This German selection carries large silver plumes over stiffly upright stems of dark green leaves banded with pale yellow. Perhaps the most strongly vertical of all the Miscanthus.
The dry hillsides of Greece and Turkey have given us a whole range of beautiful, drought tolerant evergreen ornamental Oreganos. Origanum ‘Kent Beauty’ makes a mat of round blue-green leaves and arching stems carrying large hanging Hops-like heads of pink and green flowers.
This is one of the best cut flowers for late summer picking making 120cm tall rigid stems topped by a crown of long lasting waxy ivory white, dark centred flowers. Each head lasts a good two months in the garden and two to three weeks in the vase.
We have grown this in our stock beds for ten years or more and it has consistently made a terrific display of autumn colour turning crimson, pink and lemon during April.
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.
This penstemon, which was found growing in Sissinghurst Castle gardens is a clear, clean pink. Smaller in all its parts than most garden penstemons it is a tough, long flowering, front of the border plant. 40cm x 40cm.
An old vigorous variety raised in Switzerland in the 1930s, now nearing its 100th birthday. “A glowing shade of red...” narrowly tubular flowers are a joy from late spring until winter. A particularly long lived cultivar P.
Deep violet-purple tubular flowers are carried on 90cm tall stems from late spring until late autumn. Glossy, dark green foliage adds to the affect. Plant in any sunny or lightly shaded spot. Removing spent flower stems will keep the display looking fresh.
'Osprey' grows somewhat taller than most Penstemon, often growing 120cm tall and carrying its white tubular, pink lobed flowers on the upper 60cm. Plant in any sunny or lightly shaded spot. Removing spent flower stems will keep the display looking fresh.
Like all of these hybrid Penstemon this variety is very tough and drought tolerant. This clone is one of the tallest of its kind growing up to 120cm. The top third of this carries charming lilac pink, white-throated tubular flowers. 120cm x 90cm.
This is one of the most famous of all the Penstemon. Vita Sackville-West had it growing at Sissinghurst for many years. It has soft green, amethyst and blue, narrowly tubular flowers. 70cm x 60cm.
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.
A very rare Phlomis grown from seed collected by Olivier Filippi in Southern Turkey and imported by us from his nursery a few years ago. It’s made a neat rounded shrub well clothed by relatively small, oval, grey green leaves with lighter undersides.
A stunning new addition from our range of new Phlomis imports, this tough drought and heat tolerant evergreen shrub has large handsome grey-green leaves. During spring and summer ‘Suleiman’ carries whorls of very large lemon-yellow, white lipped flowers.
The Phlomis include some of the best evergreen shrubs for Australian gardens. This is a superb species with rich green leaves. Deep egg yolk yellow flowers open from russet-olive buds in whorls along the vertical flower stems. P.
A fabulous form of this native grass with arching mounds of evergreen foliage, blue and graceful. Typical upright stems of flowers bluish in bud ageing to straw. Cut back to about 15cm immediately after flowering. 100cm x 100cm. Sun or at most very light shade.
The plant we have growing at Lambley is about 150 years old. It hasn’t been watered once in the seventeen years we’ve been here but every summer and autumn it is covered in large exotic pink trumpets. Glossy green fernlike foliage is an extra virtue.
One of the wonders of the plant world, the Californian Tree Poppy has huge pure white flowers with a rich yellow central boss (The flower has been likened to a giant poached egg) on top of stiff branches clothed in handsome large grey cut leaves.
We have lined a broad brick path, which leads to a beautiful old garden seat, with ‘Mozart’ which is a fairly new variety. I think it is by far the best rosemary I have ever seen. The glossy dark green leaves, on upright stems, make a perfect foil for the deep blue flowers.
This new Rosemary is more compact, more tidy than older clones. Short but arching stems carry violet-blue flowers through the winter into spring. Height when full grown 60cm width 60cm.
A stalwart of the new American gardens of James van Sweden as well as those of European garden designers. The rich warm yellow black eyed daisies are a joy during summer. The stark skeleton remains are beautiful into winter especially on cool misty mornings. 50cm by 40cm.
Very few flowers are as dreamy as this. We have a sea of its ethereal powder sky blue flowers in the centre aisles of the vegetable garden where it is the most commented planting in the garden at its height in autumn. S.
