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Potsize - 1L
Extremely handsome plant of great distinction with its deeply divided rich purple black leaves and tall waving wand of pink budded white flowers produced as late as Oct. Dark colour becomes more apparent on older plants. Best with moist soil. No need to stake. Immune to slugsLinks
Actaea Compared
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Potsize - 1L
Agapanthus 'Blue Umbrella'. Tall (140cm) strong stems with large spherical heads crammed with rich cobalt-blue flowers. They are a beautiful sight to behold in full flower in Summer and have become particular favourites for larger pots in the English Country Garden. They have handsome dark green, broad strap-like evergreen leaves which can form impenetrable ground cover in milder Counties. Their evergreen nature makes them less robust in cold Winters and in pots they are best brought under cover (no heat is required, just hard frost protection). Flowers June-August. A. praecox subsp. Orientalis, A. africanus, A. umbellatus Discount of 25p per plant for quantities of 3 or overLinks
Agapanthus Compared
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Potsize - 1L
This is an old variety with a very good heritage. It was selected by Lewis Palmer, the breeder of the Headbourne range of Agapanthus. It is a strong growing variety with a distinctive pale pinkish grey-purple flower colour. The stems are brown and the pedicels ruddy. Despite having a broad leaf, usually indicating a degree of tenderness, this variety has proved to be relatively hardy, especially with leaf cover.Links
Agapanthus Compared
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Potsize - 1L
A variety with particularly large dense heads of purest white flowers. Exceptionally large heads with up to 80 blooms per head. 100cm tall, EvergreenLinks
Agapanthus Compared
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Potsize - 1L
Drooping Agapanthus. The flowers of the inapertus Agapanthus are all long and tubular, rather than the more usual flared trumpets, and hang downwards. They are fully hardy provided that the bulbs receive a good mulching in the Autumn once the leaves have all withered. 130cm in flower. Flowers are a good sky blue in this variety.Links
Agapanthus Compared
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Potsize - 1L
Anchusa azurea 'Dropmore' is a large perennial prized for its abundance of flowers of a bright gentian blue which only seem to intensify in Summer's evening light. The flowers are quite long lasting and loved by bees. The tallest of the Anchusas. Full sun, drought tolerant . The roots of all the Anchusas yield a resinoid colouring compound called alkanet-red or more properly anchusin Discount of 25p per plant for quantities of 3 or over -
Potsize - 1L
A very distinctive grass, notable for the range of colour in the foliage which is striped in shades of orange and brown, more so as the season goes on and best when the plant is a little stressed. The flower heads are really airy , starting like a long delicate arching fly-swish and gradually branching into a very light cloud. -
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Potsize - 1L
Bred at the RHS in Chiswick in 1902, this variety didn't really make a mark until quite recently. A large and dramatic Aster with tall stiff shiny jet black stems topping out at nearly 5 feet high. Dark green leaves are also heavily flushed black by flowering time in late September. If that wasn't reason enough to include it at the back of your border it produces clouds and clouds of quite large mauvey-blue flowers at a time when the rest of the garden is fading.Links
Aster Varieties Compared
Botanical Style Photographs
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Potsize - 1L
A very strong growing, tall (1.5-2m) beauty with strong stiff stems which support huge sprays of gorgeous cool, clean white daisies. Freshly opened flowers have green eyes, which adds to the immaculate effect. Flowering late in the year it is at its best in October where it cheers the Autumn garden both visually and as a rich nectar source for the insects to fill up on before Winter. The flowers even withstand the brief Autumn frosts to give a long lasting display. Rarely offered but bomb proof to grow, even the ubiquitous mildew doesn't touch it. The Blue 'Climax' grows at Great Dixter and is described as the trusted old friend that has performed for decades.Links
Aster Varieties Compared
Botanical Style Photographs
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Potsize - 1L
