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© Andrea Jones

Don't be surprised when you enter the gardens thro

Don't be surprised when you enter the gardens through Library Walk to come up against a giant. So big and tall that you may not even notice it at first. But it's there and very likely to have been since the 1860s.
You may just notice it's trunk at first which is a deep reddish brown & slightly spongey to the touch. Then look up ! It is of course the Giant Redwood, Sequoiadendron giganteum. At this moment it is also in flower (scroll to the third picture to see photograph by David James).
It is not hard to tell where the giant redwood got its name. This Californian conifer is the largest tree in the world by volume. Despite it's stature it is threatened by overexploitation and changes to fire management practices. The giant redwood is now classified as Endangered according to the IUCN Red List. The world’s largest, living giant redwood is 84 metres tall & over 11 metres wide. It's called ‘General Sherman’, and lives in California's Sequoia National Park.
Giant redwoods can live for over 3,000 years. One of their secrets to a long life is that they have a substance called tannin in their bark which boosts their resistance to pests and diseases.
Giant redwoods have adapted to be fire resistant as they grow in fire prone areas. Their thick, spongy bark helps protect mature trees from damage, as well as the water-based sap they produce. The mature trees also self-prune low branches to prevent fire from spreading through the canopy.
Fire is essential for giant redwoods to reproduce in the wild. The heat from the fire causes the cones to open and disperse their seeds in the wind. Fires help clear the forest floor of plant competitors and the ashes left behind provide a fertiliser to help the giant redwood seedlings grow.
Our giant of Library Walk is doing well. Do take a moment to notice when you visit. Not long now ... the Gardens reopen on the 1st April. No kidding ! .
Thanks to @kewgardens for the information, for more facts see www.kew.org.
First two photographs shown here ©️ @andreajonesgardenphotography 🌿
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#trees #arboretum #giant #giantredwood #endangered #lovetrees #flowers #tree #gardens #opengarden #derbyshire #dendrology #silviculture #redwood

Growing well in the garden currently is the bright

Growing well in the garden currently is the brightly coloured Pulmonaria angustifolia 'Blue Ensign' commonly known as Lungwort 'Blue Ensign'.
It's a strong-growing deciduous perennial which grows up to 30cm tall, with broad, dark green leaves and compact clusters of large, intense gentian-blue flowers. The leaves are a deep green, not spotted like most other lungworts.
The common lungwort Pulmonaria officinalis has been used for centuries to treat various lung ailments. It's name is derived from the latin word 'pulmo' which translates to the word lung. This could be attributed to the grey spots that appear on the leaves and are reminiscent of the marks
on an infected lung. There does seem to be a more scientific reason for the connection however. According to www.pfaf.org,
lungwort has a high mucilage content and this makes it useful in the treatment of chest conditions, being of particular benefit in cases of chronic bronchitis.
Thanks to David James for the photograph.
Don't forget gardens reopen on 1st April ! 🌿
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#spring #flowers #blue #medicinal #garden #plant #springflowers #lung #lungwort #perennial #horticulture

Snow falling this morning in the gardens ! ❄️

Snow falling this morning in the gardens ! ❄️
Thanks to our gardener, David James, for the photograph.
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#snow #snowygarden #fountain #pool #snowday #snowfall

Spring flowers are now beginning to appear in the

Spring flowers are now beginning to appear in the Long Border. The tubular flowers of this little pink fumewort are a delicate shade of coral pink and contrast prettily with their green ferny foliage. It is Corydalis solida subsp. solida 'Beth Evans'.
Researching this plant revealed very little of it's background and no indication of who Beth Evans was or still is. On one hand learning that apparently the cultivar ‘Beth Evans’ arose as a clonal selection of a German strain raised by Wilhelm Schact called Speciosa. Another source saying that 'Beth Evans' was raised in Edinburgh. If any one has any further clarity on the history if this sweet little perennial please do let us know!
It does seem to be common knowledge that historically the root of the species Corydalis solidago has been used as a pain killer in Chinese medicine for over 1,000 years. It has also been used as a sedative for insomnia. The plant is dormant through the summer months and this is when the tubers have traditionally been harvested before drying for later use. Not something to try without professional guidance of course - the plants also contain alkaloids and can be poisonous. On a positive note Fumeworts bring even more pollinators such as bees and butterflies to the gardens 🐝
Don't forget the Gardens reopen from the beginning of April. Please see our website for details.
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#herb #chinesemedicine #fumewort #springflower #foliage #flowers #pinkflowers
#pollinators🐝 #pollinator #pink #tubular #painkiller #medicinal #spring #garden #gardening #horticulture #gardenphotography #plantphotography ©️ @andreajonesgardenphotography 📷

The tiny and rather luminous pale yellow bell-shap

The tiny and rather luminous pale yellow bell-shaped flowers of Stachyurus praecox. The word Stachyurus translated from Greek means 'tail-like spike' and is a reference to the catkin-like inflorescence, whilst praecox means 'early' and a refers to the shrub's very early flowering.
Stachyurus is a woodland shrub and is the only genus in the flowering plant family Stachyuraceae. It is native to the Himalayas, Japan and eastern Asia. According to @bhambotanicalgardens "The plant was introduced to the west by Philipp Franz von Siebold, and described in his “Flora Japonica” (1836). "
It grows at Melbourne Hall Gardens in a hedges area close to the statue of Andromeda to the right of the Great Basin.
Not long now - just one month to go before the gardens reopen on 1st April! 🌿
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#shrub #japanese #earlyflowering #yellow #racemes #horticulture #plant #flowers #winter #plantlovers #garden #asian #japan #greek #march #plantphotography
#gardenphotography ©️@andreajonesgardenphotography

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