Due to the warmer weather the Chaenomeles × superba (Japanese quince, flowering quince) was already in full flower in Seville, Spain. This spreading, small deciduous shrub, has bright flowers before the glossy leaves appear. In the autumn the plant is often covered in yellow fruit which are fragrant when ripe.
In containers or planted under Cedrus (cedar) trees in the palace gardens Cycas revoluta (cycad, Japanese sago palm) was a feature plant of the Alcázar of Seville, Spain. This evergreen dioecious perennial produces a stout woody trunk with large, leathery, pinnate leaves in a terminal rosette. The male inflorescences are large and cone-like whilst the female ones consist of smaller, modified leaves.
A courtyard of Citrus × limon (lemon) in the Monastery of Santa Maria de las Cuevas, Seville, Spain. The lemon has an unknown origin but was introduced to the Mediterranean by the Arabs before 1200 CE. The Writtle University College students and staff had a wonderful tour with Studio WET, a local architecture and landscape architecture practice, who kindly explained the historic layers of this inspirational place.
Like a tethered white cloud Erica canaliculata (channelled heath, Cape heath) was flowering in a cool, but frost free glasshouse as this South African species can withstand temperatures down to 1°C. This tree heath makes an evergreen shrub up to 2m high, needing a fertile, acidic, well-drained soil in a sunny, frost free location.
True heralds of the coming of spring – Eranthis hyemalis (aconite) which spreads by seed and forms a tuber. The top image is the strong growing cultivar Eranthis hyemalis ‘Euan Bunclark’ which has deeply cut flower sepals which resemble the leaves. This form was discovered early in the twenty-first century, and was named in honour of the son of a friend of the nurseryman Joe Sharman. The lower image is the normal species for comparison.
In the Winter Garden at Cambridge Botanic Garden, UK, the semi-evergreen herbaceous perennial Helleborus × hybridus ‘Yellow Lady’ (hellebore) was flowering. This plant needs a fertile, moisture-retentive soil which is preferably neutral or alkaline, and benefits from being mulched every autumn with leaf mouldy or garden compost.
In the the Alpine Glasshouse at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, UK, Androcymbium rechingeri was in flower. This plant is a very rare Cretan endemic found only on the islet of Elafonisos and a few other locations on the west coast of Crete. It grows on sandy soil and flowers from December to February.
A container full of early spring promise with
Iris reticulata ‘North Star’ in bloom. This beautiful hybrid, from Alan McMurtrie in Canada, has creamy flowers with touches of yellow and deep turquoise. As well as the colourful appearance it has a strong fragrance. It is best planted in a sunny, well drained position and here was protected by an alpine glasshouse.
In the Alpine Glasshouse at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, UK, the Scilla madeirensis is flowering. In the wild it grows along steep cliffs near the coast of the island of Madeira off the coast of Morocco. It forms large bulbs that have a brief dormant period in the summer, when it sheds its leaves but the roots remain active. A free draining compost, sunny sheltered location and regular watering when in active growth is ideal for this tender species.
An impressive, old specimen of Ilex aquifolium ‘Argentea Marginata Pendula’ (Perry’s weeping silver) at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, UK. The evergreen drooping branches form a small dome of spiny leaves which are purple when young, and mature to be dark green with a broad creamy edge. As the cultivar is a female plant there are also red berries which are popular with the birds.
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