The bright neon like colours of these daisies make every garden brighter. The ground hugging plants will spread about 4 inches then be covered in masses of flowers that close up slightly in the late afternoon. The leaves are narrow fleshy and have a crystaline texture that lead to another common name Ice plant. They [...]

This semi-double begonia has caught the rain but not the perfect top slot. The Flower This is judged in three respects but you would want to add the lasting or keeping quality. The depth from the front to the rear of the flower about 1 inch less than the diameter of the flower. Secondly the [...]

Harlow Carr the RHS garden in Harrogate has a series of gardens through the ages. This sculpture is part of the offering for the Festival of Britain 1951. To me it looks a lot more modern than that but certainly none the worse. Which came first the sculptural design or the planting scheme? Either way [...]

‘Aster Frikartii Monch’ These healthy plants are just coming into flower. The wet summer has made the foilage lush sappy and light green but they are still robust without support. Asters are one of my favourite top ten border plants. This lavender-blue variety Monch has a longer flowering season, beginning earlier, in mid summer, continuing [...]

This fleshy leaved Sedum Telephium Matrona is just colouring and clumping up in my garden. It is not as vigorous as Sedum spectabile Autumn Joy which can be come a bit of a thug if left unchecked. Look out for even stronger burgandy coloured foliage and flowerheads Try the ‘Chelsea chop’ on plants in May [...]