A striking autumn flowering Aster with branching heads producing a mass of very bright cerise scarlet daisies warm enough to cheer the dullest day in fact when in full bloom the flower colour is strident enough to deliver a firm slap around the chops. It is just the brightest of pinks but it goes so well with the warm tones of Autumn. I'm not sure who Alma Potschke was, but she was clearly well worth remembering ( 'Andenken an' means 'in memory of' similar to the French version 'Souvenir de' ) . Very easy to grow. Height 1.3m (4ft). Like all the novae-angliaes it produces a series of unbranched stems topped with a branching terminal head of flowers. I am very grateful to Heather Farquharson whose research has recently answered my query above. I couldn't better her writing so I hope she doesn't mind me quoting it uncut. 'There is a German nursery near Stuttgart, www.poetschke.de, and the owner who developed the plant called it after his mother. I only hope he did not call it after her because of memories of her delivering firm slaps around the chops and the resulting rosy cheeks. Let's hope he had happier memories of her.' Its not uncommon for customer asking for this plant to decide that 5 consonants in a row is just too much and suffer verbal apoplexy somewhere soon after the 'Andenken'. Sometimes, with a glorious British disregard for correctness we settle for 'Posh' or maybe something like 'Potsky'. Having consulted with a German friend I am told the good lady's name should be pronounced more like 'Purr - sh - k' with a soft final 'k'. Discount of 25p per plant for quantities of 3 or overLinks
Aster Varieties Compared
Botanical Style Photographs
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Potsize - 1L
Feather Reed Grass. This fine variety was named after the distinguished German nurseryman Karl Foerster (1874-1970) who selected and introduced it. It is a sterile hybrid (C.arundinacea x C.epigejos) and forms a narrow column, 60cm high in leaf and 150cm plus in flower. The flower spikes are narrow feathery plumes, purpley green to start, ageing a lovely golden shade in Autumn and persisting well into the Winter. It will tolerate a wide range of soils, including heavy clay and compacted soils and whilst it prefers a sunny drier site, it will tolerate a wet site well. The first grass to win Perennial Plant of the Year, which it did in 2001Discount of 25p per plant for quantities of 3 or over -
Potsize - 1L
A real upright accent. Tall and narrow with variegated foliage and generous heads of feathery flowers. -
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Potsize - 1L
Melancholy Thistle. Broader leaves, a more spreading habit and larger flowers than its cousin Cirsium rivulare. Later in the year to flower as well. The reason for the name heterophyllum comes from the variability of the leaf form, which becomes more divided on the flowering stalks than the basal rosettes. In shade this plant will grow well but flower poorly. Give it plenty of moisture and sun to see it at its best. The plant was considered a possible cure for sadness. Nicholas Culpepper in 1669 said that it "makes a man as merry as a cricket" Discount of 25p per plant for quantities of 3 or overLinks
Botanical Style Photographs
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Potsize - 1L
Cirsium rivulare 'Atropurpureum'. Attractive thistle with stout erect flowering stems generously topped with rich red-purple thistle knobs. Easy and rewarding plant with strong architectural character. Grows best with moisture. 1m. June and then sporadically afterwards. A Magnet for bees and butterflies Discount of 25p per plant for quantities of 3 or overLinks
Botanical Style Photographs
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Potsize - 1L
Cirsium rivulare 'Trevor's Blue Wonder'. A new variety that compliments its similar cousin C.rivulare 'Atropurpureum'. Whilst being superficially similar it has flowers that are bluer in hue and are carried on stems that are purple stained over white pubescence. A little stiffer and more vigorous in growth. Like all Thistles, the flowers are a magnet for butterflies. 1m, May-June and then sporadically through the season. Would like a moist site. Discount of 25p per plant for quantities of 3 or overLinks
Botanical Style Photographs
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Potsize - 1L
Clematis recta 'Purpurea'. Sophisticated herbaceous clematis whose 120 cm stems of purple foliage provide the perfect foil for the loose terminal panicles of starry white flowers. The foliage is a significant form in the early garden being both unusual and dark. The flowers are a lovely white cloud, similar to Old Man's Beard, perfect as an accompaniment to strong forms like pink roses. Makes a small densely packed matt. Best supported by a few twigs, which the leaves will cling to, as the stems will flop. -
