Photoblog

Leopard plant - summer bloomer even for clay and wet ground25.08.2024 Leopard plant is somewhat underused in Central Europe which belongs among moisture-loving to wetland perennials. Perhaps this label may have made most growers be afraid of it. Such a pity! It is true that it loves moist or even boggy ground, however, it does not demand it. It can also tolerate a regular flower bed with occasional watering. Want to know why it is so great? Ligularia is a long-lived and tough species that grows well even in heavy soil which is something many new homeowners struggle with. Not much quality and enough of topsoil and compacted clay underneath. And since everyone wants some flowers growing in the garden, not just trees and tough shrubs which can cope with poor-quality and heavy soil better than perennials, they are looking for complicated and expensive ways of improving their soil conditions. Isn’t it better to grow there plants who are better equipped and thrive in such ground? And look at the colours! There are several species of leopard plant which have diverse inflorescence as well as foliage. Ligularia dentata has bright golden yellow, large and daisy-like flowers. They begin to bloom from mid-summer and last more than a month. The leaves are almost rounded, serrated at margins, dark maroon to mahogany in partial shade whereas in full sun they reveal dark olive green base. Their size is directly proportional to the amount of nutrients and moisture in the soil. I really like using leopard plant in mixed perennial beds and make it a key feature in those with plenty of moisture or with boggy conditions. Just beware of snails, otherwise they don't suffer from any pests or diseases and grow stronger, bushier and taller every year. Britt-Marie Crawford is a variety that can grow up to a meter tall when mature. I'm so looking forward to seeing it!
Leopard plant - summer bloomer even for clay and wet ground25.08.2024

Leopard plant - summer bloomer even for clay and wet ground25.08.2024

Leopard plant - summer bloomer even for clay and wet ground25.08.2024

Leopard plant - summer bloomer even for clay and wet ground25.08.2024

The showstopper of the past few weeks27.07.2024 If you visited our garden centre in Prague within the past few weeks you must have seen this fireworks of colours right at the front of our display garden. Sitting there flawlessly, like a precious model with her best make up on, waiting for the most important cat walk gig of the Fashion Week. Her name is CAROLINA SWEETHEART and your knees get week coming closer to her.

The showstopper of the past few weeks27.07.2024 It's the colour of the new leaves which are like the brightest pink lipstick.

The showstopper of the past few weeks27.07.2024 Besides pink there's white, too, because a clumsy painter came too close with his white paint and got her all splashed white many of her green leaves.
The showstopper of the past few weeks27.07.2024 But no one seems to mind, what do you think?

Blooming now02.07.2024 dusty miller

Blooming now02.07.2024 BUTTERFLY CANDY is a scandalously beautiful series of dwarf butterfly bushes. They begin to bloom among the first. This is Little Purple.

Blooming now02.07.2024 Little Ruby is the very first buddlejy with such glowing raspberry pink flowers.

Blooming now02.07.2024 Non only flowers but also colourful berries are a showcase of MIRACLE® series of St. John's wort. This one is Miracle® Grandeur.

Blooming now02.07.2024 Miracle® Night has deep maroon new foliage and the flowers are rather golden orange.

Blooming now02.07.2024 I love the delicacy and fluffiness of indigo.

Blooming now02.07.2024
Blooming now02.07.2024 American weigela is less known in Europe, yet beautiful. This is Butterfly.

Blooming now02.07.2024
Blooming now02.07.2024 Flowers of Glauca swamp magnolia are not big but they realease a strng, sweet perfume several meters around.

Blooming now02.07.2024 And the reverse of the leaves is glaucous.

Blooming now02.07.2024 Grows slowly into nice shrubs or small trees.

Blooming24.06.2024

Blooming24.06.2024 lychnis

Blooming24.06.2024
Blooming24.06.2024 corydalis

Blooming24.06.2024
Blooming24.06.2024 kniphofia

Blooming24.06.2024
Blooming24.06.2024
Blooming24.06.2024
Blooming24.06.2024
Blooming24.06.2024 geranium

Blooming24.06.2024
Blooming24.06.2024

Blooming24.06.2024

Blooming24.06.2024
Blooming24.06.2024

Blooming24.06.2024

Blooming24.06.2024

Blooming24.06.2024

Blooming24.06.2024
Blooming24.06.2024

Blooming24.06.2024

Blooming24.06.2024 trollius

Blooming24.06.2024
Blooming24.06.2024 veronica

Blooming24.06.2024 daphne

Blooming24.06.2024
Blooming24.06.2024 clematis
Blooming24.06.2024 gaillardia

Blooming24.06.2024 centaurea

Blooming24.06.2024
Pink spring02.06.2024
Pink spring02.06.2024
Pink spring02.06.2024

