Plant Catalogue: Herbaceous Perennials
ACANTHUS dioscoridis. In early summer over spineless, grey-green leaves, the flower stems rise to little more than 30cm, bearing beautiful clear pink flowers. To our eyes, the gem of the genus, revelling in a baked, hot spot. £4.75
A. mollis ‘Rue Ledan’. An extremely beautiful white flowered form, apparently the result of a dog’s regularly cocked leg on the type plant! My own experiments in the garden with this technique have proved fruitless so far. Full sun. 2m. £4.80
ACHILLEA. After several years of trying hard to please these plants, ironically, their ‘Achilles Heal’ has proved to be a complete abhorrence of our wet clay soil and wet winters alike. The Yarrows are truly plants of free draining limestone soils, including chalk, on which they can excel. @£4.00
A. ‘Credo’. Lemon yellow ‘Plates’, brilliant for the middle tier of the border. 120cm.
A. ‘Mondpagode’. Cream-yellow flowers make an imperceptible transition to a mute greyish white, a colour held for many weeks in summer. 90cm.
A. ‘Red Velvet’. A seductive crimson-red, the best we have seen in this colour range. 60cm
A. ‘Walther Funcke’. Dusky red flowers with a mustard eye giving a ‘Tribal Rug’ effect. One of the finest new Achilleas. 75cm.
ACONITUM. The stately Monkshoods for the little attention they demand of us offer in return rich rewards. The following reveal the colour variation and length of season we now find among them. @£4.00
Aconitum nappellus ‘Bergfurst’. An early bird, with good cut foliage and spires of dusky, dark blue hooded flowers in July. 120m.
Aconitum ‘Bressingham Spire’. An fine old, deep violet-blue clone ‘- strong enough to resist a tornado.’(Alan Bloom) flowering through July-August. 90cm.
Aconitum x cammarum ‘Grandiflorum Album’. The best white form valued not only for its lively fresh green spring foliage but for its flowering season too, at its best in mid July. 1m.
A. carmichaelii var. wilsonii. The last to flower with handsome spikes of rich, violet-blue hooded flowers. Marvellous in association with tawny coloured Heleniums. Flowers of this colour and quality are worth their weight in gold. 180cm.
A. ‘Spatlese’. An uncommon form with large pale violet flowers from pale green buds. 150cm.
AGAPANTHUS. No plants match the African Lily in the floral pageant. Flowering from mid-summer, their flower heads come mainly in the blue and violet-purple spectrum, not forgetting white, with heights varying between 30cm and 150cm. It is old hat to think of them as plants for pots only. They respond best when given hearty soil in full sun where they should reward one with flowers for many years. Do consider however when planting their dislike for being overshadowed by aggressive neighbours. For the most part they are hardy, trouble free, and tough as old boots. The following plants are propagated the old fashioned way, that is from seed and by division.
*A. ‘Bressingham Blue’. An old timer of A.inapertus persuasion. Small heads of intense, deep blue flowers. 70cm. £6.50
A. caulescens. Year old open pollinated seedlings to spare of this rare and beautiful plant. £4.50
A. ‘Cedric Morris’. A reliably free flowering white introduced by Raveningham Gardens. Deciduous and hardy. 80cm £6.50
A. ex Keith Wiley. In effect a paler version of A.‘Lilliput’ with nicely flared flowers. £5.00
A. inapertus. These youngsters, raised from open pollinated seed may show hybrid character but with other good dark Agapanthus growing nearby the results should prove fascinating. From £5.25
A. inapertus albus. Divisions of the very rare white form. £12.50
A. ‘Lady Moore’. Generally reckoned to be one of the best short white forms. Small head’s of flowers. 45cm. £5.50
*A. ‘Lilliput’. Brilliant blue flared flowers. At 40cm it is ideal for the border front or pots alike. 40cm. £4.80
*A. ‘Loch Hope’. A magnificent clone with showy rich blue flowers in September. 120cm. £8.50
A. ‘Marchants Best Blue Seedlings’. Strong 2 year unflowered plants, raised from our very best, darkest hybrids. Should knock the ubiquitous ‘Headbourne Hybrids’ into a cocked hat. From £5.25
A.‘Midnight Blue’. An old and legendary variety from the Slieve Donard Nursery bearing heads of intense, deep blue tubular flowers in July/August. 40cm. £6.00
*A. ex ‘Quink Drops’. Strong year old+ plants in 1litre pots, seedlings of the above. £4.50
AGASTACHE rugosa. A Korean herb with sweet aromatic foliage and numerous slender spikes of violet-blue flowers. In its quiet way, it always impresses us. 45cm. £4.00
A.rugosa hybrid. Seedlings of a particularly strong plant rogued out of a batch of the above, but in all other respects very similar. 90cm. £4.00
