Category: Foliage plants
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Aesculus indica
Looking for a largish spreading shade tree that not everyone has planted? Well this could be the tree you are looking for. It comes from the Himalaya region and will eventually become a tree to 30metres although you and I aren’t going to see that! Its large palmate leaves are coppery tinged in the spring
Stephen Ryan
Ceratostigma griffithii
Blue flowers (and I mean really blue flowers!) are few and far between and lots of nursery people call anything blue that could be lavender, mauve or purple as they know it will sell things. Look at all those things being called “Blue Roses” for instance. In late summer and autumn a small deciduous shrub
Stephen Ryan
Euonymus alatus
Now that autumn is here we (at least in the cooler areas) should be revelling in the autumn coloured foliage, but have you noticed that so many of the best known plants of this season tend to be large trees and wouldn’t it be nice to have some of this largess at a lower level.
Stephen Ryan
Stephen Ryan
Calycanthus chinensis
What a great newish plant to western horticulture. First described as a new Genus Sinocalycanthus but since sunk into the Genus with its North American relative and suddenly we have a first ranking garden shrub. It will grow to about 3metres, is deciduous with large handsome glossy bright green leaves that turn yellow in autumn.
Stephen Ryan
Craibiodendron yunnanensis
Sick of Rhododendrons and azaleas? Looking for something for summer interest with an elegant habit to take the place of these obvious and often lumpy shrubs or even an elegant specimen for a tub in a semi-shaded aspect then you could do far worse than the extremely rare Craibiodendron from China. It can eventually grow
Stephen Ryan
Impatiens omeiana
Those of you that don’t have a cool shaded and moist aspect may wish to stop reading now however this plant is worth some effort to grow well and really does well in a pot in a saucer of water in the shade so really we can all grow it even if we don’t have
Stephen Ryan
Catalpa bignonioides ‘Aurea’
This quick growing medium tree to 15metres or so is a great shade tree or lawn specimen if you are looking for an in your face feature plant. It has huge yellow-green leaves that hold their colour well throughout the seasons from spring till autumn and in late spring and early summer it produces spikes
Stephen Ryan
Cyclamen hederifolium
There can be no more useful Genus of small plants for a shady spot than the species Cyclamen and this species has to be the best and easiest to grow. Flowering from mid February to May and then having lovely leaves through to the spring what more could you ask. I have written a full
Stephen Ryan
Fascicularia bicolor
This Chilean tough as they come pineapple relative is a must have for any garden, With its attractive evergreen foliage in large drought tolerant mounds. The colonies can get to 1metre tall by half as much again so allow room for it. Although if all else fails it can be divided easily. When it decides
Stephen Ryan