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Potsize - 1L
Crambe cordifolia . One of the largest and most impressive of perennials with huge glossy leaves and an 8ft tall gypsophila-like cloud of scented white flowers. Well drained soil. full sun. Ok for chalk Whilst Crambe needs good drainage it doesn't follow that they want to be dry. In fact it is quite the opposite. In order to get the best out of them they actually like a rich soil with plenty of moisture during the growing season. They do suffer flea beetle damage almost routinely. However the pinprick holes in the leaves are inconsequential to a well grown plant.Discount of 25p per plant for quantities of 3 or overLinks
Bold Foliage Plants
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RHS AGM
Potsize - 1L
Crocosmia 'Lucifer'. A large and startling montbretia. The foliage is tall and broad; the flowers a vivid glowing red, produced freely in late summer on great arching panicles. If you into unabashed red then this is the plant for you. One of the earliest of the Montbretia to flower. 1969 C. masoniorum x C.paniculata. early flowering, up to 4ft high. Intermediate between parents. Best in sun or part shade with some moisture. 120cm.Discount of 25p per plant for quantities of 3 or overLinks
Crocosmias compared
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Potsize - 1L
Digitalis ferruginea 'Gelber Herold' (Yellow Herald) . Immaculate evergreen glossy rosettes of long, narrow dark green leaves are a feature all year. The flowers spikes are tall, stiff and densely crowded with charming ochre, yellow-lipped flowers arranged all around the stem in perfect regularity. More yellow in the flowers than the species. 4ft CAUTION- TOXIC IF EATENDiscount of 25p per plant for quantities of 3 or overLinks
Foxgloves Compared
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Good for Bees
Potsize - 9cm
This foxglove always catches peoples attention. Its form is typical with tall spires hung with flared bells, but the colouring is most striking. The flower is a nice clean white, but inside it is so heavily spotted in a rich maroon that the spots merge to fill the throat. The leaves are narrow and tend to a grey green. 120cm high. June to August. 120cm high. June to AugustDiscount of 25p per plant for quantities of 3 or overLinks
Foxgloves Compared
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Good for Bees
Potsize - 9cm
Digitalis purpurea 'Snow Thimble' Digitalis purpurea 'Snow Thimble' is the variety of foxglove you want if you are looking for pure refined elegance. The flower spikes are well formed with large hanging bells of pure white, spotted delicately chartreuse in the throat. To add to this the spire blends from green at the tip through palest lemon buds into the pure white fully opened bell. A plant of great distinction. Very good in woodland situations. CAUTION- TOXIC IF EATENDiscount of 25p per plant for quantities of 3 or overLinks
Foxgloves Compared
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Potsize - 1L
GOLDEN SCALED MALE FERN. Beautiful native fern which will tolerate wide ranging conditions including dry shade; but preferring a moist soil. Semi evergreen fronds make a clump 100cm*100cmDiscount of 25p per plant for quantities of 3 or overLinks
Ferns - Garden Pictures
Ferns for Moist Sites
Ferns for Dry Sites
Ferns - Deciduous or Evergreen
Botanical Style Photographs
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RHS AGM
Potsize - 1L
Dryopteris dilitata 'Crispa Whiteside'. Broad Buckler Fern. A beautiful form of a moisture loving British native fern with large broad spreading fronds intricately congested and wavy. 60cm. Very good for naturalising in woodlands and near water. Like the species, except that all leafy parts of the frond are crispy. Originally found in the wild by Robert Whiteside, who considered it his best wild find. Later reintroduced by Reginald Kaye.Discount of 25p per plant for quantities of 3 or overLinks
Ferns - Garden Pictures
Ferns for Moist Sites
Ferns for Dry Sites
Ferns - Deciduous or Evergreen
Botanical Style Photographs
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RHS AGM
Potsize - 1L
Dryopteris wallichiana. ( Dryopteris parallelogramma ). A beautiful majestic fern with fronds to 2m under ideal moist conditions. Forms a narrow shuttlecock of fronds in a lovely deep green with stems clothed in dark scales. The lovely evenly divided fronds emerge attractively tinted raw sienna. Deciduous and requiring a sheltered spot to excel. Wide distribution from Hawaii, Mexico, Jamaica and HimalayasDiscount of 25p per plant for quantities of 3 or overLinks
Ferns - Garden Pictures
Ferns for Moist Sites
