Monthly Archives: January 2014

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  Staphylea holocarpa

  Posted on January 31, 2014 by stephenryan in Collector Plants, Deciduous, Good for cutting, Shrubs, winter interest

  This deciduous Chinese shrub or small tree is rarely met with in horticulture here and although it isn’t likely to set the world on fire it is a pretty and interesting addition to any garden. It produces drooping spikes of whitish flowers in spring followed by entertaining papery seed pods that give the Genus the […]

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  Canna ‘Paperwhite’

  Posted on January 26, 2014 by stephenryan in Bog plants, Collector Plants, Foliage plants, Good for cutting, Good Pot Plant, Perennials

  I love Canna Lilies, They are tough given water, tropical looking and a great vertical accent plant. Shame that so many people used them so badly over the years in huge undiluted blobs (you know who you are!). A friend from Queensland, Frank Hogan, has been selecting new forms and protecting heritage clones for years […]

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  Setaria palmifolia

  Posted on January 23, 2014 by stephenryan in evergreen, Foliage plants, Good Pot Plant, Ground cover, Perennials, Woodlanders

  Grasses have become something of a fashion statement in gardening around the world and rightly so as no other group of plants can give the textural look one can get from  grasses (although I have to say when seen with other strappy leafed plants in many modern gardens to the exclusion of all else it […]

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  Disporum megalanthum

  Posted on January 17, 2014 by stephenryan in Collector Plants, evergreen, Foliage plants, Good for cutting, Good Pot Plant, Perennials, Woodlanders

  I love any plant with the elegance of Solomon’s Seal and this Chinese woodlander is very like an evergreen version. It grows to as much as 60cms. tall with arching stems and in my form soft lemon bells in spring hanging below the elegant stems. Unlike Solomon’s Seal it is evergreen and the stems branch […]

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  Hydrangea quercifolia ‘Snowflake’

  Posted on January 4, 2014 by stephenryan in autumn colour, Collector Plants, Foliage plants, Good for cutting, Good Pot Plant, Shrubs, winter interest

  If you are looking for a shrub that pays its way all year round it is hard to beat this form of North American Oak Leafed Hydrangea. It does everything that the species can do and then some. The large handsome leaves look good all year and as the autumn cold sets in they turn […]

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