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Potsize - 1L
(Acanthus caroli-alexandri) . Handsome plants with large shining ornamental foliage. This species has deeply divided glossy dark green leaves. Spires of hooded foxglove-like flowers in a two-toned purple and white. Height 4-5 feet. The foliage of Acanthus spinosus represents a midpoint between the less divided of Acanthus mollis and the extreme of spikiness, Acanthus spinosus Spinossissimus Group.Links
Acanthus Compared
Botanical Style Photographs
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Potsize - 1L
The spiniest, prickliest form of Acanthus spinosus. The leaves are so finely cut that they are reduced to a veinal framework with every part of the leaf a handsome silver spike. It thrives in hot dry conditions although it flowers less precociously than the type. Still the foliage is amazing with its combination of dark green ground almost completely silvered over. It's ferocious mind - our neighbour grows it in his plant jail alongside his golden stinging nettle ! 75cmLinks
Acanthus Compared
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Bee Friendly
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Dense clumps of feathery leaves extending right up the stems to the heads of Pale lemon flowers. An easily pleased & rewarding perennial Full sun. Succeeds well on poor soils. 75cmDiscount of 25p per plant for quantities of 3 or overLinks
Achillea Compared
Achillea in the Garden
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A cracking variety which has earned the accolade of a RHS Award of Garden Merit. The broad heads open a soft pastel salmon-orange and gradually fade to cream and pink. This is one of the Galaxy series, a group of Achillea produced from crosses between Achillea millefolium and Achillea taygetea. 60-70cm.Discount of 25p per plant for quantities of 3 or overLinks
Achillea Compared
Achillea in the Garden
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Achillea 'Pretty Belinda'. An excellent strong-pink achillea with broad heads of flowers and fine dark green foliage. Flower colour strengthens as the flowers age giving a pretty two-toned effect. Plants have a compact habit and good ability to stay upright. 50cm. Summer. Repeat flowers if cut back.Discount of 25p per plant for quantities of 3 or overLinks
Achillea Compared
Achillea in the Garden
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Achillea 'Summerwine'. Intense dark cerise flowers crowd in dense flat heads. This is a variety that has fine green foliage and spreads well making an open clump. Grows well in variety of soils, but will be longest lived in a well drained soil that is on the dry side, especially in winter. Full sun. 75cmDiscount of 25p per plant for quantities of 3 or overLinks
Achillea Compared
Achillea in the Garden
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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
Agapanthus 'Glacier Stream'. Produces a profusion of soft white flowers from green buds. Each flower is tinted slightly purple outside and has a subtle purple stripe. The anthers are grey and the flower stems are flushed purple, making a soft dusky white effect which sits more comfortably in some schemes than a bright white. One of the earliest to flower, blooming from July - August on relaxed, gently arching stems. deciduous and very hardy. 45cmLinks
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 very refined looking variety with more than a nod towards A.'Windsor Grey'. It is fairly short in flower at around 45cm with well shaped flower heads, each carrying flowers of a pale powder blue wash, striped in a diffuse cobalt. The green of the buds and red stain to the flower stalks creates a very classy looking flower.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
Ageratina altissima 'Chocolate' ( Eupatorium 'Chocolate' ). A useful plant in many respects, growing in a wide range of soils, providing there is moisture. Richly coloured leaves are an attraction throughout the season, whilst the fluffy white flowers, produced late in the summer are a magnet for bees and butterflies. 100cm. Looks particularly fine with the pastel blues of Nepeta and EryngiumDiscount of 25p per plant for quantities of 3 or overLinks
High and Mighty
Botanical Style Photographs
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Not a big blousy primadonna, but nevertheless a useful plant full of its own charms. Useful as it is late flowering with compact heads of small white snowballs which are just full of nectar. The leaves are fresh apple green with stems that will colour up mahogany if the plant is in sun. Tones in well with other plants and a good clean colour for a white scheme. Equally at home in the border of wild garden. 100-150cmDiscount of 25p per plant for quantities of 3 or overLinks
