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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Plant of the Day Wednesday 19 March 2014 Magnolia stellata...

Plant of the Day

Wednesday 19 March 2014

Magnolia stellata ‘Royal Star’ covered in flower at Writtle College. These slow growing shrubs are ideal for small gardens and since they are deciduous allow a range of early spring flowering bulbs and herbaceous plants beneath them. If you wish to shape the plant prune young thin branches, avoid dramatic pruning.

Jill Raggett

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Plant of the Dat Tuesday 18 March 2014 Anemone blanda...

Plant of the Dat

Tuesday 18 March 2014

Anemone blanda ‘White Splendour’ is a magnificent cultivar with large white flowers that light up the front of the border. Grows in a sunny area but will tolerate some shade, needs a dry soil when it is dormant in late summer, happily growing in my Essex garden.

Jill Raggett

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Plant of the Day Monday 18 March 2014 A beautifully trained...

Plant of the Day

Monday 18 March 2014

A beautifully trained Chaenomeles speciosa ‘Nivalis’ at a local design studio garden. The wall and the plant compliment each other perfectly.

Jill Raggett

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Plant of the Day Sunday 16 March 2014 These weeping willows,...

Plant of the Day

Sunday 16 March 2014

These weeping willows, Salix x sepulcralis ‘Chrysocoma’, are on my journey home and yesterday the new growth was catching the evening light. They are pruned hard every few years to keep them safe and a suitable size for the garden - the result is they look like cheer leader pom-poms in the wind! These willows are large trees they are often planted by water but they can cope with drier conditions.

Jill Raggett

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Plant of the Day Friday 14 March 2014 A front garden in Kent...

Plant of the Day

Friday 14 March 2014

A front garden in Kent where someone has been pruning the yew hedge with love! Have a happy day.

Jill Raggett

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Plant of the Day Wednesday 12 March 2014 The early and small...

Plant of the Day

Wednesday 12 March 2014

The early and small flowered daffodil Narcissus ‘Rip van Winkle’, due to its small stature it associates well with primroses, Pulmonaria and Anemone blanda.

Jill Raggett

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Plant of the Day Tuesday 11 March 2014 The recent sunshine has...

Plant of the Day

Tuesday 11 March 2014

The recent sunshine has helped the early crocus look their best. In my garden Crocus sieberi subsp. atticus ‘Firefly’ looks cheerful flowering in a container under the white blossoms of Prunus incisa ‘Kojo-no-mai’. A good combination to greet you by a door and reminds me spring is on the way.

Jill Raggett

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Plant of the Day Monday 10 March 2014 Chaenomeles speciosa...

Plant of the Day

Monday 10 March 2014

Chaenomeles speciosa ‘Nivalis’ produces it’s first flowers. This species is easily trained for a wall or here along a fence.

Jill Raggett

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Plant of the Day Sunday 9 March What is a garden? Possibly this...

Plant of the Day

Sunday 9 March

What is a garden? Possibly this doormat has become one as debris has collected and plants have found a place to grow due to the neglected maintenance.

Jill Raggett

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Plant of the Day Saturday 8 March 2014 Lonicera elisae a...

Plant of the Day

Saturday 8 March 2014

Lonicera elisae a shrubby honeysuckle with scented flowers and purple flushed new leaves. This has a more delicate growth pattern than Lonicera x purpusii, but also less flowers. Needs a sunny location I am training this one along a fence - so I’ll see how the experiment goes!

Jill Raggett

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Plant of the Day Friday 7 March 2014 The hedgerows of Essex are...

Plant of the Day

Friday 7 March 2014

The hedgerows of Essex are full of clouds of blossom from Prunus spinosus, known as blackthorn or sloe. These wonderful flowers surrounded my local petrol station!

Jill Raggett

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Plant of the Day Thursday 6 March 2014 A climbing rose at RHS...

Plant of the Day

Thursday 6 March 2014

A climbing rose at RHS Hyde Hall Garden, Essex, has yet to come into leaf but shows the wonderful pruning it has received. The flexible stems have been tied down to remove apical dominance and so increase flower production at all the lateral buds. The graphic lines of the stems make a great abstract display for winter.

Jill Raggett

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Plant of the Day Wednesday 5 March 2014 Prunus x ‘Okame’ forms a...

Plant of the Day

Wednesday 5 March 2014

Prunus x ‘Okame’ forms a foaming wave of blossom over the wall of the ornamental garden of Marks Hall Arboretum, Essex. This is a strong design with a contrasting Taxus hedge and a statue as a focal point. On a sunny day the trees hum with the sound of bees enjoying the early nectar.

Jill Raggett

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Plant of the Day Tuesday 4 March 2014 Cyclamen coum...

Plant of the Day

Tuesday 4 March 2014

Cyclamen coum ‘Album’ flowering under my hornbeam (Carpinus betulus) hedge. A tough plant that copes well with dry shade once established providing flowers and foliage displays, when mixed with Cyclamen hederifolium an autumn flowering happens as well!

Jill Raggett

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Plant of the day Monday 3 March On the next sunny morning I...

Plant of the day

Monday 3 March

On the next sunny morning I will be out with a paint brush trying to pollinate my mandrake plant. Mandragora officiarum is a low growing herbaceous member of the nightshade family, if pollinated these flowers develop onto a ring of fruit on the surface of the soil. I will not be digging up the root to see if it screams!

Jill Raggett

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Plant of the a Day Sunday 2 March 2014 The new leaves of...

Plant of the a Day Sunday 2 March 2014 The new leaves of paeonias are for me just as lovely as the flowers. Here Paeonia mlokosewitschii, affectionately known as Mollie-the-Witch, has primroses and Stipa tenuissima as company. More from my garden tomorrow, busy weeding between the showers today.

Jill Raggett

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Hamamelis x intermedia ‘Aphrodite’, a late flowering...

Hamamelis x intermedia ‘Aphrodite’, a late flowering cultivar of witch hazel in full flower in my garden. It has a wonderful scent and has just received an RHS Award of Garden Merit (AGM).

Jill Raggett

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