Pink spring02.06.2024

Pink spring02.06.2024

Pink spring02.06.2024

Pink spring02.06.2024

Pink spring02.06.2024
Pink spring02.06.2024

Pink spring02.06.2024

Pink spring02.06.2024

Pink spring02.06.2024

Pink spring02.06.2024

Pink spring02.06.2024

Now blooming10.05.2024 This year's early spring made Mexican mock orange start blooming early. And they are as beautiful as always. This is WHITE DAZZLER.
Blooming now10.05.2024

Blooming now10.05.2024

Blooming now10.05.2024 GOLDFINGERS
Blooming now10.05.2024

Blooming now10.05.2024 Extra-fine-leaved APPLE BLOSSOM.
Blooming now10.05.2024

Blooming now10.05.2024

Blooming now10.05.2024 Any my personal favourite now with the largest leaves and flowers and ability to bloom again in summer GREENFINGERS.
Blooming now10.05.2024

Blooming now10.05.2024
Spring is back28.04.2024 Susan magnolia
Spring is back28.04.2024 Susan magnolia

Spring is back28.04.2024 Yellow River
Spring is back28.04.2024
Spring is back28.04.2024 Big Pink

Spring is back28.04.2024 Betty

Spring is back28.04.2024

Spring is back28.04.2024 Butterflies
Spring is back28.04.2024

Spring is back28.04.2024 STARBURST
The bell tolls for the winter19.02.2024 What do you think about the last warm days, huh? So nice to be able to eventualy go out into the garden for longer than a moment, do something and enjoy it without a fear of getting cold soon. Rakes, brooms, maybe even hoes and scissors are at work, and I think I saw a brave guy with a spade 😊 This is the promise of spring. And honestly I could not wait any longer so we got you this year's very first delivery of new plants. Easy to guess what they are, really. Lenten roses, of course! All blooming and all stunning. 8 varieties in total, 4 of them brand new, and one is an exclusive right from the catwalk of the February Plantarium Plant Show 2024 where it won 1st prize! How exciting is that! It is called Frostkiss Magico and we have just a few of them, so hurry up 😊 (It is the one on the left here ...)

The bell tolls for the winter19.02.2024

The bell tolls for the winter19.02.2024

The bell tolls for the winter19.02.2024

The bell tolls for the winter19.02.2024

The bell tolls for the winter19.02.2024

The best pieces20.01.2024 Do you go to fashion shows? Or perhaps film festivals where you want to capture the energy or the aura of a red carpet VIP live when they walk by waving to the cameras and sharing a few smiles with their fans? So use all your imagination and picture this in your head: we've just rolled out the red carpet in front of you on what looks like a catwalk, all lights have gone off, only a few spotlights have illuminated the walk of fame where a glittering selection of the upcoming season's hottest pieces are now showing off. But what you are seeing are not stilettos, chiffon or lace. Now we're going to show you some of the stars among the shrubs and trees that will be available this spring. And you have the unique opportunity of the sneak-peek preview and what’s even better, you can reserve them prior everyone else before they vanish in the stardust. Or if you are not ready for planning your garden yet, just enjoy the sight of something that is guaranteed to make you happy with its juicy greenery on these cold days of winter and bring closer the promise of the coming spring. You can even clap your hands, it will make them happy. After all, who doesn't like to be appreciated?! 😉 prunus lusitanica
The best pieces20.01.2024 prunus lusitanica 'Angustifolia'
The best pieces20.01.2024 prunus lusitanica 'Brenelia'
The best pieces20.01.2024 photinia x fraseri 'Red Robin'
The best pieces20.01.2024 quercus myrsinifolia
The best pieces20.01.2024 quercus suber
The best pieces20.01.2024 arbutus unedo

The best pieces20.01.2024 magnolia grandiflora 'Little Gem'
The best pieces20.01.2024 magnolia grandiflora 'Goliath'
The best pieces20.01.2024
The best pieces20.01.2024 magnolia grandiflora 'Ferruginea'
The best pieces20.01.2024 ilex Impala

The best pieces20.01.2024 elaeagnus x ebbingei
The best pieces20.01.2024 elaeagnus x ebbingei 'Compacta'
The best pieces20.01.2024 ilex 'Nellie R. Stevens'
The best pieces20.01.2024 osmanthus fragrans f. Dentatus
The best pieces20.01.2024 phillyrea angustifolia
The best pieces20.01.2024 heptacodium miconioides
The best pieces20.01.2024 yucca gloriosa
The best pieces20.01.2024 ficus carica 'Ice Crystal'