High and Mighty
Botanical Style Photographs
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A very neat, refined version of Ladies' Mantle with small neat foliage shaped like a rounded seven point star. The leaf edges are picked out in silvery hairs. The sprays of pale green flowers have distinctive calyces, lending the flowers a spherical texture. Smaller and less rambunctious than its cousin Alchemilla mollis but with similar charming flowers that make such a lovely foil to other flowers, both in the garden or in a vase. Easier to grow than the similar Alchemilla alpina, under whose name this is often sold, which really demands alpine conditions with perfect drainage.Links
Alchemilla in the Garden
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Potsize - 1L
A smaller form of the otherwise similar Alchemilla mollis with beautiful scalloped, serrated edged foliage which often takes on a blueish-grey hue. Typical chartreuse sprays of flowers are produced in Summer on purply stems and act as a lovely foil to other blooms. Grows about 6 inches high and 8 inches wide and, apart from needing sun for at least part of the day, is very undemanding.Links
Alchemilla in the Garden
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Potsize - 1L
3 warm coral-pink outer petals are kissed by just a hint of lipstick pink, giving a warm rosy glow. The innermost 3 petals have all the vibrancy of a tropical fish, being golden yellow with flecks of deepest beetroot guiding the bees to its rosy throat. A showy border plant thriving in moisture retentive, free draining rich soil in sun or part shade. Mulch well to ensure survival in harsh Winters. Compact mound 60-70cm. June to October. Bred in France by Ernst Turc for long flowering and good performance as a cut flower.Links
Botanical Style Photographs
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Large 5-petalled flowers of a rich pink, the outermost pair a much stronger hue, like velvety crimson. A boss of bright orange-yellow stamens completes the effect. Height to 90cm. Late Summer-Autumn. The flowers of this variety exhibit the same slightly lopsided character as in the related Hellebores three of the petals are true and the two are in fact petaloid sepals. Discount of 25p per plant for quantities of 3 or overLinks
Anemone Compared
Botanical Style Photographs
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Potsize - 1L
A real beauty with semi-double very large flowers of lovely shape and form. It is almost white suffused with soft rose-pink, becoming stronger flushed and edged on the reverse. Each flower has 12 individual petals which are arranged with great fineness, particularly beautiful when viewed from behind as the rich colouring is most apparent and you can best appreciate the way the petals curve and arch a bit like a waterlily. Tall and robust. Loreley was a Siren who sat on a granite outcrop near the town of St. Goarshausen in the Rhine Valley. From there she would lure passing sailors with her song. So bewitched they would ground their ship and perish 'neath the waters. Discount of 25p per plant for quantities of 3 or overLinks
Anemone Compared
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Anthemis 'Susanna Mitchell' is a lovely English hybrid perennial marguerite, between A. cupaniana and A. tinctoria, with creamy coloured single daisies with primrose yellow centres over a mass of silvery ferny foliage. Its cupaniana parentage gives it the lovely weed smothering mound of silvery filigree foliage and its ability to flower from as early as April, whilst A.tinctoria gives it the subtle creamy yellow hue and a bit more height (up to 50cm). A perfect plant for early insects with its rich nectar source, it enjoys a sunny spot in well drained, even a bit dry soils. It was found as a chance hybrid in the mid 1980's in the garden of Susana Mitchell and introduced in the 1990's by Blooms. Susanna planted Anthemis tinctoria, a plant that had been handed down in the family from her great Grandmother, next to Anthemis cupaniana. A chance seedling grew up and was admired, prompting her to deliberately make the cross subsequent times. Her daughter Susie Mitchell still grows the same Anthemis tinctoria and uses her Mother's lovely cross as her signature in all the gardens she creates and tends as Cotswold Garden Creations. Please note, if you are looking for the pure white Anthemis, it is A.cupaniana you want. Susanna Mitchell is cream, fading from lemon. Discount of 25p per plant for quantities of 3 or overLinks
Anthemis Compared
