Dennis Norgate was growing this plant when I first met him more than forty years ago. Achillea clypeolata is worth having for foliage effect alone as its evergreen mat of intense silvery grey, feathery leaves makes it one of the most telling of any of the silvers. more... about Achillea clypeoplata
An evergreen sub-shrub from the Caucasus which makes one of the best of all plants for the rock garden, a dry slope or for trailing over a sunny wall. The clear deep pink flowers are held in dense showy heads for much of spring and early summer. more... about Aethionema armeniaca ‘Warley Rose’
This is an ornamental as well as culinary form of chives with large balls of rose-purple flowers held above handsome evergreen foliage. ‘Forescate’ is happy in any sunny well drained spot. Cut off the flowering heads before they seed as any seedlings will not breed true. more... about Allium schoenoprasum ‘Forescate’
A southern European plant which grows in pine woods, olive groves and heavily grazed land from south west Spain to Greece. Sometimes evergreen it is generally dormant during the two hottest months. more... about Asphodelus aestivus
A plant of the western Himalayas Bergenia ligulata is a particularly tough evergreen plant which carries large heads of white flowers which age to blush pink. The leaves can grow very large especially in a moist shady spot. more... about Bergenia ligulata
A newly imported dwarf growing variety, with quite narrow glossy evergreen leaves which turn rich plum during cold weather. The flower heads are large in relation to the foliage clumps and the flowers are bright coral pink. more... about Bergenia ‘Pink Dragonfly’
This plant is happier in light shade where its large creamy white variegated leaves are handsome the year round. During spring a cloud of sky blue, forget-me-not flowers floats above the foliage mound. It needs some supplementary watering during summer. 50cm x50cm. more... about Brunnera macrophylla ‘Dawsons White’
A really good foliage and flowering plant for shade. Brunnera ‘Jack Frost’ has silver, heart shaped basal leaves which are hidden during spring and early summer by clouds of true blue for-get-me-not flowers held well above the foliage on thin wiry stems. more... about Brunnera macrophylla ‘Jack Frost’
The clearest pink flowered of all the Buddlejas. Very large trusses over a long season and handsome grey leaves. One of our favourites and a mainstay in our double borders where we cut it down to 80cm each winter. 200cm x 180cm. Sun loving and drought tolerant. more... about Buddleja davidii ‘Pink Delight’
Not an onion of course but a wonderful garden plant making rosettes of upright fleshy green leaves from which strong 100cm tall stems carry a dense head of buttercup yellow, rather starry flowers. Although a native of New Zealand it tolerates dryness well here. more... about Bulbinella hookeri
An important grass in Beth Chatto's Gravel Garden, Calamagrostis ‘Overdam’ makes a lovely tussock of creamy white striped leaves. The stiffly vertical flower spikes, mauve pink aging to gold, are produced in summer. more... about Calamagrostis x acutiflora ‘Overdam’
Caryopteris are tough drought tolerant deciduous shrubs which, happily for us, flower for a long time during late summer and autumn. ‘Lisaura’ is the best of the gold leaf forms. more... about Caryopteris x clandonensis ‘Lisaura’
A new import this is a rare deciduous shrub from the dry Mongolian steppe and adjacent parts of China. It is very useful in the garden as it produces its silver blue flowers during autumn. more... about Caryopteris mongholica
A tall fast growing, drought tolerant plant which can be trained into a small tree as it was thirty odd years ago when I first saw it at Pirianda, the Dandenong’s garden established by the late Mr and Mrs Harvey Ansell. more... about Ceanothus arboreus ‘Trewithen Blue’
Arguably the most beautiful of all the Ceanothus varieties making an evergreen shrub up to 3 metres in height and as much across. The vibrant dark blue flowers are produced from magenta buds early in spring. Can be pruned to keep it small enough to suit smaller gardens. more... about Ceanothus ‘Concha’
One of the best of the ground covering Ceanothus making arching mounds of dark green, relatively large, evergreen leaves. During early spring “Dusty white buds develop into 2 inch long panicles of China-blue flowers”. more... about Ceanothus ‘Yankee Point’
A Caucasian endemic, with beautiful pinnate greyish leaves, which is widely used as a groundcover in the dry Mediterranean gardens of the French Riviera. Once established, it is happy in any soil that isn’t bog-like. A definite weed suppressor. more... about Centaurea bella
This, one of the most beautiful of all New Zealand grasses, was a revelation over the past year in our new Mediterranean garden. It makes an evergreen fountain of weeping dark green leaves some 70cm tall x 100cm wide. more... about Chionochloa flavicans
This tough climber has been cultivated in England for 400 years. Vigorous, long lived and easy to grow some plants in our garden are 20 years old. We grow it both on a trellis and climbing through a Rubus ‘Benenden’. more... about Clematis viticella
A new strain of globe artichoke bred in California which will produce good crops within four or five months if given reasonable conditions. I grow it in a hot sunny spot in the vegetable garden where it is watered regularly and produces abundant heads. more... about Cynara scolymus ‘Imperial Star’
An attractive little shrub small enough to grow in the rock garden and showy enough to be given pride of place in our dry climate shrub borders. Its dark green leaves and stems are smothered in spring with dark yellow pea-like flowers. more... about Cytisus x beanii
One of the loveliest of all ornamental grasses when in full glory. Low basal leaves are completely covered by clouds of reddish purple flowers during summer. These age to soft brown during winter. more... about Eragrostis spectabilis
