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Fritillaria meleagris

April 11, 2009
by F&F
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Image by Jon Hughes This is a truly breathtaking plant, a grown-up-child’s plant, a barely-real plant. When I was a child I was captivated by the nodding checkerboard heads which grew wild in our soggy clay meadow. And now the sight of hundreds
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Tulip ‘Queen of the Night’

April 10, 2009
by F&F
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Image by Rebecca Joy The closest breeders have come to creating a black tulip is ‘Queen of the Night’. Of course, it isn’t really black at all: it’s a deep, lustrous purple, but that’s just as well, because black plants
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Here we go round the mulberry bush

March 12, 2009
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Photo courtesy of Steve Thoroughgood Coming across a mulberry tree is always a lovely surprise. These beautiful trees awake a childlike enthusiasm in quite serious adults, as harvesting their fruit involves clambering through their gnarled branches a
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Shallots by Helen Lehndorf

March 2, 2009
by F&F
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:shallots:, by Helen Lehdorf Hoorah for March turning up on our doorstep, fresh faced and full of beans. Now’s the time to sow your shallots indoors. Space about 5cm apart or grow in toilet roll tubes. Plant out in April after hardening off, an
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Hydrangea paniculata ‘Pinky Winky’ by Kat

February 26, 2009
by F&F
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Image copyright Call me Koko ‘Pinky Winky’ is an extraordinarily disgusting name for an extraordinarily elegant plant. Hydrangeas age beautifully, gaining pink and gold rusts on their paper petals. Plant in full sun or part shade in a wel
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Sambucus nigra by Rémy ERRA

February 20, 2009
by F&F
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Sambucus nigra by Remy ERRA Crushed elder leaves are the smell of childhood, of climbing through their soft branches and picking the landing-pad flowers. Now, picking the flowers supplies us with champagne and other elegant delights such as gooseberr
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Lilacs by NorthernLala

February 12, 2009
by F&F
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Lilacs, originally uploaded by NorthernLala Lilac (Syringa vulgaris) is a well-brought-up young lady of a shrub. She dresses beautifully, but without any gaudiness, and smells hauntingly beautiful. Plant in a sunny spot in a fertile and alkaline soil
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A witching hour. Witch Hazel, by Darren Graham

February 11, 2009
by F&F
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Image by Darren Graham If, like some of the Fennel and Fern writers, you are accustomed to stumbling down an icy garden path at doom o’clock every morning on the way to work, you should at least plant something to wake you up before you hit the
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Campsis

January 27, 2009
by F&F
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Image copyright Fennel and Fern Grow Campsis x tagliabuana if you have one of those sought-after south-facing, sunny, sheltered walls. It romps happily over walls and fences to height of 30ft if left unchecked and will produce clusters of fiery orang
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What’s the story, morning glory?

January 24, 2009
by F&F
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Image copyright Fennel and Fern Bindweed is an evil plant. Its white roots snake through the soil, can reproduce from a very small section of root, and are extremely resilient. But if you have ever felt a twinge of regret as you pull down those beaut
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Garden Raspberries by Alison

January 14, 2009
by F&F
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Garden Raspberries, originally uploaded by Alison Now’s the time to get your hands on some bare-rooted raspberries for planting as soon as possible. The plants are dormant at this time of year, and so won’t be harmed by the planting, but
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Romanesco by Cathy

January 13, 2009
by F&F
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Romanesco, originally uploaded by Cathy One for the mathematicians, this stunning brassica is an example of a ‘fractal vegetable’, with its florets growing in a fibonaci sequence. It’s sure to wow, and even has its own fan group on
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