Anthemis in the Garden
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Potsize - 9cm
A beautiful form of Aquilegia clematiflora with exquisitely shaped, completely spurless flowers reminiscent of its name-sake. The flowers are shaded green in bud and retain green tips when open pure white. The leaves are fresh apple-green and erupt as early as February making a lovely foil for Spring flowers. 60cmDiscount of 25p per plant for quantities of 3 or more of this variety, 50p for 10 of any AquilegiaLinks
Aquilegia Compared
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Potsize - 9cm
A fitting name for this richly claret coloured, very double. Spurless Aquilegia. A tall elegant variety with strong stems. 60-90cmDiscount of 25p per plant for quantities of 3 or more of this variety, 50p for 10 of any AquilegiaLinks
Aquilegia Compared
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Potsize - 9cm
One of the spur-less Barlow series based around the plant originally found in the garden of Nora Barlow. This form has flowers that are a fully double, white with green tips. Would look good in a mixed cottagey border, hanging above paler mounds of flowers. 80cm. May-July. Best in light shade. HARMFUL IF EATENDiscount of 25p per plant for quantities of 3 or more of this variety, 50p for 10 of any AquilegiaLinks
Aquilegia Compared
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Potsize - 1L
This Aster opens a myriad of small (2cm) single lilac-pink daisies on a short twiggy bush. Although classified as a novi-belgii hybrid it leans quite heavily in both flower shape and branching habit towards the style of a lateriflorus. As the flowers mature, the central grey-yellow boss becomes much elongated to a prominent bun the colour of crushed strawberries and the petals begin to reflex. Whatever the classification, with the lovely warm pink colouring I just couldn't resist it. 80cm, October. Some mildew resistance. Discount of 25p per plant for quantities of 3 or overLinks
Aster Varieties Compared
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The perfectly shaped and spaced petals of this neat purple Aster surround an equivalent sized green boss studded with golden stamens which puts me in mind of those head collars worn by Bill and Ben. A really rich purple flower on branching upright stems forms a rounded bush. Flowers produced really late in mid October and on into November. Healthy green foliage makes good ground cover even in quite dry shade. Flowers nearly 3cm Discount of 25p per plant for quantities of 3 or overLinks
Aster Varieties Compared
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Very simple starry flowers with widely spaced petals surrounding a yellow disc are artfully arranged along graceful thin black stems. Each time the stem divaricates (= splits in two, hence the name) a simple green leaf marks the break giving a simple elegance to the whole effect. This Aster is tolerant of quite dry shade without trouble which makes it very useful for illuminating a cool corner in Summer where the usual suspects for this environment are way past their best. Nice heart-shaped green leaves. Height 60cm, spreading habit. Discount of 25p per plant for quantities of 3 or overLinks
Aster Varieties Compared
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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
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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
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Potsize - 1L
One of the first to bloom. These Aster blooms open as perfectly domed sugar pink powder puffs. As they mature the petals reflex to reveal a golden eye surrounded by a frilly tutu of sugary pink with silver highlights - A real girly delight ! Flowers 3.5cm wide. Height 90cm. A relatively early Michaelmas daisy flowering from early September. Discount of 25p per plant for quantities of 3 or overLinks
Aster Varieties Compared
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30cm. The short, twiggy bush is literally smothered with beautiful semi-double lilac-blue daisies, 3cm wide with yellow button eyes. Although technically semi-double, the flowers open flat and appear as well formed singles. Mid September-October Discount of 25p per plant for quantities of 3 or overLinks
Aster Varieties Compared
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An intermediate height, neat Aster with a rich profusion of pale lavender-blue flowers with appealing pale creamy yellow eyes. Only 50cm high and flowering from late September into October. Discount of 25p per plant for quantities of 3 or overLinks
Aster Varieties Compared
