The other day we made a welcome pit stop at Dulwich Park after crawling slowly up the South Circular and through the dreaded Catford traffic on the way to Brixton. Luckily we chose Dulwich, which, if you don’t know it, is really a fabulous park with its boating lake, mature trees and gardens and perfect for our ‘country’ dog to have a sniff around. It was like home for him but with more dogs to say hello to so he was more than happy. So was I, as up by the café was a large intense planting of Euphorbia amygdalloides var. robbiae growing in full sun.

Euphorbia mellifera

Euphorbia mellifera

E. characias subsp. wulfenii

E. characias subsp. wulfenii

E. characias subsp. wulfenii with Choisya.

E. characias subsp. wulfenii with Choisya.

Euphorbia cyparissias ‘Fens Ruby’

Euphorbia cyparissias ‘Fens Ruby’

Let’s go local

Jo Arnell gives her recommendations for plants that thrive naturally in the great British climate Our native plants are tough. Able to survive frosts, wet winters and – once established – short periods of drought too. They are the bedrock,...

In Shrubs We Trust

Jo Arnell pays attention to some often-overlooked garden stalwarts Shrubs are back. I’m not sure that they ever went away to be honest, but drifts of perennials and meadow plants have been stealing the limelight in recent years. Perhaps it’s...

Making Meadows

Jo Arnell takes a wander through wonderful wildflowers and marvellous meadows I have just come in from my field with a bag of Yellow Rattle seeds, having collected them for a friend to help her establish a meadow. It’s a...