My book āThings to do with Plantsā is on sale in shops and online from the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew shop plus other websites. Thanks to all who have already bought it. The link to the shop is in my bio in my profile šŖ“
Fabulous swamp cypress (Taxodium distichum) planted in Central Park, New York. Native a little further south than this but looking very much at home, developing buttresses and pneumatophores!
So lovely to see Phlox subulata (moss or creeping phlox) on a trail at Saratoga Spa State Park scrambling over the rocks. The geology here was challenging for many plants with large areas barren of flora where the springs had brought up limestone from hundreds of feet below, forming tufa. But moss phlox thrives in high pH and free draining conditions
Love this variegated Solomonās seal with its bold leaves. Used as ānativeā planting in a formal area of a state park here in Upstate New York itās close enough to the true native, Polygonatum biflorum to look right in its situation although itās actually a relative, P. odoratum āVariegatumā. Iām thinking about where I can put some in the dappled shade area of my garden as the white leaf markings define the foliage so beautifully
A beautiful specimen of the native honeysuckle, Lonicera dioica, spotted yesterday at Olana State Park in New York State. Itās called limber honeysuckle and can be found wild in several Eastern USA and Canadian states. I love how the set of leaves nearest the scarlet flowers unite to cup the blooms. Apparently the name L. dioica originated in a misapprehension that there were separate male and female flowers
Iām travelling in New York State to see Parks and Gardens and discover their stories and was thrilled yesterday to see this native Phlox divaricata carpeting the ground beneath Cornus alternifolia in the Vanderbilt Mansion Gardens. Known here as wild blue phlox or woodland phlox, I hope to see more of it
The Mediterranean Climate Garden at Kew with gorgeous Delphinium āBlack Knightā. In the Californian section of the garden this variety represents the Pacific Hybrids, bred in California by mixing Delphinium species including the native D. nudicaule
Itās bedding changeover time at Kew so goodbye to these gorgeous Anemone āMr Fokkerā by the Palm House. I have so enjoyed their beautiful colour and unruly habit
Astrantia āBucklandā just opening in the Evolution Garden at Kew. A quiet beauty and one I always associate with time I spent working in a plant nursery cutting them back to flower again. Itās a sterile cultivar meaning a long flowering period but it looks good when the flowers are spent at the end of the season too
A broken stem brought indoors and now gracefully disintegrating. Iāve enjoyed seeing Paeonia broteri opening wide as the flowers are much more bowl-shaped on the bush, such a beautiful thing
Twilight at home and my Aquilegia āWilliam Guinessā opening up. Lots of wildlife evidently making these flowers their home and hopefully supporting the bird populations