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50cm. Rosy pink buds gradually unfurl lots of sugar pink petals to give a generous display of double pink daisies. At 50cm or below this is a cute little Aster to cheer the Autumn garden, commencing mid September into October. And it needs no staking ! Bred in the 1960's by Bakers Nrs and named after the breeders granddaughter ! Discount of 25p per plant for quantities of 3 or overLinks
Aster Varieties Compared
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I recently visited the National Collection of Aster novi-belgii held at the Picton Gardens, and with a collection of around 50 already I was told by him indoors that I didn't need anymore. However this small flowered (2cm wide) mid pink semi-double Aster with dark eyes had me dribbling. A lovely colour and such a mass of blooms. I wasn't surprised that it was the last one left. A beauty that had to go home with me ! 90cm, September to October. Discount of 25p per plant for quantities of 3 or overLinks
Aster Varieties Compared
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A fully double deep violet Aster with good weatherproof blooms 4cm across. An excellent deep colour to contrast with the more typical mauvey blues. It stands tall at 100cm high and is a late season flowerer, extending the season well into October. A good weatherproof variety. Don't be fooled by the name - it really should be Harrison's purple, not Harrison's blue if names were obliged to be accurate ! Discount of 25p per plant for quantities of 3 or overLinks
Aster Varieties Compared
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Intermediate between the very dwarf and tall border Asters. This little stocky plant is smothered in smallish lialc-blue daisies and is ideal for the edge or near front of the border to give a dash of late colour. An excellent late nectar source for bees and butterflies. Late September 50cm. Flowers 3cm. Discount of 25p per plant for quantities of 3 or overLinks
Aster Varieties Compared
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A beautifully shaped fully double bloom crammed with so many petals it creates a perfect lavender-blue powder-puff a whole 5cm across. 90cm Mid to late September onwards. Sturdy stems. This variety came out of 'Ada Ballard', which was one of the first really double Asters raised by Ernest Ballard, but which lacked the intensity of blue of its parents. It is also known for producing a forest of stems from a relatively compact root run. 'Marie Ballard' was selected just before Ernest died in 1952 and released in 1955. It combines the shapely, completely double flowers on sturdy stems with the intense lavender-blue Ernest was trying to capture. Discount of 25p per plant for quantities of 3 or overLinks
Aster Varieties Compared
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A very distinctively coloured michaelmas daisy with single medium sized (4cm) purple flowers with a burgundy sheen, becoming even darker on maturity. Golden yellow eyes become tawny with age. Late September onwards. 150cm Discount of 25p per plant for quantities of 3 or overLinks
Aster Varieties Compared
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I was delighted to come across this Aster recemtly as it is one of the short series of Aster raised by the late George Chiswell, who was well known to friends of ours. Timsbury has semi-double soft rose pink flowers and flowers in October at around 1m high. George Chiswell was born in Colwall in Malvern, the home of the famous Ballard Asters. He started his career working in the gardens of Old Colwall House near Malvern for Mrs Raynor-Wood. After WWII he moved on to Midsommer Norton in Somerset and in the 1960's ran his own nursery at the Priory there. Perhaps he had a fondness for the Asters he must have remembered from his youth in the Ballard trial grounds in Malvern, as he began a breeding programme of his own, producing a series of Asters, based on the Ballard strains, named after the mining villages of Somerset. Discount of 25p per plant for quantities of 3 or overLinks
Aster Varieties Compared
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Aster schreberi (Eurybia schreberi) is one of those plants that has a deserved reputation for excelling in dry shade where it will produce a gracefully arching mound covered in late Summer with 3.5cm white daisies with reflexed petals. The leaves are large serrated and stay fresh even in dry shade. 1-1.5m across. In many ways like a more beefy (some would say coarser) version of Aster divaricatus. Discount of 25p per plant for quantities of 3 or overLinks
Aster Varieties Compared
