May and June are wonderful months in the Gardens and the azaleas are glorious again this year. Some of them are fully open now and others are still tightly in bud, which means that there will be flowers for several weeks to come. The perfume of the flowers is part of their attraction, very sweet… Read more »
The yellow of the daffodils is fading, and the bright hues of the bluebells are starting to appear, both in the Gardens and the Parkland. Ivas Woods, out in the Parkland, has one of the biggest areas of bluebells; they relish the shade of the woodland. Look up and you may see the herons nesting,… Read more »
and primroses and rhododendrons. Yes, even yellow rhododendrons are in flower in the Gardens. We expect rhododendrons to be white, pink, red and purple but we have yellow ones in flower in the Wilderness Gardens. There are other early rhododendrons in flower, along with the first of the magnolias, Magnolia campbellii, a large tree with blooms of… Read more »
It’s been weird weather over this last six months; an incredibly mild autumn followed by deluges of rain and flooding. Like us, the garden plants are very confused; already there are daffodils in flower locally, while in other places, the snowdrops are hardly poking through the soil. However, there are signs of spring around, snowdrops… Read more »
The leaves are starting to lose the green hues of summer and turn to gold, orange and red. On a sunny day, even the air seems golden, and the berries on the trees and shrubs are starting to stand out from the surrounding foliage, ready for the birds to pick them off in order to… Read more »
As you start the route around the gardens, the John Arnold Garden is the first you come to, and the colourful dahlias are one of the first things to catch your eye. They come in small and large, simple and complicated petal arrangements but all are vibrant in colour. The simpler flower shapes are loved… Read more »
As soon as you enter the conservatory, the scent of the jasmine greets you. This small white flower packs a mighty punch of perfume for its size. Much more impressive in terms of size, which also have a wonderful scent, are the spires of the Asiatic lilies. These stems of white flowers reach up to… Read more »
This month’s challenge is a bit easier than the last one. Can you identify these plants that are all in bloom somewhere in the Gardens at the moment? Common names will do. Anybody who replies or shares the competition on Facebook will be entered into a monthly prize draw to win a season ticket to… Read more »
When Gardeners’ Question Time was broadcast from the Gardens, one of the panel said that this was one of the finest azalea gardens in the country. Now that it is in bloom, you can see why. The colours are vibrant, orange, yellow and red, underplanted with bluebells as a wonderful contrast. On a sunny day,… Read more »
and camellias and rhododendrons. The gardens have burst into colour over the last week, with the magnolias taking pride of place in my opinion. These beautiful shrubs and trees range in colour from pure white through pink to a stunning purple, and the huge blooms have a very delicate scent. They don’t last long, if… Read more »