Ferns for Dry Sites
Ferns - Deciduous or Evergreen
Botanical Style Photographs
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Bee Friendly
Potsize - 1L
Hungarian Globe Thistle. An intensely blue selection of this species, said to be far superior to forms of Echinops ritro. Large too, flowering at 120cm tall. Flowers from July to October. The species originates from Central to Eastern Europe through to Asia Discount of 25p per plant for quantities of 3 or over -
Potsize - 1L
(Eryngium descaisneum) If you are looking for a real talking point then this is the one for you. Eryngium pandanifolium 'Physic Purple' is bold, architectural and takes no prisoners. The foliage is a narrow 2cm wide and can be 1.5m long, evenly spiky all along its edge. It forms a dense grassy fountain, from the centre of which rises the star of the show. The flowering spike can rise 2.5m high or more, branched all the way up like a small tree to form a cylindrical cage of small deep maroon cones. Quite the show-stopper. The species grows naturally in South America, being found in marshes and wet fields. 2-4m. Hardy to -10C . Has a reputation for being less hardy but should be OK if grown in sun and not left to sit too wet in winter.Links
Eryngiums Compared
Botanical Style Photographs
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Potsize - 1L
A really big, bold statement of a plant for the back of large borders. Great clouds of ivory coloured, almost white, soft fluffy flowers sway on grey green stems which are richly clad in handsome whorls of fresh green foliage. A handsome architectural plants which can top 2m and is irresistible to insects. Flowering from July-September. Please don't expect to receive it in flower in Summer !Links
High and Mighty
Botanical Style Photographs
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Potsize - 1L
Foeniculum vulgare 'Purpureum' - Bronze Fennel. Clumps of beautiful feathery bronze leaves build up to make impressive mounds that are a perfect foil for bold leaves such as Hostas. The stems grow 5-7 ft high and are topped with delicate yellow umbels that are equally ornamental. dead-head to prevent seeding. The strongly aromatic foliage, which smells of aniseed, has a long history of medicinal and herbal use being noted for its restorative powers on vision and to make more gaunt those '..that are grown fat.' These powers might be of some doubt, but it is reliably great in a ratatouille. Florence (vegetable) fennel is derived from the annual variety F.vulgare var.dulce Discount of 25p per plant for quantities of 3 or overLinks
Bold Foliage Plants
Botanical Style Photographs
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Potsize - 1L
Geranium ‘Sirak’ (Geranium gracile x Geranium ibericum). An outstanding new hybrid that produces masses of large flat bright pink flowers continuously for several months through the summer. Each flower is a shiny texture, coloured towards the bluer end of deep sugar pink with darker pink veining. The leaves are a pale green, resembling most the Geranium ibericum parent as does the plants general habit. A plant that will earn its keep in any planting scheme. 90cm. Bred originally by Hans Simon in Marktheidenfeld in 1992, an identical hybrid was also raised by Alan Bremner on Orkney.Discount of 25p per plant for quantities of 3 or overLinks
Geranium Compared
Geranium in the Garden
Botanical Style Photographs
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Potsize - 1L
Helenium 'Kanaria' is a useful mid to late summer flowering sneezeweed with canary yellow petals and centre. It flowers about mid-season for the Heleniums and is a one of the taller varieties at 1.2m plus. It is extremely similar to butterpat in colouring, but can achieve twice its height with a more upright, less branched habit. It is a lovely warm yellow colour for the summer garden and is a magnet for bees. Easily grown in all but the very wettest and driest soils. 1.2mLinks
Helenium Compared
Botanical Style Photographs
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Potsize - 1L
Hosta 'Domaine de Courson'. Large. height 100-120cm. A very large Hosta with satiney, dark-green, rounded leaves with a distinctive blue cast. The habit is rather open. Sport of Hosta 'Sum and Substance' or possibly of its sport Hosta 'Lady Isobel Barnett'. Discount of 25p per plant for quantities of 3 or overLinks
Hostas Compared
Hostas in the Garden
Botanical Style Photographs
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Potsize - 1L
Hosta 'Northern Halo'. Large. An imposing large Hosta with deeply crinkled blue leaves and a generous cream margin. Best grown in a moist site with light shade where the leaves can grow to their best potential. Leaves can display a drawstring effect whereby the edge is contracted. Medium to slow growth. 90 x 90 cm. A sport of Hosta sieboldiana 'Elegans' Discount of 25p per plant for quantities of 3 or overLinks