ALCHEMILLA erythropoda. All the attributes of ‘Lady’s Mantle’ but on a Lilliputian scale making it perfect for smaller scale plantings. 5cm. Full sun. £3.80
*ALLIUM schoenoprasum. ‘Black Isle Blush’. A strong growing selection with ghostly white flowers flushed pale lilac-mauve. AGM in 1995. 35cm. £3.80
*A. s. ‘New Selection’. On trial, this is a seedling of the following discovered here with similar pink flowers and a Thatcher like vigour. Not for everyone perhaps! 40cm. £3.80
*A. s. ‘Pink Perfection’. A fine pink form, good for border and cooking alike. Also received an AGM in 1995. 35cm. £3.80
A. senescens subsp. Glaucum. An excellent border front candidate, the twisted glaucous foliage topped with domed heads of lilac-pink flowers on 20cm spikes. £3.80
A. senescens subsp. montanum. Humble maybe, but extremely valuable for its neat foliage and late heads of lavender-mauve flowers in September. 20cm. £3.80
A. sikkimense SBQE clone B. A beautiful blue Chinese chive which has been much admired here. 35cm £3.80
ALSTROEMERIA ligtu var.ligtu. The species from which the better known A. x ligtu hybrids were raised. The small lily-like flowers are a glowing coppery-pink, beautifully marked in the throat. 60cm. £4.20
AMSONIA hubrichtii hybrid. A strong growing plant with narrow leaves and starry, china blue flowers in summer. In autumn the coloured foliage makes a serious contribution. 70cm. £4.20
A. illustris. Amsonia are in the family of Apoycynaceae (as if you didn’t know). This one has broad, willow shaped leaves which also colour well and typical starry flowers in pale turquoise blue. A martyr to drought years as are they all. 90cm. £4.20
A. jonesii. A sp. new to us with the remarkable attribute of conspicuous golden veins to the first flush of spring foliage. 45cm. A few to spare. £4.20
A. orientalis. Subtle, small blue-grey flowers, like little Periwinkles in shape, are displayed on willowy leafed stems. An exercise in understatement and a great favourite here. 50cm. £4.20
A. tabernaemontana var. salicifolia. Dark stems support broader leaves than the above but the typical small flowers are pale blue with a hint of turquoise. 60cm. £4.20
ANEMONE apennina ‘Double Flowered Form’. A rare and exquisite double flowered pale lavender-blue Windflower. A plant of light woodland and tolerant of clay. 20cm £7.00
A.pavonina . The Peacock anemone is named after the exotic bird, Pavo major. Their Iridescent colours – shocking, wicked pinks, mauves, magentas, etc. in Feb./March are as garish as they get. Lots of sun and good drainage. 30cm. £3.80
The following are all superb plants for the late summer/autumn and once settled require little attention. @£4.20
A. hupehensis. Asymmetrical single flowers, deep carmine pink. The richest toned of all our autumn anemones and a beautiful foil for late aconitums 1m+
*A. hupehensis ‘China Pink’. A lovely soft rose pink form singled out from a flowering batch of seed raised plants.’
*A x hybrida ‘Geante des Blanches’. Large semi-double white flowers, the narrow ray petals forming a rather flat flower. Robust. 1.2m.
*A. x hybrid ‘Hatakeyama Double’. An extraordinary Japanese selection, soaring to an embarrassingly modest 30cm high. The normal sized flowers are semi-double and a good strong pink.
A. x hybrida ‘Honorine Jobert’. Pristine and pure – the best white. 120cm.
A. ‘Pamina’. Rich carmine-pink flowers, semi-double, making a worthy contrast to the single pinks above. 60cm.
ANTHEMIS. Most possess finely cut fresh-green or grey-green foliage. Their daisy flowers in varying shades of yellow and white give colour over a tremendously long season. All they require is full sun and reasonable drainage. From £4.00
A. punctata ssp. cupaniana. What a great plant this is, with large white daisies produced for months on end over a spreading skirt of silvery foliage. 30cm.
A. t. ‘Sauce Hollandaise’. The palest flowered of the Anthemis with cream-yellow flowers. Serve with Alchemilla or Salvia for a delicious border treat. 60cm. From £4.00
ANTHERICUM ramosum. Delicate, airy flight of white flowers like little lilies on branched stems. For some strange reason an under used plant, though much used here and a great favourite. 60cm. £4.00
AQUILEGIA. Our good old friends the columbines are so adaptable and profligate with their offspring that they might well successfully conquer the garden! Yet who could live without them? Priced at £3.90
*A. formosa. An attractive and elegant North American woodland species with brightly coloured flowers, the petals being yellow and the long spurs soft red. 45cm
*A. ‘Miss Coventry’. An elegant long spurred, pale yellow selection of A.longissimaraised years ago by a dear old friend and named after her. Great to have this back again. 45cm.
