Category Archives: Plants & Seeds
Crab Apple ‘Gorgeous’
A compact variety bearing plenty of white blossom with a delicate pink blush in spring. The autumn fruits are bright red, perfectly formed miniature apples that make an appealing, pink crab apple jelly with a slightly tangy flavour.
Sorbus hybrida L. ‘Gibbsii’
A particularly attractive Mountain Ash with dark green, lobed foliage that is somewhat different in appearance to most Rowan trees. The dense clusters of fluffy white flowers are always busy with insects in spring. By autumn, they are replaced by large, round, scarlet red berries which provide a feast for wild birds.
Liquidambar styraciflua ‘Slender Silhouette’
Liquidambar styraciflua ‘Slender Silhouette’ boasts exquisite autumn colour and a striking architechtural presence. Unlike most Sweet Gum trees, this variety is narrowly columnar, fitting into much smaller spaces than its larger, spreading cousins.
Liriodendron tulipifera ‘Aureomarginatum’
Liriodendron tulipifera ‘Aureomarginatum’ boasts unusual shaped foliage with distinctive golden margins in spring. As summer progresses the variegation recedes, with the foliage becoming greenish-yellow before turning to fabulous shades of buttery gold in autumn.
Lilac ‘Primrose’
Lilac ‘Primrose’ is an unusual variety bearing showy panicles of creamy-yellow flowers with a heavenly perfume. Like all Syringa, the heart shaped foliage makes an attractive backdrop for the late spring blooms. In full flower, this hardy deciduous shrub is a magnet for bees and butterflies making it a great choice for wildlife gardens. The
Tilia cordata ‘Winter Orange’
A unique variety of Small-leaved Lime with glowing orange stems and scarlet buds in winter. Even on the darkest days, the young shoots create a fiery haze against the grey winter sky. Throughout summer, the small, heart-shaped leaves form a dense canopy, decorated with creamy-white, fragrant flowers.
Corylus avellana ‘Red Majestic’
This compact, deciduous shrub provides structure and colour throughout the year. Deep plum-purple foliage cloaks its twisted stems in early summer, becoming green- tinted as the leaves mature. Autumn sees the foliage return to bright purple, before falling to the ground
Catalpa x erubescens ‘Purpurea’
Shiny purple-black foliage emerges in spring and slowly matures to a bright shade of green. The leaves are large and showy making an exotic looking display. Catalpa x erubescens ‘Purpurea’ produces upright panicles of white flowers with delicate orange and purple markings.
Rocket
A little known but very useful salad plant, Rocket can be used raw in salads or cooked lightly when it makes a delicious spinach substitute. Late summer sowings of Rocket will carry on cropping into the winter if the plants are protected by cloches
Viburnum burkwoodii
Extremely easy to grow and maintain in your garden, Viburnum burkwoodii is also one of the most rewarding shrubs too. This hardy, semi evergreen, that becomes fully evergreen once it matures, bears the most fragrant of all the Viburnum flowers in late spring, emerging as a pink bud at first then turning white as they
Lettuce ‘Salad Bowl’ (Loose-Leaf)
All-American Gold Medal winner. Salad Bowl Lettuce is large, medium-green, slow bolting, non-heading and decidedly tender. Don’t pull the whole plants – be selective – go down the row choosing only the largest, tenderest leaves. This way Salad Bowl Lettuce will continue to replace itself the whole season
Rose ‘The Fairy’ (Polyantha)
This well known Polyantha Rose bears abundant sprays of small but fully double, pale pink, scentless blooms.
Thuja occidentalis ‘Miky’
Thuja occidentalis ‘Miky’ is a dwarf variety of White Cedar which tends to be slow growing with striking upright, conical, lush green foliage. A fully hardy, coniferous, evergreen shrub which can be planted in window boxes, containers or in a border.
Chervil
Curled chervil is one of the few hardy annual herbs for all-year-round use. The leaves can be chopped and used in salads, stews, and dressings, or used as a garnish in the same way as parsley. Widely used on the continent for its rich savoury flavour resembling that of caraway, which blends well with fish
Spiraea japonica ‘Albiflora’
From the middle of summer, the light green leaves of Spiraea Japonica Albiflora are edged with clusters of white flowers. This Japanese Spiraea grows beautiful curved branches which look wonderful as ground cover. As autumn sets in, the leaves of this hardy, deciduous shrub turn into fiery shades of rich gold and orange. Butterflies and
Sorrel
This hardy perennial herb is easy to grow and adds leafy texture and a tart flavour to a mixed leaf salad. Young sorrel leaves are used extensively in French cuisine, being particularly flavoursome in fish dishes, soups, stews and sauces. Height and spread: 30cm (12).
Prunus ‘Little Pink Perfection’
Just as its name suggests, Prunus ‘Little Pink Perfection’ is hard to beat. This naturally dwarf Ornamental Cherry is smothered in rose pink blossom in spring. It forms a bushy little tree, cloaked in bright green foliage throughout summer which turns to a tapestry of gold, bronze and orange in autumn.
Rhododendron ‘Kalinka’
This hardy little evergreen makes a fabulous spring-flowering feature shrub. The compact branches are cloaked with glossy, evergreen foliage that contrasts beautifully with its bright cerise pink blooms, each with a pale yellow centre.
Rhododendron ‘Hachmann’s Porzellan’
Understated and refined, Rhododendron ‘Hachmann’s Porzellan’ makes an outstanding specimen shrub, blending effortlessly with other spring flowering plants. In May, a fine display of white, bell-shaped blooms is born in clusters.
Rhododendron ‘Silver Sixpence’
White trumpet-shaped flowers, spotted with pale lemon, open from sugar-pink buds in late spring. Rhododendron ‘Silver Sixpence’ is one of the acclaimed Yakushimanum hybrids, well regarded for their compact habit and free flowering display.
