Plant of the Week

Oregon Grape

Oregon Grape

Mahonias are native to the temperate woodlands of North America, Eastern Asia and the Himalayas. The most commonly cultivated are M. aquifolium and M. repens (N.America) and the M. x lomariifolia hybrids (Asian). M. repens is commonly used in municipal planting such as supermarket carparks, whilst the other two are common in parks and gardens in the UK. Find out more about identifying this plant and it’s cultural uses…

Elder - for health and magic

Growing as a small deciduous tree up to 20 feet in height, the centre of the twigs is generally hollow, filling with a corky pith as they become older. Leaves are pinnate in opposite pairs of 5-7 leaflets. Fragrant umbels of creamy flowers appear from late May and throughout June and are of approximately uniform size.