Although scorned by some because of its ubiquity and its explosion of colour, the popularity of Forsythias resulted in extensive hybridisation since Carl Thunberg, surgeon with the Dutch East India Company, introduced F. suspensa to Holland in 1833, and plant hunter Robert Fortune introduced F. viridissima from China for the Veitch nurseries in Exeter. F. x intermedia Maree d’Or  is one of those hybrids but differs from most having been specifically designed by Alain Cadic in 1990 at the French National Institute of Agricultural Research in Angers, to be a compact, ground-covering form, suitable for use in smaller gardens, and it has received the Royal Horticultural Society’s Award of Garden Merit.  It is growing in SBG’s AGM garden in the bed towards the top, backing on to the nursery and as March begins the buds are ready to burst into the clear yellow 4-lobed flowers, smothering the arching branches before the leaves.

Hamamelis mollis - Chinese Witch Hazel. This stunning little tree greets visitors arriving at the Main Entrance on Clarkehouse Road; others should pop through the archway to admire it, a cheering sight on a wintry day.  The golden-yellow curled petals are held in maroon-red calyces, in clusters of tassels all over the bare twigs.  They are not damaged by frost or snow but the scent is only enjoyed at warmer temperatures.  (However the gorgeous perfume of the adjacent Sarcococca pervades the air no matter how cold it is.)

Nestled in the East Ridge and Furrow section of the Pavilions is Camellia japonica ‘Elegans’ a chance seedling selection of Camellia japonica ‘Anemoniflora’ made by Alfred Chandler at his nursery in Vauxhall London in 1832.  In fact, Camellia japonica ‘Anemoniflora’ is growing next to ‘Elegans’. 

Encephalartos natalensis       Natal cycad      South Africa, West  Dome of the Pavilions

The pinnate leaves of these spectacular plants grow from the cylindrical trunk and fall away as they age, leaving a rosette of hard new leaves with opposite leaflets on the stem, each leaflet bearing a stout sharp prickle.

Enter the Gardens through the Clarkehouse Road gatehouse and immediately on your left nestled next to the Curator’s House, now Joni’s café, you will see a magnificent specimen of Arbutus unedo, the ‘Strawberry Tree.’ An evergreen, it is unusual in having flower and fruit at the same time, especially notable in the late autumn and early winter. An attractive and distinctive plant it was awarded the RHS AGM in 2002 and this particular example is the Yorkshire species champion. 

Commonly known as holly olive, the juvenile, spiny-edged leaves, shiny and leathery, of this evergreen shrub in the Oleaceae (olive) family, grow opposite on the stems rather than alternately as Ilex aquifolium (common holly) does. But as can be seen on this lovely specimen, planted in the Asia Garden in 2003 (near the sweet chestnut  trees,  west of the Rose Garden) the mature leaves can be smooth-edged, entire.

Newly planted in the Asian area is this striking and interesting herbaceous perennial from the Hubei and Shanxi provinces in China. Rehmannia elata is commonly known as the ‘Chinese foxglove’ because the tubular bell like flowers bear a resemblance to our native foxglove. The flowers are large, bright pink to red and flare open and outward showing yellow-spotted throats that crown the tall stems. 

Magnolia grandiflora is reckoned to be the most magnificent broad-leaved plant that can be grown outside in Britain.  Here we have a lovely young cultivar, M. g. ‘Goliath’, in the magnolia triangle above the Rose Garden.  The glossy undulated leaves are a perfect foil for the beautiful pure white flowers which have a delicious lemony scent.  Each flower carries male and female parts which reach maturity at different times, and the shedding of the stigma can be seen before the pollen part matures. 

A member of the Asteraceae, Onopordon acanthium known as ‘Cotton or Scotch Thistle’ has seeded itself on the edge of a bed in the Four Seasons Garden. Although noted as a biennial this must be the third year this fine architectural plant has been here. The giant vertical in any garden makes a bold statement but in the front of the border adds an exciting element of grandeur and majesty

This beautiful English shrub rose is a fabulous addition to a mixed border. It produces large deep pink-mauve blooms in clusters through summer into autumn. Each pointed bud develops quickly into a semi-double flower which lasts a week, and as it matures the golden stamens are revealed, becoming available to pollinators. The profusion of roses on the 2m high bush with the healthy green foliage is a striking sight. The sweet  fragrance is of old roses. Being a rugosa rose, R. ‘Wild Edric’ can be used for hedging; its incredibly prickly stems would deter even squirrels.

As you walk up to the Bear Pit you cannot fail to notice on your left-hand side, slightly set up on the slope, this magnificent evergreen Rhododendron with its pink flower buds that open to loose trusses of about 10-12 almost pure white flowers, they are sweetly scented lily-like and around 7cms to 9cms across.

‘Preferring full sun in well-drained soil, it makes a tidy nest of finely cut leaves, in which nestles a clutch of silken hair-covered buds, that slowly unfold wide to the sun soft violet-purple petals filled with yellow stamens.’

If you walk to the Bear Pit you cannot miss this stunning flowering rhododendron by the side of the path. At an eventual height and spread around 2m after 20 years, this dense shrub is covered in spectacular flowers with 8 or so in a cluster and trusses 4.5cm long.

Daphne ‘Dapjur01’ or ‘Perfume Princess’ is a most successful hybrid of the 21st century, with arguably the sweetest and freshest of all daphne fragrances. It also has the longest flowering season and the most floriferous plants.

Lonicera x purpusii is a hybrid between L. fragrantissima and L. standishii with the quality excelling both its parents. It is more vigorous as well as freer flowering, and will start up in every mild spell until spring, flowering reliably between late December and March.

Juniperus coxii makes a very ornamental, graceful little tree of pendulous bright green leaves in whorls of three, with reddish, shredding bark.

Commonly known as white Himalayan rue, Boenninghausenia albiflora has pungent dark green leaves divided into attractive feathery ovate leaflets, bearing loose panicles of small cup-shaped white flowers in late summer through to the autumn.

With their distinctive and strange appearance, the Colletias will never be mistaken for other plants.