Winter is just round the corner and what better time to consider and plant something that will give colour and joy in the late winter? This tall arching shrub exudes elegance with its soft green hazel nut like leaves that turn yellow in autumn and it is even better in late winter when its drooping …
This climbing relative of the humble grape vine has it all in my humble opinion so why haven’t you planted it yet? Its summer foliage is a rich green with a burgundy reverse (you always see the back through the window so it is important). If it is growing in semi to full shade the …
Yes I know I’ve done this Genus twice before but I promise this will be the last time unless I find some more cold hardy species! This one is a suckering shrub up to 1.5metres tall in my climate and it will wander quite a distance (you have now been warned!) but it wouldn’t stop …
The autumn is on the way and before long the leaves will start to turn so don’t be left out make sure you have some lovely Japanese maples in you garden. Even a tiny plot or a cool balcony would be enough for this restrained cultivar so there are no excuses! It will slowly make …
Well here we go again, another much loved plant has had a name change. So if you are looking for this stunning shrub in a book more than a few months old then look up Mahonia lomariifolia and it will have the same description as it is the same plant. What ever the name is …
A truly remarkable intergenetic hybrid between Chilopsis linearis and Catalpa bignonioides breed at the Botanic Garden of the Uzbec Academy of Science in 1964. Although both Genera are in the same family they appear quite different and a cross would seem unlikely and the result possibly less that ornamental. However this plant has proved to …
If you are sick of Hostas eaten by snails or burnt to crisp,or the gap they leave for such a long time throughout winter but still want big gutsy leaves then Russian Borage could be just the thing. It has spikes of rich blue flowers in late winter as the leaves unfold which are a …
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 …
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 …
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 …