#CruickshankBotanicGardens

[jillraggett]

Plant of the Day

Saturday 10 December 2022

Against a sunny, south wall at the Cruickshank Botanic Gardens, Aberdeen, Scotland, the sprawling sub-shrub Melianthus major (honey flower, peanut bush) makes an exotic feature. This plant has large glaucous, pinnate leaves that when bruised smell of marmite or peanut butter. It comes from South Africa so is not reliably hardy in colder areas and can be mulched in winter with light materials to protect the underground shoots for the next season.

Jill Raggett

[jillraggett]

Plant of the Day

Sunday 23 July 2023

In a shady, sheltered location at the Cruickshank Botanic Garden, Aberdeen, there was a large colony of Blechnum chilense (Chilean hard fern). This evergreen fern is from the damp woodlands of central Chile.

Jill Raggett

[jillraggett]

Plant of the Day

Sunday 13 August 2023

Flowering over a gateway of Cruickshank Botanic Garden, Aberdeen, was this wonderful Hoheria glabrata (mountain ribbonwood). This tree is an endemic to new Zealand and one of the few deciduous trees on the Islands.

Jill Raggett

[jillraggett]

Plant of the Day

Saturday 24 December 2022

The hardy, creeping fern Adiantum venustum (evergreen maidenhair) forms a dense groundcover with a moist soil. It turns a rusty-brown in autumn and winter but can be almost evergreen in mild areas.

Jill Raggett

[jillraggett]

Plant of the Day (today not a plant but a fungus)

Friday 2 December 2022

In the Cruickshank Botanic Garden, Aberdeen, Scotland, I recently saw these amazing earthstar fungi, Geastrum species. The fruiting bodies were appearing from the underground mycelium which seemed to be thriving in the humus rich debris beneath a Juniperus recurva.

Jill Raggett

[jillraggett]

Plant of the Day

Thursday 22 December 2022

A graceful tree from South West China and the adjoining Himalayas Juniperus recurva var. coxii (Himalayan juniper, drooping juniper, incense juniper) has weeping branches. Large trees are rare in the wild as they are valued for making coffins and furniture.

Jill Raggett

[jillraggett]

Plant of the Day

Saturday 17 December 2022

The Vaccinium glaucoalbum (bilberry, grey-white blueberry, Himalayan huckleberry) was covered with black berries covered in a white-bloomed, these are edible but with a tart flavour. This is a spreading evergreen shrub that is ideal for a woodland garden with an acidic soil.

Jill Raggett

[jillraggett]

Plant of the Day

Wednesday 14 December 2022

A vigorous, deciduous climber Vitis coignetiae (crimson glory vine) provides a splendid display of autumn colour and develops stems of flaking bark.

Jill Raggett

[jillraggett]

Plant of the Day

Wednesday 21 December 2022

A small, slow-growing tree Acer griseum (paperbark maple) has wonderful rusty-coloured bark, which flakes and peels back to reveal the new, smooth, orange-red bark beneath. In autumn the leaves turn develop shades of red and orange falling to reveal the papery bark for the winter.

Jill Raggett

[jillraggett]

Plant of the Day

Tuesday 13 December 2022

The delicate fronds of the hardy fern Adiantum pedatum (five-fingered maidenhair fern, American maidenhair fern, northern maidenhair fern) which is native to the forests of eastern North America. The fresh green fronds emerge in the spring contrasting with attractive black stems and will form a feathery clump that combines well with other woodland plants.

Jill Raggett

[jillraggett]

Plant of the Day

Monday 12 December 2022

This is the wonderful evergreen foliage of Meconopsis napaulensis hybrid, a monocarpic perennial that after two or three years will produce poppy-like flowers in shades of red or yellow. Plants grow best in cooler and wetter areas with a woodland environment.

Jill Raggett

[jillraggett]

Plant of the Day

Friday 16 December 2022

The slow-growing Quercus pontica (Armenian oak, Pontine oak) is native to a small area of the Caucasus mountains in western Georgia, north-east Turkey and Armenia. It is a deciduous shrub or small tree and here it has been coppiced, maybe due to damage, producing these new shoots.

Jill Raggett

[jillraggett]

Plant of the Day

Wednesday 28 December 2022

A small, spreading, evergreen tree Arbutus unedo (strawberry tree, Dalmatian strawberry, Killarney strawberry tree) thrives in a sunny, sheltered location. The urn-shaped, white flowers often appear as the strawberry-like fruits, from the previous years flowers, ripen. The multiple trunks have flaking red-brown bark.

Jill Raggett

[jillraggett]

Plant of the Day

Friday 30 December 2022

At the end of the season the huge mound of tropical-looking foliage created by Aralia cordata (Japanese spikenard) has collapsed. This large herbaceous perennial has tall flowerspikes with rounded clusters of tiny white flowers followed by rounded black fruit.

Jill Raggett

[jillraggett]

Plant of the Day

Friday 18 November 2022

The cultivar Acer platanoides 'Dissectum' (Norway maple) is a form with deeply lobed leaves. This deciduous tree makes an excellent specimen plant as a focal point in a lawn.

Jill Raggett