Going to the dogs

Greetings. Many thanks to everyone who took part in Mystery guess #18. Some said the close-up pic was a mahonia, while another blogger thought it might by Primula denticulata. Well, I’m delighted to announce that Joseph Tychonievich at Greensparrow Gardens blog was bang on the money with his mighty guess of Petasites japonicus. This answer was ably seconded by Rob, but as you know, there can only be one winner in this game, so Joseph has the honour of being the first Mystery Guess of the year. Well done. Now the technical bit. I spotted several clumps of petasites around the large pond at Hodsock Priory in Nottinghamshire. The plant itself heralds from Asia and is most odd, with the flowers developing in late winter before the lettuce like foliage. Good luck next time folk!

Happy New Year!!! What’d ya mean it’s February already? Why didn’t anybody tell me? Ah well, since I haven’t posted anything since mid-December, I thought it best to offer you my best wishes for a great year ahead. Anyway, enough of the salutations. I’d like to announce that I’ve finally woken from my non-blogging slumber and hope to be able to write a little more often than I have of late.

To get things started I won’t bother telling you about some of the gardens I’ve visited recently, the celebrities I’ve spotted on my travels or reveal any salacious gossip I’ve been privy to. Oh no. I thought I’d treat to you something really, really special. Yes, you’ve guessed it, it’s a Mystery Guess – the web-based quiz where I post a macro lens shot of something I’ve seen and challenge you to guess what the hell it is.

Now you may think this looks like a close-up of a compound eye of tsetse fly with conjunctivitis, but it’s not. It’s actually part of a plant that I spotted in Hodsock Priory in Nottinghamshire a few days ago. Do you know the common or botanical name of the plant? If you do, post your answer below and even if you don’t, please take an educated guess or throw caution to the wind and take a wild stab in the dark. I’ll post the answer tomorrow or possibly the next day. Good luck Mystery guessers!

Do you have a guilty music pleasure? In other words, do you have a penchant for pop or rock music with highly questionable artistic integrity? For example, I know some people who can’t help playing an air guitar whenever they hear Jump by Van Halen or who turn up the radio when Toto’s soaring hit [...]

Aren’t you sick of Christmas TV specials? I know I am. I’ve just been flicking through the pages of the festive Radio Times (aka The Legendary Christmas Issue, according to its strapline) and have found the listings crammed with special editions of family favourites, such as Cranford, Dr Who, Outnumbered and The Royle Family. Well, [...]

After working through the night (under the watchful gaze of a UN observer, brought in to ensure a fair and free poll), the results of the inaugural OMG! Gardening Awards 2009 have been well and truly crunched, partially digested and regurgitated.
Despite fear of intimidation, blackmail and threats, there was a healthy turnout at the [...]

On Thursday 3 December, the great and the good, along with some that aren’t so good, of the gardening world will gather in London for The Garden Media Guild (GMG) Awards 2009. Around 500 guests will enjoy a slap up meal at The Brewery in the heart of The City and then keep their fingers [...]

If you’ve ever been to RHS Garden Wisley you’ll know that it’s a most dangerous place. The 240-acre garden is the haunt of several gangs of young mums, who use its labyrinth of paths as a race track to show off their wheels (umm, buggies, strollers and prams). Yesterday, while trying to avoid a head [...]

Are you fed up with autumn foliage? I know I am. After a few weeks of swooning over the fiery shades of assorted Japanese maples, cotinus and amelanchier, and in the words of The Cramps, I’m looking for a New Kind of Kick. In order to cure my autumnal blues I headed to David Austin [...]

Some said it was a hebe, others that it was a eucalyptus, while one even suggested it might be the gaping maw of one of those giant sand worms from Dune. Alas, your guessing was off the mark – bagging the top spot is Ryan, whose answer of callistemon or bottlebrush, hit the bullseye of [...]