Pachysandra terminalis 'Green Carpet' has lush foliage, which makes for unbeatable groundcover in shaded, woodland areas. In addition to adding a splash of greenery to otherwise unremarkable areas, planting this hardy perennial has the added bonus of preventing the growth of weeds. Instead of worrying about weeding, gardeners can admire the understated spikes of white flowers that appear in June - far preferable to nettles, thistles or dandelions! Height: 15cm (6). Spread: 1m (3'3).
Lilies are one of the most graceful and beautiful of the garden bulbs and this compact form is no exception. A Formosa-type lily with narrow leaves on upright stems, it will produce 1-3 extremely fragrant flowers per plant and will fill your garden with exotic perfume. Short and strong enough to grow in pots, yet tall enough to cut flowers each summer, this lily is versatile, reliable and very hardy. Plant en masse in large pots or in groups for maximum impact, or maybe just dot them round your garden to brighten up drab spots. A little later flowering than other types, once the plants have matured, you can expect blooms at any time from July into September from its sturdy stems. Quick to mature, they'll return year after year, getting bigger and bigger, plus they can seed around so you'll get plenty of new plants when they do so. Great value, easy to grow and truly stunning, they're worth a place in any garden.Supplied as a pack of 6 jumbo plug plants, ready for immediate planting.
An absolute gem of a winter flowering plant, little seen but a really good winter garden plant, not grown widely enough. In late winter and early spring, before there's much colour about at all, even before daffodils, it produces intriguing yellow and cream flowers, lightly scented, smothered over bare stems, as flowers are produced before the leaves. It is a relative of the Daphne, sharing it's preference for cool, lightly shaded spots. Martin distinctly remembers being blown away by the first sight and smell of this plant, a large specimen on a remote Dutch Nursery, on a wet, windy and grey February afternoon, but finding much stock has been a challenge. Now we have some, it deserves a space in many gardens.
Santolina chamaecyparissus is an tough-as-old-boots small shrub that has silvery fernlike foliage with an unmissable citrus yellow button flower on the top of each and every stem during the summer. The silver foliage is present all year round to highlight the garden on dull winter days and as Santolina is plant that is drought tolerant and will thrive on neglect it's possibly the ideal plant for somone that is too busy to micro-manage their garden. Cotton Lavender is a dwarf, evergreen shrub for any part of the garden. An excellent choice for Mediterranean themes, gravel gardens or patio containers. Height: 50cm (20). Spread: 100cm (39).
Garden Bloom Chrysanthemums bear a single large flower rather than the multiple flowers that Spray types produce. These are really fashionable with top florists and command very high prices per stem, so if you grow your own you can have a magnificent display indoors and out and also save a small fortune! Throughout the growing season, remove the side shoots on a fortnightly basis (these are the little growths between the leaves and the stem) as this directs all of the energy in to the single large top flower. They bloom from September to October, so they make a perfect companion to the spray chrysanthemums, with each plant giving you approximately 3-4 stems of cut-able flowers. They are ready to cut as soon as you see the first sign of colour appearing and when they get to this stage, cut the stems quite low down, around 15cm (6') from the ground level, and remove the lower leaves from the cut stems prior to plunging them in to a tall vase of cold water. As an indoor display, they will last at least 2 weeks, but do change the water every few days as this keeps them in the best possible condition. Support them throughout the growing season with a strong bamboo cane per plant. Although a little more work is involved in growing Bloom Chrysanthemums, the quality and impact of the flowers will more than repay you for your effort!
If you would like to grow your own tall, strong stems of cut flowers, for harvest late this summer and in to the autumn months these are the perfect plants to grow. They will flower from August and into October, with each plant giving you approximately 5-6 stems for cut flowers. They are ready to pick as soon as the first few flowers Break Bud, which means start to show some colour when they get to this stage, cut the stems quite low down, around 15cm (6') from the ground level, and remove the lower leaves from the cut stems prior to plunging them in to a tall vase of cold water. As an indoor display, they will last at least 2 weeks, but do change the water every few days as this keeps them in the best possible condition. When grown exclusively as a border plant, give them some support with a bamboo cane and position them towards the back of a border where they will brighten your garden just when so many other plants are coming to the end of their season.
Begonia ?Santa Barbara? is perfectly designed for your patio! Clean, white pendulous blooms hang from gently trailing stems that spill from hanging baskets and containers.
Aquilegia flowers come in many shades of pink, purple, red and white, but the unusual 'Yellow Star' steals the show with its vibrant blooms. These lemon Granny's Bonnets appear in May, June and July to brighten up borders, rockeries or woodland gardens and attract pollinators. They also make superb cut flowers for those who want to bring the beauty of a cottage garden into the cottage itself. Columbines are extremely easy to grow, requiring only sunlight and rich, well drained soil. This makes the Aquilegia chrysantha 'Yellow Star' an excellent choice of hardy perennial.
Through autumn and into early winter, these Asters just keep on flowering, making sure the garden stays glorious with a splash of dusky pink. Chrysanthemum x hortorum 'Anastasia' is a neat little plant, perfect for the border or a container on the patio where it looks good teamed up with Ivy, Heuchera and other foliage plants. Cut a few sprays for colour indoors: these Chrysanthemums make a great cut flower too. Height 60cm (24). Spread 60cm (24).
Crossandra infundibuliformis 'Fortuna' is prized for making flower garlands in its native homes of Sri Lanka and Southern India. This variety has been developed to produce a particularly good display of peachy-orange flowers, blooms for months on end.