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A recently selected large flowered dark red masterwort. Tight clusters of maroon flowers are surrounded by beautiful ray florets. An interesting & beautiful plant happy in sun or part shade with some drainageLinks
Astrantia Compared
Astrantia in the Garden
Botanical Style Photographs
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Potsize - 1L
We've seen it written that Astrantia 'Ruby Wedding' makes it inferior to some of the clonally propagated ones out there, but we've not found that the case at all. The ones we have are every bit as rich in colour as Ruby Wedding and Hadspen Blood. They don't have the dark staining leaves of the Gill Richardson Group, but for flower alone they are a lovely deep red with flowers of a very decent size. Ruby Wedding has its origins at the RHS Wisley where it was selected as a superior seedling in a sowing of Astrantia major subsp. major. Its bracts are of a good size and are strongly red to purple in hue. It is the parent of the seed strain known as Claret which may or may not live up to its parents reputation. It i svery similar to Hadspen Blood which has a similar bloodline but was selected by Nori Pope of Hadspen Gardens.Links
Astrantia Compared
Astrantia in the Garden
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A pure white, green-tipped, large flowered Astrantia from the 'Star' breeding program. We have examined this closely this year and it looks for all the world exactly like 'Shaggy', the excellent old variety selected by Margery Fish. It is a fine plant but we are as yet unsure why it merits its own name and PBR status.Links
Astrantia Compared
Astrantia in the Garden
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This is the plain native form of Lady Fern, a plant that can be found throughout Britain growing in damp shady sites, but avoiding calcareous soils. It is an extremely hardy species and one that is quite variable from bipinnate to tripinnate sometimes. Whichever, it has a finer appearance than the Male fern and to my nose it is one of the 'ferniest smelling' of the ferns. It is fairly soon cut down with the onset of the frosts and is fully deciduous. Whilst a moist atmosphere is always an advantage and that coupled with a moist site will allow this fern to show of its best, once established they will actually tolerate quite dry sites, though with a cost on performance and leaf quality in dry spells.Discount of 25p per plant for quantities of 3 or overMore About Ferns
The Fern Order (Taxonomical List)
Botanical Style Photographs of Ferns
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Potsize - 1L
This is the cruciate form of our native Lady fern. The leaves retain the lovely delicate nature of the species, but are distinguished in that alternate pinnae along the frond point either up or down from the plane of the leaf so that, were you to look down the length you could see a cross pattern. Often referred to as The Queen of the Ferns, it was a much treasured Victorian find. The tip of each pinna is also slightly crested which accentuates the overall frond outline. As with the native form, this is best in light shade with access to moisture at all times. grows to 90cm maybe a little more.Discount of 25p per plant for quantities of 3 or overMore About Ferns
The Fern Order (Taxonomical List)
Botanical Style Photographs of Ferns
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RHS AGM
Potsize - 1L
This is a selection of the North American form of our native Lady Fern which has stipes (frond stems) that are picked out in a rich ruby red. The full colouration is not apparent on young plants, but increases after plants have passed through their first frosty winter and then intensifies with age. Good nutrition will also intensify the colour. Overall the fronds are delicate in texture and posses that lovely 'ferny smell' when brushed. Needs constant access to moisture to grow at its best, achieving 90cm in height. Discovered in Vermont by John Lynch of the New England Wildflower Society.Discount of 25p per plant for quantities of 3 or overMore About Ferns
The Fern Order (Taxonomical List)
Botanical Style Photographs of Ferns
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Japanese Painted Fern. One of the many fine cultivars of this already lovely fern. Fronds are fine and delicate with a metallic silvery green sheen. Fronds are broad and grow fairly horizontally such that a plant will give good ground coverage when in leaf. A lovely fern worthy of a little care and a moist shady spot where it will prove most hardy. 45cm. DeciduousDiscount of 25p per plant for quantities of 3 or overMore About Ferns
The Fern Order (Taxonomical List)
Botanical Style Photographs of Ferns
