Plant of the Day Wednesday 31 December 2014 The leaves of...

Plant of the Day

Wednesday 31 December 2014

The leaves of Bergenia ‘Eroica’ (elephant ears) catching the winter sunshine having taken on their stunning red shade with the colder temperatures. Bergenia are hardy, and reliably evergreen perennials. They form a low clump of bold, waxy rounded leaves, which have vivid dark pink flower flowers in the spring. They are particularly useful at the edge of a path and contrasting with taller vertical growth such as grasses. They tolerate a range of growing conditions in sun and shade, withstand drought and I have read that they are deer and rabbit resistant!

Jill Raggett

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Plant of the Day Tuesday 30 December 2014 The strong evergreen...

Plant of the Day

Tuesday 30 December 2014

The strong evergreen fronds of Blechnum chilense (Chilean hard fern) provide structural foliage in the winter and form excellent groundcover in a cool, moist, shady area. The fern has a creeping rhizome and so needs room to spread producing the simple sterile pinnate fronds which are up to 1.2m in height, while the fertile fronds are more erect and produce spores.

Jill Raggett

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Plant of the Day Monday 29 December 2014 Despite the winter it...

Plant of the Day

Monday 29 December 2014

Despite the winter it is time for some plants to flower and the Hamamelis mollis (Chinese witch hazel) has just opened filling the air with fragrance. This Is a broad vase-shaped deciduous shrub with oval leaves that provide good yellow autumn colour. The plant thrives best in good light with a sheltered location which will also prevent the flowers’ scent from being carried away on any air movement.

Jill Raggett

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Plant of the Day 28 December 2014 Umbrellas, lighting and lots...

Plant of the Day

28 December 2014

Umbrellas, lighting and lots of imagination show the silhouette of the spiky evergreen Ruscus aculeatus (butcher’s broom, box holly) at night. These rhizomatous subshrubs have flattened, leaf-like cladophylls with small pale green flowers, followed by glossy red berries and the stems reach about 0.5m high. They will grow in deep shade, tolerate drought once established and in the wild are indicators of old woodland. In the past bunches of spiky stems were used to clean butcher’s chopping blocks. In the lowest image the arching stems of the taller Danae racemosa (Alexandrian laurel), another shade tolerant evergreen with cladophylls, can be seen with the Ruscus.

Jill Raggett

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Plant of the Day Saturday 27 December 2014 A tender climber...

Plant of the Day

Saturday 27 December 2014

A tender climber from the Canary Isles growing in the glasshouses of Cambridge Botanic Garden, UK, Canarina canariensis (Canary Island bellflower). This tuberous perennial has orange-red bell-shaped flowers on scrambling stems which will reach about 1.5m in height.Grow in a shaded but well lit glasshouse with good air flow, water freely and apply weekly liquid fertiliser when in growth, but keep dry when foliage turns yellow in late spring.

Jill Raggett

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Plant of the Day Friday 26 December 2014 The Taxus baccata...

Plant of the Day

Friday 26 December 2014

The Taxus baccata (English yew) makes a strong visual and physical boundary to this part of the garden at Anglesey Abbey. The formality is broken by using the same plant in the line but allowing it to take its natural form like a billowing cloud. It could be a cultivar such as Taxus baccata ‘Fastigiata’ that has markedly upward-growing shoots. Yew is excellent for evergreen hedging as it responds to pruning by producing dense growth, but remember it needs a well drained soil and is poisonous.

Jill Raggett

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Plant of the Day Thursday 25 December 2014 Formal rose gardens...

Plant of the Day

Thursday 25 December 2014

Formal rose gardens can look a bit dull in the winter, but at Waddesdon Manor, UK, they have worked with British artist, Bruce Munro. He has returned for a third year to create ‘Winter Light’, a range of contemporary art lighting installations in the historic gardens. I’m sure the beautifully pruned rose garden will soon be mulched and ready for the spring but on the night I visited the space was transformed - Season’s Greetings.

Jill Raggett

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Plant of the Day Wednesday 24 December 2014 Hedges make great...

Plant of the Day

Wednesday 24 December 2014

Hedges make great garden structure in the winter. Here Fagus sylvatica (common beech) retains it’s old leaves producing this russet-brown line that contrasts with the green lawn and the dark soil of the empty Dahlia border. The curve adds a dynamic quality to this part of the garden and tempts the visitor to explore. Fagus needs a well drained soil in sun or partial shade.



Jill Raggett

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Plant of the Day Tuesday 23 December 2014 Niches created in...

Plant of the Day

Tuesday 23 December 2014

Niches created in Viburnum tinus create an evergreen background for the startling white stems of Rubus cockburnianus (white-stemmed bramble). This deciduous shrub has white-bloomed, arching stems which will grow in sunshine or semi-shade. To retain colour and stop the plant from taking over it needs to be pruned to the ground in late winter or early spring to promote new growth. The large image shows the stems illuminated at night at the Anglesey Abbey Garden, Cambridge, UK, winter lighting event - so the stems can be any colour you want!

Jill Raggett

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Plant of the Day Thursday 3 March 2014 The amazing flower of...

Plant of the Day

Thursday 3 March 2014

The amazing flower of Anemone nemorosa ‘Viridiflora’ growing at the base of a hornbeam hedge (Carpinus betulus). The flowers are comprised of dissected, green bracts, lasting for weeks. Spreading, easy to grow “filler” for the woodland garden or in the front of a shady border. Prefers a moist soil but tolerates drier soil in summer as the plant is then dormant.

