Baptisia (False Indigo) have become very popular in recent years, with some groundbreaking breeding bringing more cultivars to the market. Baptisia flower for a long time, from May through to August and are great for pollinating insects. ‘Blueberry Sundae’ produces strikingly bright blue flowers to a height of 1m.
One of the best plants we’ve grown in recent years is Stipa lessingiana. We always get asked for Stipa tenuissima, which is a great plant for it’s tactile, feathery seed heads. However, it is a very short-lived grass, especially with the wet Winters we have been getting. Once the seed-heads get wet, they can form a horrible matted clump. Stipa lessingiana is very similar in appearance but is more rigid and stands up better in wet conditions. It also overwinters
So many plants looking fabulous on the nursery it was a job to pick a highlight for this edition. We’ve gone for two Geum, commonly known as Wood Avens. Part of the Cocktail series, Geum ‘Mai Tai’ (above) produces gorgeous, pink-flushed apricot, semi-double flowers above lush foliage. These flowers are carried on dark red stems, making it a standout cultivar. Equally as good in a container as well as the border.Ht. 45cm x Spr. 40cm. Geum ‘Scarlet Tempest’ (below), a relatively new cultivar.
This rather quirky-named Pulmonaria ‘Shrimps on the Barbie’ is a new cultivar and arguably the best pink Pulmonaria there is. Highly floriferous, it produces bright shrimp pink flowers above beautiful silver-spotted foliage. Brilliant for early pollinators and ideal in a shady border. 25cm height x 50cm spread.
We grew Saruma henryi for the first time last year, for one of our Chelsea gardens and were immediately taken with it. Commonly known as Upright Wild Ginger, it’s a shade-loving woodlander with lovely heart-shaped foliage. This is followed by beautiful, fragrant, three-petalled yellow flowers in Spring. To use a technical term, tough as old boots, grows to around 45cm height x 100cm spread. Plant in part shade and humous rich soil.
Our Daphnes are looking splendid at the moment, with many in bud or flower. We have four varieties to choose from, Daphne ‘Spring Beauty’, ‘Perfume Princess’, ‘Jacqueline Postill’ and ‘Summer Ice’. In 4.5 litre pots, they are all superb specimens at around 65-75cm tall.
Fritillaria raddeana is a very rare and unusual crown imperial featuring beautiful soft cream blooms, with a hint of lime as the flowers mature. It is fully hardy and can be used for naturalising in grass or borders. Growing to a height of 75cm, they look spectacular. Plant in part shade in well-drained soil.
Our Hamamelis are looking fantastic right now with some large specimens in 25 litre pots. Hamamelis ‘Arnold Promise’ has beautiful fragrant, spidery yellow flowers. A lovely shrub that can grow to 4m x 4m, it is suited to the border or woodland setting. The Autumn colour is also wonderful with vibrant shades of orange and yellow. We also have Hamamelis ‘Diane’ with its sweetly scented, deep red flowers.
Pittosporum are a very popular line here at the nursery, understandably so. There are so many different varieties now and they are versatile. Pittosporum grow very quickly and are a cost-effective solution compared to slower growing Ilex or Taxus. Use as stand-alone specimen, create hedging, or topiarise, ball shape being the most popular. We stumbled across this relatively new cultivar Pittosporum tenuifolium ‘Midget’ last year and have added it to our growing programme. It’s a wonderfully compact evergreen shrub with a dense, rounded habit that will naturally keep its shape, even without pruning.
As you can see from the photo it does exactly what it says on the tin! This variety is a very rare and long-flowering variety, with the narrow petalled star-shaped white flowers fading to pale pink and held over lovely, pewter-flushed, green leaves. Flowering from December-April. Ideally planted in part-shade in the border and equally as good in a container. Ht. 35cm x Spr. 45cm.
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