Hostas Compared
Hostas in the Garden
Botanical Style Photographs
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Hosta 'Olive Bailey Langdon'Potsize - 1L
Hosta 'Olive Bailey Langdon'. Large-Very Large. 120 x 80cm. A very fine large Hosta. The large cupped and corrugated leaves are variegated with a sea green base and broad creamy yellow margin. A moist shady site will see the full potential. Similar to H.'Frances Williams' but will not scorch. Discount of 25p per plant for quantities of 3 or overLinks
Hostas Compared
Hostas in the Garden
Botanical Style Photographs
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Potsize - 1L
Hosta 'Winter Snow'. Very Large. 150 x 90 cm. Forms a large open mound of thick distinctively glossy leaves that looks like they've been oiled . The leaves are chartreuse green with a narrow irregular yellow margin. Good growth rate once established. Plant in morning sun with plenty of moisutre at the root. sport of Sum and Substance. Can be slow to get established Discount of 25p per plant for quantities of 3 or overLinks
Hostas Compared
Hostas in the Garden
Botanical Style Photographs
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Potsize - 1L
Kniphofia 'Painted Lady' is an easy to grow variety with extra long pokers which fade from a glowing salmon bud through yellow to a cream flower. Unusually the pokers can branch like a candelabra. 110cm. Full sun with moisture in summer. Bred by Eric SmithDiscount of 25p per plant for quantities of 3 or overLinks
Red Hot Pokers compared
Kniphofia - Botanical Style Photographs
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RHS AGM
Potsize - 1L
Kniphofia 'Tawny King' is an outstanding Red Hot poker. The large flowering heads fade from deep tawny brown buds into rich cream flowers, all enhanced by the dark bronze stems. Growth is vigorous and flowering is prolific from July to October. 1.2m sunDiscount of 25p per plant for quantities of 3 or overLinks
Red Hot Pokers compared
Kniphofia - Botanical Style Photographs
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Potsize - 1L
Leucanthemum x superbum 'Horace Read' is a fully double Shasta Daisy that stands up well in the garden and cuts well for the house. It was bred by Horace himself as an improvement on 'Esther Read' his hugely successful variety named after his daughter. Esther's failing was a tendency to flower in flushes. Horace opens more in the centre and is less shaggy. Plant in any reasonable garden soil preferably in sun. 1.5mDiscount of 25p per plant for quantities of 3 or over -
Good for Bees
Potsize - 1L
Leucanthemum 'Manhatten'. Just like its American namesake there is nothing shy about this Daisy. It is unashamedly big and bold and brilliant for it. Its just like an ox-eye daisy on steroids, it is a massive Shasta Daisy with pure white blooms up to 15cm across carried on sturdy red stems. Plant in any reasonable garden soil preferably in sun where it will cheerfully spread. 1.5m. cuts wellDiscount of 25p per plant for quantities of 3 or over -
Potsize - 1L
Leucanthemum x superbum 'Shapcott Summer Clouds'. A lovely very frilly Schast Daisy like a creamy white tu-tu around a yellow centre. Very easy to grow in any sunny site, producing lots of flowers from mid Summer into Autumn. Only 50cm high. Flowers are clotted cream in bud. Bred by Anita Allen in Devon.Discount of 25p per plant for quantities of 3 or over -
Potsize - 1L
Leucanthemum x superbum 'Sonnenschein' ('Sunshine') is a large flowered Shasta Daisy with uniquely coloured blooms that open a cheerful pale sunshine yellow and fade buttermilk. Flowers are single and a good 10cm across. Plant in any reasonable garden soil preferably in sun. 1.5m. cuts well. Looks lovely amongst blue flowersDiscount of 25p per plant for quantities of 3 or over -
Bee Friendly
Potsize - 1L
A first rate architectural foliage plant for moist or boggy soils. Leaves are rounded, ruffled and deeply cut and of a beautiful shade of green. Large heads of coarse bright yellow-orange daisies produced in late summer which the bees just adore. 120cm -
Bee Friendly
Potsize - 1L
Linaria purpurea gives a long summer display of elegant spikes crowded with many tiny purple snapdragons. Evergreen. Suits wide ranging sites including dry sites in full sun. Cottagey feel. Discount of 25p per plant for quantities of 3 or overLinks
Linaria Compared
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Bee Friendly
Potsize - 1L