Jill Raggett

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Plant of the Day Wednesday 2 April 2014 A welcoming path with a...

Plant of the Day

Wednesday 2 April 2014

A welcoming path with a spring canopy of the fresh green growth of Acer tataricum subsp. ginnala as flowers and leaves emerge. A small tree with three lobed leaves which turn red in the autumn.

Jill Raggett

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Plant of the Day Tuesday 1april 2014 Magnolia x soulangeana...

Plant of the Day

Tuesday 1april 2014

Magnolia x soulangeana ‘Lennei Alba’ has magnificent fragrant flowers and produces a large shrub. Here the plant is both protected and given great impact from the evergreen background of Ilex (holly). There are a range of magnolias flowering at Marks Hall Arboretum.

Jill Raggett

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Plant of the Day Monday 31 March 2014 The flowers of Corylopsis...

Plant of the Day

Monday 31 March 2014

The flowers of Corylopsis glabrescens light up this area of Marks Hall woodland. This species is a native of Japan.

Jill Raggett

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Plant of the Day Sunday 30 March 2014 Lamina orvala, the giant...

Plant of the Day

Sunday 30 March 2014

Lamina orvala, the giant deadnettle, is non-invasive and forms a dramatic clump of leaves with whorls of flowers. Appreciates a shady place and some moisture, it will die back in summer droughts but once established reappears the next year. There is a white flowered form.

Jill Raggett

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Plant of the Day Saturday 29 March 2014 A front garden displays...

Plant of the Day

Saturday 29 March 2014

A front garden displays this cherry (Prunus) tree in full flower on a recently cut front lawn. It reminded me of a standard lamp on a carpet. The weeping cultivar was grafted on the top of a species cherry stem, I suspect the canopy is pruned to achieve the very even line and to allow mower access.

Jill Raggett

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Plant of the Day Friday 28 March 2014 Tulipa...

Plant of the Day

Friday 28 March 2014

Tulipa ‘Purissima’ flowers as a high light amongst the foliage and last flowers of hellerbores. On clay soil they flower well the first year when planted from a bulb but in subsequent years tend to decline.

I think of tulips like boxes of prepared cake mix, the grower of the bulb has done the work and I just add water and soil! They are great for a bit of spring zing.

Jill Raggett

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Plant of the Day Thursday 27 March 2014 Hermodactylus tuberosus...

Plant of the Day

Thursday 27 March 2014

Hermodactylus tuberosus flowers in late winter and early spring, the triangular pointed leaves appear through the soil first and then the flower emerges. It has a delicate scent and I pick one to admire in the house. The common names of this monotypic genus include widow iris and snake’s head iris.

Jill Raggett

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Plant of the Day Wednesday 26 March 2014 A Chaenomeles...

Plant of the Day

Wednesday 26 March 2014

A Chaenomeles speciosa, Japanese quince, has started life growing up a wall and then has been trained over the arch way at the entrance to this house in Writtle village. There are spiny stems which might not be very welcoming! But the 5-petalled flowers in spring are followed by edible often fragrant green or yellow fruits.

Jill Raggett

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Plant of the Day Tuesday 25 March 2014 Magnolia stellata...

Plant of the Day

Tuesday 25 March 2014

Magnolia stellata ‘Rosea’ has a pink tinge on the outer side of the petals. Slow growing, wide, multi-stemmed shrub or small tree. Blooms in late April and early May before foliage appears, and can be caught by a late frost. Jill Raggett

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Plant of the Day Monday 24 March 2014 Almond blossom, Prunus...

Plant of the Day

Monday 24 March 2014

Almond blossom, Prunus dulcis, on a walled trained plant at Waterperry, Oxfordshire.

Jill Raggett

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Plant of the Day Sunday 23 March 2014 Magnolia x soulangeana...

Plant of the Day

Sunday 23 March 2014

Magnolia x soulangeana flowers open against the honey coloured stone of the high street buildings of Chipping Campden in Gloucestershire. These goblet-shaped flowers can be damaged by late frosts. Any pruning of these large shrubs or trees should be done in mid summer while in leaf.

Jill Raggett

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Plant of the Day Saturday 22 March 2014 Pulsatilla vulgaris...

Plant of the Day

Saturday 22 March 2014

Pulsatilla vulgaris ‘Alba’, the pasqueflower, grows wild in some places in England but here it grows between my deck and the lawn in a dry sunny location. The wonderful flowers (normally purple in the species) are followed by beautiful silky seed heads. The flowers are actual made up of sepals rather than petals. A low growing delicate perennial reaching only 20cm in height and forming a clump of finely dissected basal leaves.

Jill Raggett

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Plant of the Day Friday 21 March 2014 Chocolate without the...

Plant of the Day

Friday 21 March 2014

Chocolate without the calories today! My front garden is filled with the scent of chocolate-vanilla from the flowers of Azara microphylla. A small evergreen tree with upright growth, delicate leaves and tiny yellow flowers found under the foliage in early spring. Great for a courtyard garden, appreciates some shelter.

Jill Raggett

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Plant of the Day Thursday 20 March 2014 The very smart looking...

Plant of the Day

Thursday 20 March 2014

The very smart looking Stachyurus praecox flowers at the back of the central campus building - definitely worth a look. This spreading deciduous shrub will grow in sun or partial shade, though it will occupy considerable space the older wood can be pruned from the base to encourage new growth.

Jill Raggett

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