This amazing small tree has huge leaves that will entertain in more ways than one! they are bold to look at and can sting a bit like a weak stinging nettle, great to fool the unweary.In early summer it produces large clusters of deep mauve flowers to add to its exotic look. It is a …
The Spanish Gorse is a rarely seen but highly attractive non invasive ground cover shrub ideal for sunny dry banks. It grows to about 1metre tall by as much as 3metres wide and has spiky green stems without foliage for much of the year so is texturally interesting. Come spring it erupts with a mass …
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 plant has to be elegance personified so obviously you need one! I grew it some years ago from imported seed having never seen it but I was already in love with the Genus as I already stock S. praecox, S. himalaicus, and S.yunnanensis. This plant grows to about 2metres with long arching stems clothed with evergreen …
There is something softer and more subtle about the species Cannas compared to the vast majority of Hybrid ones. Not that I necessarily want subtle when I want a Canna! This one if you except it as a species (some authorities don’t) grows to about a metre tall and has classic green leaves over topped …
This showy epiphytic shrub comes from Thailand and is amazingly hardy considering it will grow well for me in less that tropical Mt. Macedon. It even belongs in the usually less than cold hardy African Violet family. I find that it will grow well in a semi-shaded border amongst Azaleas and Rhododendrons as well as …