When John Moore was looking for plants named for Churchill College’s namesake, Sir Winston Churchill, he never imagined the search would take him to the far side of the planet. Rosa 'Sir Winston Churchill' Churchill College, Cambridge is the National and Commonwealth Memorial to Winston Churchill and holds the archive of his papers. Included in these are …
Continue reading Rare plant of the month, March 2021 – Rosa ‘Sir Winston Churchill’
We have 11 National Plant Collections of Rosa, spanning the UK from Edinburgh to Hampshire. From old English roses to Scottish and Japanese roses, rambling, shrub and ancient Gallica roses – there’s a Collection to woo all lovers of the nation’s favourite flower. Wherever you live, why not plan some visits to see them this summer? …
Continue reading Love your rose Collections on Valentine’s Day
I couldn't walk the Hartland Peninsula without paying a visit to Westcountry Nurseries to see the National Plant Collection of Lupinus. When I arranged this visit with Sarah Conibear in February it seemed to be perfect timing to see the Collection coming into bloom ready for the upcoming shows. But as we all know - …
Towering Eucalyptus trees are better than a SatNav in finding the way to Meon Orchard, home of Doug and Linda Smith and their three National Plant Collections of Antipodean rarities; Araliaceae and Podocarpus as well as the aforementioned giants. Sparsholt College is featuring these genera in their display at the 2016 Chelsea Flower Show and with little more than …
Tucked between the busy M25 and A3 motorways in Surrey, Painshill Park was created in the 18th century by the Hon. Charles Hamilton, as a fine example of naturalistic landscape. Hamilton was among the first plant enthusiasts to introduce new species and hybrids from the USA, some of which are still present at Painshill today. …
When it comes to the horticultural industry, the main news item at the beginning of this month has been the grant of a Royal Chartership to the Institute of Horticulture. On my way to the celebratory event held at Hatfield House (Herts), I stopped to visit the National Collections of Taxodium and Carpinus held at …
Thanks to Gillian, you had already discovered the National Collections of Crocus held by Myddleton House in Cambridgeshire and David Stephens in Surrey. This time, I visit another National Collection of Crocus in Surrey, at RHS Wisley. Established in the early days of Plant Heritage's existence (1981), it holds an impressive 113 species and 88 …
In Sussex they may well have done so judging by the statues on the Centurion Way. This cycle route runs from West Dean to near the Roman Palace of Fishbourne on the outskirts of Chichester and provides a welcome alternative to the busy A roads. On Sunday Mercy met me in Midhurst and we took this …
Eucomis, neither Pineapple nor Lily, but bulbous perennials in the family Asparagaceae native to Southern Africa - these exotic looking plants form one of our newest National Plant Collections held at National Trust Hardwick Hall in Derbyshire. On our way North for a few days holiday, this was an ideal point to break the journey and view …
There are two National Collections of Hemerocallis on the Isle of Wight; 'large flowered - post 1960 awards', held by Andy Wyers and 'miniature and small flowered', held by his wife Jan. With such a large genus, defining a scope such as this is the only way to hold a representative collection of plants.Mercy and I definitely …
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