Saltwood Castle, Hythe, Kent
Reading time 8 minutes
The far south east corner of Kent is frequently overlooked, regarded by many as nothing more than the down-at-heel gateway to the delights of […]
Trees and Shrubs
Daily Flower Candy: Sophora microphylla ‘Sun King’
Reading time 1 minute
New Zealanders know the sophoras, or kōwhais, by the copious yellow flowers which appear in spring. These are attractive to a number of native […]
The Savill Garden, Windsor Great Park.
Reading time 8 minutes
Lysichiton camtschatcensis, The Western Skunk Cabbage. Last weekend the sun came out. For those of you who are not British, sunny weather, even when […]
Daily Flower Candy: Magnolia x soulangeana
Reading time 1 minute
Say what you like about suburbia, but when it comes to spring, it beats the city hands down. Across the country, in avenues, closes […]
Paradise Found – Bumthang to Punakha
Reading time 8 minutes
First off, meet these cheeky grey langurs we met steeling bags of salt near the pass at Pele La. They’re not rare, but they […]
Prunus serrula var. tibetica
Reading time 1 minute
As shaggy and appealing as an Irish Setter, this is the trunk of a magnificent, mature Tibetan cherry, Prunus serrula var. tibetica, which we […]
Bumthang in Bloom
Reading time 8 minutes
You’d be forgiven for thinking we’d transported ourselves to Switzerland but, no, this is Bhutan’s cultural heartland, Bumthang. Four bucolic pine-clad valleys make up […]
Plants in Detail – Roystonea regia
Reading time 1 minute
Often the true beauty of plants can be found in the intricate details of leaves, flowers seedpods and stems. This beautiful trunk belongs to […]
The Valley of the Black Cranes – Gangtey and the Phobjikha valley
Reading time 8 minutes
I once read that your preference for different kinds of landscape stems from a deep seated evolutionary instinct related to the race you’ve descended […]
Flowers in the Forest – Over the Dochu La Pass
Reading time 8 minutes
Much of the driving in Bhutan is tortuous and faintly terrifying. It’s best to pay as little attention as possible to where the car […]
Thorny Subjects – Paro to Thimphu
Reading time 6 minutes
Before I start waxing lyrical about the botanical delights of Bhutan, which are plentiful, I should firstly point out that our trip is not […]
Pinus communicata
Reading time 1 minute
With its smooth grey bark and short spreading branches, Pinus communicata very much lives up to its common name, the bottle brush pine. Common […]