The best pieces20.01.2024 pinus densiflora 'Umbraculifera'

The best pieces20.01.2024 pinus sylvestris 'Watereri'
The best pieces20.01.2024 cedrus deodara 'Feelin' Blue'
The best pieces20.01.2024 cedrus deodara 'Golden Horizon'
The best pieces20.01.2024 taxus baccata 'David'
A New Year's Tale of a Journey To a Promise Land01.01.2024 Once upon a time, too many high mountains and wide rivers away, was a large country with a capital city and many towns and villages with its people, just like here. The land was shrouded in legends and rumours of prosperity and wealth, and since it was so far away in a time when traveling there would be almost a lifetime journey, we believed the tales of how beautiful life there was and sometimes even envied them. I myself have heard that their ruler has a magnificent palace and a wife of such sheer beauty that anyone would love to marry her. But also, while all their men and women are so abundant in physical beauty, there is practically no need for jealousy. I have also heard that their fields are very fertile and the climate so favourable that they grow three times as much as they need with little effort. That they are so cut off from the surrounding world that they are never in a war – no enemies can practically reach them. That they have accomplished a higher level of development much faster and have numerous inventions that make their lives easier and more enjoyable. That they have everything they can think of - from the wisdom of their ancestors to modern gadgets. And that they are so self-sufficient that they don't even need to travel beyond their own borders. Do you know the story? I will tell you; you may recall. I was very young at the time and just been accepted by the guild. And the fate had it that I met a man. At first glance, he looked like 80 years old, maybe more. God forbid for me being such a fool, he was not more than 60, but his worn-out face showed wrinkles and suffering. This along with pure grey hair deluded my judgement. He came to us from afar and I knew I had never seen him before. He was a pilgrim, so I offered him shelter and food because that's what we do. He accepted my offer with gratitude, so I welcomed him to my humble home. After the meal and rest I could not stop my curiosity and asked him where he was coming from and where he was going to. To my astonishment, he was one of us, born here in our country. He was on his way back from that promise land where he long ago pilgrimaged to looking for a better future. He had lost his whole family and felt like he had nothing left to lose. A large part of his life he spent on the difficult journey going there. He lived in that country for some time and the last part was spent on the way back. I was eager to learn everything because such first-hand reports, unlike omnipresent rumours, promised more than a yarn. He looked up at me with his tired, wrinkled face, from which blazed two large brown eyes, still alive and ready to share what he had seen and experienced. First, he told me about his sorrow with his family. His young wife gave birth to twins, but fate did not allow them to see the light of their first day. She was so troubled and in pain that she soon decided to leave her husband because every look at him reminded her of their sad loss. One day she simply vanished, and he never saw her again. He had nothing to live for, so he decided to set out on a pilgrimage to that promise land that every man talked about when young, but no one ever really did go. The journey seemed endless to him. Everyone he met claimed to know exactly where the land lay and could give him directions and advise. But almost never was that for free – out of good will. He often had to pay for the information or work for it, only to find out that the information was wrong or even made up. Eventually he stopped asking and told himself that if it was his destiny to get there it would happen even without the help of tricksters. And he did. It took him ten years. I was enthralled by his story and couldn't wait for him to tell me how he got to the promise land. He saw it in me and calmly continued. One day he arrived in a city where everything was so different. He was completely overwhelmed by the magnificence, beauty and sophistication that was evident at first sight. It was clear to him that he found the land. And also that he probably wouldn't fit in easily, though he wanted that so much. He went into seclusion, believing that people in the countryside or suburbs would better accept him and help him integrate. His assumption seemed correct when a family took him in and happily explained to him how things worked there and all he wanted to know. In return they were curious about his homeland. The pilgrim was delighted by their obvious interest, and he told them as much as he could. And then to more and more other people who came round to check up on him and listen to his stories. He felt like his dream had come true. But he didn't enjoy just talking, he found a job in which he was good enough, and he started to do well. He made friends with new people and was delighted seeing how attentive they were as he was repeatedly prompted to tell more and more stories about his home country. A beautiful woman grew fond of him and provided him with more than just a new home. They soon became a couple. At first my pilgrim looked around, comparing what those people had. He examined it and learned to work with it. He wanted to prove that he had what it took to be equal. He was pleased how everyone received him with joy and a smile and a will to help. After a few years of hard work of integration into the new world he realized that the smiles and kindness were slowly disappearing. He