Flaming Dogwoods in the sun

We were lucky with the weather on our visit to RHS Wisley at the start of February. Blue skies and a hint of sun and in the distance a blaze of colour. So it was no wonder that we found ourselves in the Winter Walk admiring the colours of the Dogwoods. At this time of year they do provide colour, which is often something we’ve missed isn’t it?

We have some Dogwoods in our garden, and with hindsight they aren’t situated in the best position as it would be good to see them from the house. However they are in some of our sunnier spots, which is why where they are was chosen, as the sun helps the vibrancy of the colour. They’re definitely another of the plants i’d put in a future garden, and next time round I’d make sure we could see them.

It’s often the reds, yellows and oranges that take all the plaudits colour-wise but even the green ones, with the sun on, can shine. I think they benefit from the reds behind them, and the contrast that makes them work. I’m sure there’s all sorts of varieties, but mine are nowhere near as dense as this, and i kind of wish they were.

I”m also always nervous about cutting their vibrant stems, as the most vibrant colour is always on the newest stems. It takes all of my ‘big girl pruning bravery’ to actually cut the colourful stems. Mostly they’ve come back, but I have lost a plant or two in the process, which doesn’t help with being brave.

I do have a tip for you though if you’re thinking of adding some fiery Dogwood colour to your garden, and that’s to skip the garden centre plants and buy bare rooted plants. They’re much cheaper and as your plants won’t be doing much until next year anyway, they’ve plenty of time to get established and repay you with some glorious winter colour.

Succulents galore, sigh...

I do enjoy a succulent, and that's why almost every visit I've made - and no doubt will continue to make - to Wisley involves a trip to the Alpine House. I've already shared the Spring colours of the irises, narcissus and muscari, the small flowers that pack a big punch and today it's the turn of the succulents. 

It's all too easy to forget these are also alpines, some are outside the greenhouses while others are nestled amongst the flowers I've already shared. My favourites were those outside, so that's where most of my photos come from.

It's only recently that I've learnt that succulents can change colour, somehow I think if the ones above were just green, while they'd still look great, they wouldn't look anywhere near as dramatic?

The ones growing out of the hexagonal brick below are densely packed and therefore no doubt highly promiscuous. But in succulents, that's a good thing!

I was intrigued by the leaves on this one - it's inside, and almost has the look of a cyclamen doesn't it?

The ones above had an almost water lily-like feel to them don't they, with gravel obviously, not water.  Having scoured the inside of the Alpine house, I was back outside admiring those nestled among upturened slabs and stones, which I'm sure is why these are a rockery favourite.

Even with the weeds and decaying leaves they manage to look interesting don't they?  Maybe I should refer to my plot as "interesting" from now on...

Seeing them nestled amongst the slabs here with the lichen has given me an idea. I'm struggling to find something that will grow in a narrow strip between our patio and fence, so I'm wondering if some succulents may help. While I've got one or two already, perhaps I should add to my collection and introduce some different varieties to try it with... 

I'd be keen to have something like these above too - just look at the detail? I love their spikiness, oh dear I've a feeling a trip to the garden centre could be coming on...

The vegetable garden at RHS Wisley

I do love to look around a vegetable plot, and especially one that's productive at this time of year. Although that makes me feel a little bit flawed as my plot looks nothing like this.  But nonetheless I can still enjoy looking at someone else's hard work. 

I'd have been happy to have picked this purple kale though.

The vegetable garden at Wisley is as you'd expect, ordered and full of produce. The Brussels were netted neatly, but I did wonder who eats the produce from this garden. We eat a lot of brassicas at this time of year, and I really should grow some of our own again this year. I must remember to check the sowing time, as it's always much earlier than I anticipate.

The year that we had plenty of purple sprouting broccoli I planted plug plants out in the June before, so now you can see why I don't remember. The last thing I'm thinking of in June (or before) is winter veg, but perhaps I should.

I was quite taken by the chicory, and it was great to see the colour. We're eating more of this, and it's something I'm considering growing. Sadly our soil isn't anywhere near as good as this, and it's another thing to grow neatly in rows - remember my long held ambition to grow lettuces neatly, well I'm adding another to that list...

It was great to see the ruby chard doing so well, especially as this is something much closer to my reach. The downside is that MOH is less keen on chard, but as it's something I can grow that's rarely a consideration.

Just look at the soil, not a week in sight. How envious am I?

I know, it comes to something when you look at soil and think where are the weeds?!  The plant in case you're wondering is celery - that's not on my grow list at all, although at some point I will try celeriac again.

The other thing that intrigues me in the gardens we look around is greenhouses, and more importantly, looking inside them.  This one at Wisley was easy to get a glimpse inside of, and once again it was super neat, with the salad leaves growing just as they should.

As I walked around the greenhouses I was surprised to see a whole pile of pumpkins and gourds, and love this shot of them peering through the crab apples.  And the sun and blue sky were welcome too.

What I also liked about the Wisley vegetable garden was that they also made use of pots to grow edibles in. For many years growing in pots was our most productive way of growing tomatoes and much more, so it's great to see this in such an established garden too. I also think there's something about showing off your edibles on the patio, although I've yet to convince MOH of that.

And do you know what I left inspired to get growing again. Perhaps not quite to get out there digging just yet, but definitely inspired to check out my seeds and thumb through some seed catalogues!

Have you decided on what your'e growing this year yet?