*A. ‘Ruby Port’. Aptly described Port wine coloured flowers, nicely doubled 90cm.
*A. vulgaris nivea. Large dumpy white single flowers over greyish foliage. Used by Jekyll and yet to be surpassed.
*ARTEMISIA lactiflora. ‘Elfenbein’. A great form from the continent with munificent branched heads of ivory white flowers and definitely the one for size conscious gardeners. 1.5m. £4.50
*A. l. ‘Rosenschlier’. A useful plant for more subdued colour schemes, the flowers of this form are a dusky pink. 2m+ £4.00
ARUM creticum. A bold leaved hardy aroid from Crete with sweetly scented pale primrose spathes in spring. 40cm. £4.00
A. italicum ‘Tiny’. An uncommon marbled leaf form which will grow no taller than 20cm. Good amongst winter/spring bulbs particularly snowdrops. £4.20
ARUNCUS x ‘Horatio’. A splendid hybrid from doyen nurseryman, Ernst Pagels. Graceful creamy plumes on reddish-bronze stems held above handsome cut foliage. Moist soil for best results. 120cm. £4.50
ASHPODELUS ramosus. A graceful plant with narrow grey-green leaves and branched heads of starry white, mushroom pink tinged flowers in early summer. 120cm. £4.20
ASTER. Our gardens would be dull things indeed without the contribution of these colourful and for the most part, easily managed plants. The following all display a good resistance to mildew. Please note that our Asters will not become available until early summer. Prices from £4.00 -£4.50
*A. asperulus. Broad, un-aster like basal leaves support relatively large, fine rayed, violet-blue daisies on dark stems. Always draws favourable comments. 60cms. £3.60
*A. divaricatus. We appear to be in the minority in liking this humble plant. Wiry black stems support a myriad of small narrow rayed, white daisies. Gertrude Jeckyl liked it too – so there ! 40cm.
*A. ericoides ‘Blue Star’. Myriad, lavender blue flowers with pale yellow centres over wiry growth in October. Charming. 40-50cm.
A. e. ‘Pink Cloud’. Produces hundreds of pale purple-pink flowers. Arguably the best pale pink in this group. 90cm
*A. e. ‘Yvette Richardson’. With its fresh green foliage, pale lavender–blue flowers and compact habit, this is a super plant for the border front. 40cm.
*A. x framfieldii. An elegant small hybrid, not dissimilar to A. Violet Queen’ but a slightly paler violet.Sept./Oct. 40cm.
*A x frikartii ‘Monch’. With a little aid from pea sticks this is arguably the finest Aster for elegance and ‘flower power’ giving a succession of clear lavender-blue flowers from mid-summer onwards. 75cm.
A. laevis. Dark willowy stems, clad with glaucous green leaves, erupt in October into a display of small lavender- blue flowers. 150cm.
*A. lateriflorus ‘Lady in Black’. In full sun the leaves take on a suave purple-black hue. The small flowers are white with attractive rosy stamens, carried in huge numbers on a network of short lateral branches. 120-150cm.
*A. lateriflorus ‘Prince’. As above, but altogether denser in its habit. 60cm.
*A. ‘Little Carlow’. Wiry stems struggle to support the sheer weight and number of large, lavender-blue flowers, a colour particularly enhanced by the autumn light. 120cm.
*A. novi-belgii ‘Blue Eyes’. Semi-double flowers, a good blue. Always draws favourable comments from customers. 1.2m.
A. turbinellus. The unruly, arching habit of this American species with its dainty pale violet-blue flowers is a delight. A great favourite here, it is allowed to cavort with Nepetas, Penstemons and Geraniums. 120cm.
*A. ‘Vasterival’. Named after the garden of the formidable Princess Sturdza in Normandy, this strong-growing aster is a pure delight, bearing clouds of 20 pence sized palest rose-lilac flowers through September. 120cm
ASTRANTIA major ‘Buckland’.The pale green ruff of bracts and rosy pink stamens make for a flower of great beauty. Good, rich soil. 60cms. £4.30
A. maxima.The large bracts to the flowers are a soft rose pink. Arguably the most beautiful of the Masterworts but must have good soil to perform well. 2ft. £4.30
A.‘Roma’. Piet Oudolf selection and a terrific plant. The large flowers are rose-pink, almost as beautiful as A.maxima, but this is a vigorous and therefore much easier plant to grow and repeat flowering too when young. 60cm. £4.30
ATHYRIUM felix femina. At 20cm this is a relatively small fern, its’ feathery, broad lance shaped fronds forming a particularly neat clump. Deciduous. £4.50
A. nipponicum var. pictum. The elegant and beautiful Japanese Painted Fern in shades of grey, silver and dusky purple. Needs shelter and good soil to give of its’ best. We offer divisions of a good form. £4.80
Images at the top of the page are ©Gardens Illustrated / Sharon Pearson