Drummond and Nelson

Dr. E. Charles Nelson has enriched my gardening for over twenty five years though it has been a disappointment that I have never had a plant from him – he has a special interest in plants of Irish origin or connection and he grows a few that I would give my eye teeth for. Charles …

Every Dog has it Day!

“Let Hercules himself do what he may, The cat will mew, and dog will have his day”, wrote Shakespeare in Hamlet around 1600, and the saying may well be applied to our garden plants for it is a regular occurrence that a year may arrive when a plant gives a display far beyond and far …

The Thug in the Rain

This glaringly red poppy, Papaver orientalis 'Allegro', has been in and out of favour with us since we grew it from seed and planted it in the garden almost thirty years ago. So disgusted did we become with it at one time that we dug it out only for some remaining roots to send up …

Beauty Beyond Compare!

The blooming of the exquisite Paeonia ‘Souvenir de Maxime Cornu’ is a moment of the most wonderful beauty. It is a moment to appreciate the work of paeonia breeders of the past and to anticipate the main flush of the paeonia season. When Paeonia delavayi and Paeonia delavayi var lutea were introduced from Yunnan, in …

The Watched Kettle Does Boil Eventually!

No doubt, you will have had the experience of your eyes falling on a plant and then your jaw drops; your mouth opens; you oooh and aaaaah; you go weak at the knees, your heart flutters; you wonder - just for a very brief moment before morals regain the upper hand - that if you …

This is my Moment!

“Anonymous Euonymus” might be a suitable description for eleven months of the year but, even for this generally dull plant, its moment to shine arrives. The Chinese Spindle, Euonymus planipes, is a large shrub or small tree – which it is becoming here after nearly twenty years – which doesn’t catch the eye for most …

You Little Beauty!

I was a small child, always the youngest and smallest in class in my school days, and one teacher constantly sought to console and encourage me by telling me that the best goods came in small parcels. There may be a nugget of truth in the saying and we certainly delight especially in beauty in …

Iris pallida ‘Phylis Moore”

Phylis Lady Moore was wife of Sir Frederick Moore, Keeper of the Royal Botanic Gardens in Glasnevin, Dublin - now, the National Botanic Gardens. She was a very enthusiastic gardener with an eye for a good plant and she grew this form of Iris pallida in her garden at Willbrook. Dr E. Charles, formerly taxonomist …

A Róisín Dubh – Dark Rosaleen.

Those who grow and those who see Primula 'Dark Rosaleen' are unfailingly cheered to see it come into flower - as I was to see it do so in my own garden today. The dark purple flowers with their yellow stripes match beautifully with the bronze foliage making it a delightful plant. It was raised …

Magnolia ‘Anne Rosse’

We have many interesting and beautiful plants associated with the famous Nymans garden in West Sussex in England – Eucryphia ‘Nymansay’ and Magnolia x loebneri ‘Leonard Messel’ are probably the two best known and most widely grown. There is also a Camellia ‘Maud Messel’ and a Forsythia suspensa ‘Nymans’ but a particularly beautiful Nymans plant …