[tooltip title=" Canon James Went (1845-1936). Canon Went was the highly regarded headmaster of Wyggeston Hospital Boys' School in Leicester where he held the position for 43 years. He is not noted as a great gardener, so the Linaria that bears his name was probably named in his honour by someone who knew him." placement="top" trigger="hover" class="" id=""]Linaria purpurea 'Canon J Went'[/tooltip] is a delightful pale sugar pink toadflax. It Continues all summer with its display of elegant spikes crowded with many tiny snapdragons. Evergreen. Suits wide ranging sites Discount of 25p per plant for quantities of 3 or overLinks
Linaria Compared
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Potsize - 1L
Matteuccia struthiopteris. Ostrich Plume Fern. (Matteuccia germanica) A bold fern for a damp to wet site. The creeping underground stems producing a colony of regular, tall, pale green shuttlecocks that look especially good with the light shinng through their fronds. Shallow rooted, so easy to curb. to 150cm. Shade and moisture as long sun exposure can brown the frond tips. From Central EuropeDiscount of 25p per plant for quantities of 3 or overLinks
Ferns - Garden Pictures
Ferns for Moist Sites
Ferns for Dry Sites
Ferns - Deciduous or Evergreen
Botanical Style Photographs
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Potsize - 1L
Purple Moor Grass is a British native, to be found on damp peaty sites where it grows rough, tough tussocks that are a nightmare to walk through. However, as a garden plant it has many merits. In its taller subspecies, subsp. arundinacea, it produces tall airy plumes of purple tinted flowers that are light and see through. The plants are tough and in Autumn they turn rich buttery tones that last well into the Autumn. Transparent lives up to its billing with particularly airy flowers in spikes up to 5ft high. It is particularly persistent into the Winter. Molinia like plenty of moisture and will tolerate a wide range of soil types from peaty to a reasonable amount of lime.Discount of 25p per plant for quantities of 3 or over -
Potsize - 1L
Onopordum acanthium. (Scotch Thistle). A stately architectural plant with attitude ! The large Acanthus-like leaves are densely woolly silver and tipped with real thistle barbs. At first forming an impressive evergreen rosette, during the second year, in April it mounts its advance skywards. A very stout, silver 'trunk' is winged, well clothed in woolly silver leaves and terminates in a broad candelabra bearing a succession of the big mauvey-pink and nectar-rich silver thistles that are depicted on tins of shortbread and which are beloved by the bees and butterflies. Usually monocarpic, this impressive plant wants lots of room and sun but is unbeatable to add structure to the border. usually self seeds very modestly so you can relocate the offspring to appropriate positions whilst small; although I have moved enormous plants in high Summer for safety's sake (they were very prickly by the path) and gotten away with it. Planted young and well fed they can top 2.5m tall.Discount of 25p per plant for quantities of 3 or over -
Potsize - 1L
This is one of those plants that has really surprised us by how much we like it. It comes from a fairly robust genus where elegance is not usually the order of the day, but it really is a thing of great refinement. In habit it is fairly open and quite large growing at least 1m in each direction. The stems branch widely with each node bearing a long tapered leaf whose edge colours red, a colour that repeats into the long tapering flowering stems which are narrow and carry small starry white flowers which point and twist like those fireworks that whizz as they are sent skywards. An undemanding plant for a moist to wet soil and a must for the flower arranger. Good with Euphorbia 'Fireglow' or Schizostylis coccinea ''Major' Discount of 25p per plant for quantities of 3 or overLinks
Botanical Style Photographs
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Potsize - 1L
Persicaria microcephala 'Red Dragon'. This is a really excellent foliage plant if you want to add a dramatic splash of burgundy foliage into a scheme. You can either leave it to grow to its full height of about 1m with terminal clusters of white flowers or regularly trim it to the base to produce fresher stronger coloured growth. The leaves tend to be coloured in 3 patches, a dark triangle at the base, followed by a silvered 'V' and finally the red main part of the leaf. They can be rather changeable in colour. New growth in good light is rich burgundy, but later in the season it tends more towards brown and can be quite green in low light or shade. Don't worry if the early growth gets frosted off, which it often does, it soon recovers.Links
Botanical Style Photographs