Ernst Pagels, the great German nurseryman who did much breeding work on ornamental grasses, took on Achilleas at the age of 90 with great success. The last time I was in England Pagels’ plants were the stars at the RHS Achillea trials at Wisley. Read more about Achillea ‘Walter Funke’
MOST POPULAR In his fine book “Guide To Plants” Paul Bangay writes that “I use this in all my gardens as it is such a long-flowering plant and has a very distinct and unusual flower colour”. Read more about Agastache ‘Sweet Lili’
This new variety of Anisodontea has large, for the genus, hibiscus like flowers which are rich pink during the warmer months and deepen to salmon-pink during colder periods. Read more about Anisodontea ‘El Royo’
In his superb book Guide To Plants Paul Bangay writes that this ornamental grass, which he has planted in his own garden, is "a stand-out plant that makes a huge statement when planted en masse...the first to flower and the last to finish". Read more about Calamagrostis x acutiflora ‘Karl Foerster’
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. Read more about Ceanothus arboreus ‘Trewithen Blue’
The toughest and easiest of the Clematis to grow, this is named “sweet” because of its wonderful honey fragrance. We grow it on a trellis in our double borders where, although cut back to 60cm during winter, it covers an area about 2 metres in height and 4-5 metres in width. Read more about Clematis maximowicziana
This upright conifer makes an excellent evergreen specimen tree as well as a useful untrimmed wind break or timber tree. C. torulosa is resistant to cypress canker. Read more about Cupressus torulosa
This is one of the best forms of Italian Pencil Pine. It is very narrow in growth and very fast growing. Plants in our new Mediterranean garden have grown 2.5 metres tall in three years and they are already making a strong architectural statement. Read more about Cupressus sempervirens ‘Glauca’
This is the best dwarf Forsythia which only grows 120cm tall by as much across. During early spring it produces a mass of lemon-yellow open bells so abundantly that you can barely see the stem for flowers. During autumn the foliage turns burgundy chocolate. Read more about Forsythia ‘Gold Clusters’
'James Roof' is a vigorous bushy evergreen shrub with leathery dark green leaves. Flowers are spectacular in drooping grey-green catkins to 20-30cm in length. Drought tolerant and frost hardy to 2.5m. Read more about Garrya elliptica ‘James Roof’
To my mind this is the best of the Coral Bells, grown mostly for its beautiful dark amethyst purple silver sheened evergreen foliage, it never-the-less has charming flowers, a myriad tiny white bells dangling gracefully and glossy purple stems. Read more about Heuchera ‘Amethyst Mist’
A strong grower that makes a mound of large, glossy, heavily ruffled, almost-black leaves. Grow in filtered sun in warmer regions however it will tolerate some shade. 25 cm(H) x 35 cm(W). Read more about Heuchera ‘Black Taffeta’
The evocatively named 'Obsidian' produces vigorous clumps of dark purple-burgundy almost black foliage, the whole topped with cream flowers on dark 45cm tall stems during late spring and summer. A wonderful contrast plant with some of the more vivid colours. Read more about Heuchera ‘Obsidian’
‘Storm Cloud’ will carry, from late spring into summer, large mop top flower heads, blue or mauve depending on soil acidity. Acidic soil produces the bluest flowers. The bare black stems are showy in winter. Best grown in a moist well drained spot in light to medium shade. Read more about Hydrangea ‘Storm Cloud’ Obsidian Collection (TM)
The Japanese Blood Grass is one of the showiest of all small grasses and despite its soft look it is a very tough plant indeed, growing in a hot sunny spot with very little watering in our garden. The blood red leaves are most intensely coloured during summer and autumn. Read more about Imperata cylindrica ‘Rubra’
Fragrant semi-double primrose yellow flowers are carried during spring well into summer on an arching, weeping shrub evergreen shrub. This native of western China was widely grown in Australian gardens 50-60 years ago. Read more about Jasminum mesnyi
All of our plants are offered in a 10cm diameter pot unless otherwise indicated. Plants grown here are frost hardy to at least minus 5C unless stated otherwise. Many are hardy to much colder temperatures. They may be evergreen or deciduous, or herbaceous and overwintered by being cut back to near pot level.Read more about Standard Pot Size
This long lived perennial with its deep sky blue for-get-me-not flowers over clumps of evergreen heart shaped leaves is a native of Turkish woodlands. It is happy in any lightly shaded spot which gets some extra watering during dry periods. 20cm tall by 30cm across. Read more about Omphalodes cappadocica ‘Cherry Ingram’
This is totally different in both leaf colour and outline to the other Panicums that we’ve listed in previous catalogues. Panicum ‘Heavy Metal’ makes clumps of stiff upright stems clothed in blue leaves. Read more about Panicum virgatum ‘Heavy Metal’
This was a star in our border last season producing a myriad thin spikes of deep red flowers held well above dense clumps of large handsome leaves. Whilst quite tough it is better for some supplementary watering during dry periods. Happy in sun or light shade. Read more about Persicaris amplexicaulis ‘Taurus’
We grow this in our dry garden where its silver leaves and whorls of yellow claw like flowers are handsome the year round. We cut it back halfway during winter to keep it tidy. It flowers on new wood from spring until autumn. Read more about Phlomis grandiflora ‘Lloyds Variety’
Lambley imported this beautiful evergreen shrub from Olivier Filippi’s nursery in the South of France. A hybrid between P. fruticosa and P. longifolia it is one of the showiest plants in the genus. Read more about Phlomis ‘Le Sud’
A rare and beautiful Phlomis from the region of the Judean mountains in Israel. Handsome evergreen foliage, hairy silver beneath and grey above with whorls of quite deep yellow claw-like flowers which are produced over a long period from spring into summer. Read more about Phlomis platystegia
