Category: Foliage plants
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Dysosma delavayi
This has to be one of the most sumptuous foliage plants around so if you have a cool moist aspect in the garden or even for a pot plant then perhaps this Asian beauty will find a home at your place.In case you think you know what it is but the name means nothing it
Stephen Ryan
Epimedium ‘Black Sea’
I have been busy potting this years supply of Epimediums all week and have many lovely ones to select from, so many in fact that selecting one to blog about was so hard that in the end it was almost close my eyes and point! E. ‘Black Sea’ is however something of a stand out plant
Stephen Ryan
Acer pentaphyllum
This is supposed to be the rarest maple in the wild coming from a very small area in China and only collected and then raised in the west a couple of times so that all cultivated plants come from much the same original material. Apart from rarity why grow it? Certainly it has proved to
Stephen Ryan
Sambucus nigra ‘Linearis’
If you hanker after a cut leafed Japanese maple but can’t have one due to climatic constraints then perhaps this is the plant for you. It is a hardy deciduous shrub to 1.5metres tall and wide with foliage so fine that from a distance it looks like green smoke! and it has clusters of tiny
Stephen Ryan
Ruscus hypoglossum
This has to be the ultimate plant for dry shade, in fact it will grow in the driest and darkest shade you can find so anywhere that almost no other plant will survive will be ideal for this one! It is in fact an evergreen perennial to about 1metre tall that acts more like a
Stephen Ryan
Magnolia macrophylla
When big is definitely better this Magnolia must be the record holder in lots of different ways. It can grow to 20metres tall with soft green paddle like leaves to 90cms. long and huge white flowers stained with purple and strongly scented. It can take some years to bloom but it is definitely worth it
Stephen Ryan
Cyclamen rohlfsianum
If you want a truly rare and exquisite plant it would be hard to find a better one. This species hails from a small area in Libya and is actually easier to grow than most of the books would have you believe. Its flowers are produced in autumn and are the only ones in the
Stephen Ryan
Liquidambar styraciflua ‘Golden Sun’
I love Liquidambars for all sorts of reasons. They are tough and have not only done remarkably well through the long years of drought but also came up with flying colours (quite literally!) after the very wet summer we had a couple of years back when Cherries and Smoke bushes drowned. They will colour in
Stephen Ryan
Cercidiphyllum japonicum
This stunning large tree from Japan and China is rarely seen or planted in Australia and I guess that it would be all but impossible to grow in most districts due to heat but anyone who lives in the cooler hill station parts of Australia should consider getting one (or several for a copse or
Stephen Ryan
Picea abies ‘Reflexa’
If you are looking for something a bit different for your garden then perhaps this vegetable version of “Cousin It” from the Adams Family could be just the ticket! It is a weeping form of Norway Spruce and will trail along the ground or spill over a bank unless trained up a stake. It can
Stephen Ryan