Damp, dry or shaded areas are not the ideal place for a great many plants but Hostas are the ideal solution. They are easy to grow and will provide ground cover in the shaded border or you can make a feature of them in a container if you have areas of the patio that don't catch the sun. Hosta sieboldiana var. elegans is clump forming and has strong blue-green foliage with deep ridges that give texture to the display and during the summer months you can expect stems of pale lilac flowers too. The Giant Blue Hosta is a worthy RHS Award of Garden Merit holder and is the perfect plant for moist, damp, dark borders or difficult, dry shady borders.. Height: 100cm (39). Spread: 120cm (48).
Erigeron seciosus 'Pink Jewel' produces semi-double, bright pink daisy flowers from May to July, adding a burst of summer colour to your garden. This tough little variety performs reliably year after year, even thriving in difficult coastal locations. This Fleabane is perfect for scattering throughout a rockery or for filling gaps at the front of a perennial border, as well as making superb cut flowers. The early summer blooms will also help to bring pollinating insects to your garden.
With seemingly hundreds of deep blue blooms on enormous flower heads, Agapanthus 'Regal Beauty' is a showy, evergreen perennial that makes a real feature plant for borders and patio containers. It quickly forms large clumps of strap-shaped leaves, which are followed by flowers in late summer. This African Lily is best grown in a sheltered and sunny position, and requires some winter protection, but adds a wonderful exotic feel to your garden. Height: 1m (39). Spread: 50cm (20).
Foxglove 'Camelot Lavender' bears stunning flower spikes all around the stem and is guaranteed to bloom in its first year of planting, maintaining a colourful appearance in your garden over many years. This delightful F1 hybrid Digitalis is the perfect choice for brightening up your cottage garden border. Height: 120cm (48). Spread: 45cm (18).
Pretty coppery-red petals form an elegant skirt around spherical brown centres. Helenium 'Moerheim Beauty', also known as Sneezeweed, is an upright herbaceous perennial which blooms throughout summer and is great for bringing late season colour to the garden. This RHS AGM variety looks stunning grown with Asters, Rudbeckia and ornamental grasses for a prairie style theme, or makes a warm addition to cottage garden borders. Hardy and reliable, Heleniums flowers are also excellent for cutting. Height: 90cm (36). Spread: 60cm (24).
Geranium oxonianum 'Claridge Druce' is a clump-forming, evergreen Geranium bearing a succession of rose pink flowers from late spring to autumn. This hardy Geranium has a particularly vigorous spreading habit, and so is useful as a weed-suppressing ground cover. Pollinating insects love its nectar-rich blooms, and ?Claridge Druce? is a well-known variety that will happily self-seed, forming new clumps throughout your borders in coming years.
Hollyhocks are heirloom cottage garden perennials, well-loved for saucer-shaped blooms that attract butterflies and make a dramatic cut flower. Hollyhock 'Chater's Double Mixed' delivers architectural spires of ruffled, doubled blooms, which add height and structure to summer borders and provide a riot of colour. The edible flowers of Alcea rosea ?Chater?s Doubles? can even be added to salads for an attractive, tasty treat.
A popular herbaceous perennial, Lobelia cardinalis 'Queen Victoria' has dramatic purple-black leaves and tall contrasting spikes of vibrant red flowers from late summer through to autumn. Preferring a damp spot in the garden, Cardinal Flower is ideal for bringing late season colour to herbaceous borders and pond-side plantings, and the flaming red colour adds an exotic touch to the garden. Lobelia cardinalis 'Queen Victoria' has been awarded an RHS AGM for its superb garden performance.
Cornus canadensis or Creeping Dogwood can be planted in woodland gardens to prevent weeds from growing at the base of other, larger shrubs. It provides equally good ground cover in sunny borders, where its small, white flowers will stand out against rosettes of green, oval leaves in the late spring and early summer. These cross-shaped blooms are succeeded by scarlet berries, making the hardy perennial a colourful and practical choice of plant. Height: 15cm (6). Spread: 1m (3'3).
When it flowers in the summer, Silene x robotii 'Rollys Favourite' is sure to be one of the brightest plants in your garden. The hardy perennial produces bubblegum pink blooms in abundance throughout June, July and August. These flowers are sure to catch your eye when placed at the front of a sunny or partially shady border. Campions also make great patio plants despite their sprawling habit; such versatility makes them suitable for novices as well as experienced gardeners. This Catchfly has been crossed with Lychnis to form a unique, hybrid plant that will stand out in any cottage garden. Height: 40cm (1'4). Spread: 40cm (1'4).
This dwarf conifer, that is super low maintenance, is an excellent addition to gravel gardens, Japanese gardens, and rockeries. Picea abies 'Little Gem' is evergreen, and slow growing, reaching a maximum height of just 50cm. A minature Norway Spruce, with a compact cushion habit, it has fresh green growth every year, that contrasts with the mature dark green needle foliage. The RHS have awarded the plant its Award of Garden Merit. Height and Spread: 50cm (20).
Description for Penstemon 'Pensham Plum Jerkum' not available
Physalis alkekengi var. franchetii, also known as Cape Gooseberry, is a highly unusual and exotic looking plant that provides garden interest throughout the seasons. In midsummer the plant is covered in small creamy-white flowers that contrast with the oval green foliage. Later in the year they become full of berries that are inside bright red-orange papery calyces that look like Chinese lanterns. If left on the plant over winter the berries, which have been hidden inside, become visible as the calyces slowly skeletonize and end up, on frosty winter days, looking like gilded cages surrounding the berries.
An RHS AGM winning Black Eyed Susan bearing bright, golden-yellow, daisy-like flowers with dark button eyes that make excellent cut flowers. The radiant, coneflowers of Rudbeckia fulgida ?Goldsturm? are produced over a long period, attracting bees and butterflies to their long lasting blooms. These compact perennials are easy to grow, reliably filling gaps in borders, and returning year after year.
Sarcococca confusa, known more commonly as Sweet Box or Christmas Box, is the perfect way to ensure there is colour and life in your garden during the long, dark winter months. White flowers are produced on the underside of stems which are full of green waxy leaves and followed by long lasting black berries. The distinctive, pleasant honey like fragrance adds to its winter appeal. Sarcococca confusa is an easy to grow evergreen shrub that requires little maintenance to grow well in shade and partial shade. Height 2m (6.6'). Spread: 1m (39).