, rhododendrons and azaleas at home. One of the highlights on our...
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Kentish Belles
Over the next couple of weekends, two of Kent’s most beautiful and enigmatic gardens will be opening their gates to the curious public. Both reveal their secrets on just one day each year, so are a...
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Great Balls of Fire – Sandling Park in May
There was such an extraordinary amount going on in May that I am now working through a draft post pile-up. In contrast to the scarcity of blogging fodder during the winter months, early summer offers...
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Trengwainton Gardens, Cornwall
From a very early age my parents took me and my sister to visit gardens. I like to think the reason was to cultivate our interest in flowers and plants, but as one follower of this blog commented...
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Sandling Park Open Garden 2015
The chance to view the extraordinary collection of rhododendrons and azaleas built up by the Hardy family at Sandling Park in Kent is one of the highlights of my May. I adore these acid loving shrubs,...
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The American Garden, Saltwood, Kent
Primped and polished gardens are all very well (we’ll be seeing a lot of them at Chelsea in a few days’ time) but for those of us who work and can’t afford help they can be a little intimidating. Small...
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Chelsea Flower Show 2015 – Stars of the Show: Laurent-Perrier Chatsworth Garden
At about 10.30am yesterday morning a small crowd surrounded Monty Don and RHS Director General Sue Biggs as they prepared to announce the prize for ‘Best Large Show Garden’. Their position, next to the...
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Sea Air and Shopping
Over the last two days I’ve experienced complete sensory overload. Yesterday’s highlight was the RHS London Plant and Design Show, where I was dazzled by oceans of irises and fountains of rare and...
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Rhododendron Rebound
Although I’ve never been able to grow them well, rhododendrons have always held a special place in my heart. I grew up visiting the gardens of Cornwall in the school holidays – Trewidden,...
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Stourhead Revisited
“We reached Stourhead at 3 o’clock. By that time the sun had penetrated the mist, and was gauzy and humid ….. Never do I remember such a Claude-like, idyllic beauty here. See Stourhead and die.”...
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Chelsea Flower Show 2017: Chengdu Silk Road Garden
When I go to the Chelsea Flower Show, I want to see flowers. Whilst in the Great Pavilion this expectation is met in spades, occasionally some of the garden designers forget and start getting a bit...
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Cornwall Spring Flower Show 2018
As great days out go, I rank a visit to the Cornwall Spring Flower Show up there with Chelsea and Sissinghurst. It’s a special day for many reasons. The setting alone, deep in rolling parkland at...
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The Magical Landscapes of Disneyland Paris
There is something especially delightful about going on a holiday that one hasn’t organised. Perhaps it’s the element of surprise, or the ability to shirk responsibility for anything that goes awry....
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