This is a rarer tree Dahlia that I find in many ways better suited to my garden and climate that the common D. imperialis. For a start it is usually slightly smaller topping out at about 3.5 metres tall with smaller and more interesting leaves. The flowers are a richer mauve and with a flatter …
How could I ever live without Viburnums and this one has to be close to the top of the list of must have forms. I well remember seeing it for the first time at the Chelsea Flower Show in full bloom and it blew me away. But why is it so good? Its lace cape …
The Genus of Sea Hollies contains a fair few that seem to have little visually in common with Holly and this one from South America proves the point. It is an evergreen perennial with long strappy leaves to 1.5metres long with fine sharp spines along the edges so that dead leaf removal needs to be …
This Genus has almost everything! Some are scented some and deciduous,some are evergreen,some have huge flower clusters, some have great berries. In fact if you ever wanted to collect a Genus without it dominating your garden then this could be it! My selected species is a rarely seen one from China and its assets are …
This huge Genus has innumerable garden worthy species and one could open a nursery specialising in them! This stunning little thug I imported from Beth Chatto’s garden in England some years back and never get tied of it. It loves a sunny aspect and will sucker all over the place making it a great choice …
This small genus is usually represented in horticulture by the American species C. virginicus and the Chinese one that is the topic of this blog. However both are worth growing and for sale at the moment in 15cm. pots for $28.50. Both are large deciduous shrubs or small trees that can reach 4 to 5 metres and …
One hell of a name for a small deciduous shrub from Yakushima in Japan at least I hope that is what I am growing under this name! However what ever it is I am growing it is certainly a Hydrangea and one that we should all be growing in our gardens. It is deciduous and …
Of all the autumn colouring plants I have grown this would have to be one of my favourites, albeit quite a prima donna. It requires a cool aspect and a moist acidic soil to do well which probably means you need to live at Mt. Macedon or a similar climate to even grow it. But …
This has to be one of the most desirable small trees for its bark and autumnal colour so why don’t we see it more? The answer could be that seedling raised plants take two years to germinate and the seed has about one percent viability! It is also only recently that a compatible understock has …
This Genus has to be up there with the worlds best autumn colour and this form of Tupelo as they are commonly called (I hate it when common names are harder than botanical ones!) has to be one of the best. It was a seedling selected at Yamina Rare Plants at Monbulk many years ago …