tried even harder and the harder he tried the more his new friends distanced themselves from him. He couldn't understand. He sought comfort from his partner, who more often sought company of her old friends and had no understanding for his questions. Whenever possible, he started venturing out of the city on expeditions to other towns and villages in the country, to do more research and perhaps to better understand what he was doing wrong. Everywhere they welcomed him and talked to him. But always only as much as was needed. Then everyone retreated to their shells and my pilgrim was lonelier than before. He watched the beauty and advancement around him and kept on convincing himself that what he saw WAS be the promise land. He just couldn't figure out what was wrong about him. Until one day during one of his weekend trips, he came across a farm that didn't at all look like the other advanced businesses he had known so far. The farmer welcomed him kindly and offered to show him their countryside, taking him to the woods and fields than enclosed his home. He was friendly but not curious. He didn't seem eager to hear the pilgrim's stories. It felt refreshing. They set out and talked on the way. The farmer wondered why the pilgrim found this country so fascinating and different. The pilgrim started to explain enthusiastically, but soon turned to a sad tone, ending up helplessly admitting that he felt more lost than when he had lost his family. The farmer looked him in the eye and then asked a single question: "Why do you think things should be so different or better here?" "Well," the pilgrim did not know how to begin. “You're so advanced, on such a higher level compared to us, so I guess I thought you were further along in everything. And that here, in addition to a new life, I would perhaps also find liberation from my own lowness", he finally admitted. "Do you really think that the people you have found here would be bigger or better than you and by some evolutionary miracle could fix all the pains that a person suffers regardless of the development of his country? Such as envy, avarice, malice, deceit, or others?' The pilgrim gasped, comparing moment by moment all the events that happened to him in the made-believe promise land. He had to work hard to remove the veil of novelty and uniqueness he was initially blinded by, and realized who he actually met and how they treated him. The farmer remained silent, waiting for the pilgrim to speak on his own. And after a while the pilgrim started: "For them, I was nothing more than an amusement monkey that stopped being amusing the moment it didn't want to go back to the cage, but instead wanted to merge," he finally said sadly. “I was an entertaining piece as long as I showed them my otherness, but when the well of surprises was exhausted, to them I came back to being a foreigner, threatening their workplace and customs.” The farmer bent down and scooped up a handful of soil from the corner of the field where they were sitting near to and said: “Look. This is the foundation. That matters most of all. Still, no one cares as long as they have something to eat. It's not a topic for conversation over coffee, it can't be innovated, and a handful of soil from this field is so similar to that from any other field that no one even thinks of it artistically. But if you do what you have to, and it doesn't matter who you are, you humbly bend down and put a seed or a little plant in, it will give you in return what it can give, and you can reap. And you don't have to say a word about it.” That was the end of it. They sat there for a while, and before they said goodbye, the pilgrim knew what he had to do. He thanked the farmer for his few words of wisdom that were far bigger than the evolution of his accomplished country. The decision to go home may have seemed sudden, but it felt all the more like something that had long been predestined as the next necessary step. On the long journey home he had plenty of time to reflect on everything he had seen and experienced. And I was the first to hear him. I had a thousand questions to ask, but I could see that the narrative was exhausting, and that my duty at the moment was to offer him a night's lodging without any further inquiries. In the morning, at a table with breakfast, I gathered the courage to ask how his search for a new life relates to the farmer’s land and soil he showed him. And my pilgrim just told me this: "When we rush to get higher and further too fast, we’re often too blind to see what's right in front of us. We choose to speed up to get away in the belief that a better life awaits us somewhere else. And along the way we meet the same people who, funnily enough, are also speeding up to get higher and further. Naturally, we easily become only a blur to each other, no matter how close we get physically or emotionally, we simply can’t see who we truly are. We believe so much that all will get better when we get THERE, that we never let our HERE happen. And that's a mistake, because THERE never turns to HERE, just like THEN never becomes NOW. The farmer knows it. Earth taught him that. He knows that he has to sow here and now for something to be born later. That it will do him no good if he keeps looking elsewhere and another time for something that could be better. What could be better for me than all that I have here and now? I have a clean bed you let me sleep in, breakfast on the table you generously prepared for us, and perhaps a new friend. I am very grateful to you for all this, and I will be happy to stay silent with you all the time you will need to think this through.” I wish you all a lot of wisdom and faith in a good life HERE and NOW! © Milan Havlis