Plants in Season

The bright yellow flowers of oilseed rape have become a familiar sight in early summer. The plant is a brassica (cabbage family) and its name, rape, comes from the Latin […]

Gorse The bright yellow of gorse, Ulex europaeus, is now prominent in the countryside. This plant’s habit of flowering on and off throughout the year led to the saying that […]

Aquilegia belong to the buttercup family (Ranunculaceae) and are at their best from the end of May into mid/late June. There are approximately 70 species of Aquilegia but the most […]

As the daffodils fade, tulips take over. Most tulips do not naturalise as well as daffodils as they originate in areas such as central Asia which do not have our […]

Daffodils, often in large plantings, are now brightening many parks and gardens. The more vigorous types such as the trumpets or large cupped are the most often seen.   Yellow is […]

Crocus are now brightening up many public open spaces.  They  like well-drained soil and sun. But do watch for mice as they like crocus corms. Unlike snowdrops crocus come in […]

Despite the very cold spell recently, snowdrops are coming into flower. They are very hardy and can even push though frozen soil. The early white flowers are often seen as […]

Thousands of poinsettias will have been bought for Christmas. With care, they can stay as colourful additions to a room until Easter. They have been developed from a wild species, […]

You may think that your garden can be dull in the winter months, but as Anna’s pictures show, there is plenty of colour around. All of these images were taken […]

Many bulbs come from countries with hot, dry summers so they either flower in spring as winter snow melts or in autumn when rain starts them back into growth. Several […]