Plant Catalogue: Herbaceous Perennials
ECHINACEA. The ‘cone’ flowers of North America are not only valued for the healing properties of the oil they contain but for their tremendous garden value too. The broad ray petals of mauve-crimson are mostly declined, thereby accentuating the glowing central cone of bronze-orange. They require good hearty soil and are not always easy.
E. purpurea. Strong flowering sized seedlings from our best largest flowered forms. 75cm £4.20
E. p. ex ‘White Swan’. Arguably the best white. These seedlings should follow suit. £4.20
*ECHINOPS ritro ‘Veitch’s Blue’. Coarsely cut, spiny leaves give rise to pale stems supporting spherical heads of rich blue flowers. Not thuggish as are some of its brethren. 90cm. £4.00
E. bannaticus ‘Blue Pearl’. An uncommon form with paler flowers than the above, a good mid- blue in fact. 90cm
EPIMEDIUM. Did you know these plants are members of the Berberis family? Look at their flowers and you’ll soon see why. Not too difficult to please, they do require humus rich soil and a dose of shade. Their new foliage is often beautifully tinted and their Columbine like flowers beguile all those that encounter them. From £4.20
E. ‘Amber Queen’. Blacthorn Nursery’s cracking E. flavum hybrid, the main body of the large flower being amber coloured with the addition of hints of pink, pale yellow and with white. 40cm.
E. grandiflorum ‘Lilac-Pink Form’. A form with small leaves and pert, spidery lilac-pink flowers.
E. g. ‘Lilafee’. Dark tinted new leaves act as a harmonious foil to the dainty violet-purple flowers. 25cm.
E. g. ‘Rose Queen’. Inappropriately named, the large spurred flowers of this strong growing form are actually a fine crimson-purple. 25cm.
E. g. ‘White Queen’. A large flowered pure white form, yet to bettered. 30cm
E. platypetalum. Another Chinese sp. with distinct, yellow campanulate flowers (spurless) and spiny edged green leaves. A pretty addition to any Epimedium collection. 20cm.
E. ogisui. Introduced in the 1990’s from the flora rich province of Sichuan, China, this beautiful large white flowered species remains uncommon and is further enhanced by the bronze tinted new foliage. 25cm.
E. sp. Yunnan. A refined and large, pale yellow, long spurred species from China which patiently awaits a name.
E. versicolor sulphureum. Handsome evergreen foliage, copper and crimson tinted in winter, which should be removed in February to enjoy the clean yellow flowers in spring. 40cms.
E. versicolor x versicolor. Subtly contrasted flesh pink and amber-yellow flowers, a perfect match for the young copper coloured foliage. 30cm
*ERIGERON karvinskianus. An obliging daisy, whose white flowers age to deep brick-pink, born for months on end. Will seed itself surreptitiously and cannily. 20cm. £3.85
*ERODIUM x kolbianum. This smart Storksbill possesses filigree silver foliage and palest lilac-pink flowers with a pair of dashing black eyes. 10cms. £4.00
*E. ‘Grey Blush’. Our own striking seedling with large, two-toned flowers in pink/pale lilac-pink, the uppermost petals embellished with markings in charcoal grey like a pair of blushing eyes. £4.00
*E. ‘Marchants Mikado’. Another of our seedlings, this one has pale pink flowers with large, savage flashing black eyes! We are justly proud of it. 10cm. £4.00
E. ‘Marchants Seedlings’. Flowering sized seedlings from our very best deep pink forms giving rise to all manner of exciting variation in foliage and flower. Take your pick! £4.00
ERYNGIUM. The Eryngos, with their well designed defense mechanisms, are a prickly bunch of characters but make with both their flowers and their foliage striking garden plants. What’s more, they’re not difficult to please, given sun and reasonable drainage. In cultivation they are divided between species from Europe and South America, plus the odd hybrid. If you don’t grow them, why not give them a try. From £4.20
E. agavifolium. Agave like evergreen basal leaves, the green cone-like flowers clasp robust, stout stems in summer. Good seed head silhouette. 90cm.
E. bourgatii. Seedlings from a form with particularly deep metallic blue flower heads and bracts. In the wild it grows in poor, stony soil. 60cm.
*E. ebracteatum var. poterioides. A plant whose mimicry fools almost every gardener into thinking it’s a Sanguisorba. The slender burr-like purple–maroon flowers are spaciously held on a tracery of wiry stems through summer/autumn. Full sun. 120cm+
E. horridum. The handsome evergreen basal rosette is mildly spiny but it is the display of white thimble sized flowers on much branched stems that make it really worth the wait. 90cm.
*E. x oliverianum. Large blue spiky flower heads on deep steel blue stems. A fine old hybrid. 1m.
*E. planum. A species often berated for its small flowers, we like them, violet-blue in this good form. As they say, size doesn’t always count! 75cm.
*Eryngium x tripartitum. The flowers of this hybrid are comparatively small, but there are lots of them and they are a good blue. 50cm
E. variifolium. The handsomest for foliage, the deep green basal leaves netted with white marbling. The quiet, spiny grey-blue flowers are carried on 40cm stems in summer.
*EUCOMIS pallidiflora. A fantastical, succulent creation. Basal leaves, stem and palest green flowers all topped with a Pineapple like flourish. Has proved perfectly hardy in our cold garden. 90cm. £4.50
E. zambesiaca. Like E. pallidiflora above but on a diminutive scale, being only 30cm high. Perfectly hardy and a super plant for a classy stoneware pot. £4.50
EUPATORIUM ligustrinum. Not a shrub that flamboyantly announces itself, but highly effective none-the-less. Its good evergreen foliage, structure and fluffy white flower heads in late summer beautifully partners Asters and late flowering grasses. 2m. £5.00
*E. purpureum maculatum album. We hope to have plants available of this uncommon white form for sale. 2m+ £4.50
*E. p. m. ‘Ankum’s August’. The claim from Nurseryman friend Coen Jansen that his plant will grow to only 140cm has been severely put to the test on our rich clay. A little taller here, it remains a good plant. £4.25
E. p. m.‘Riesenschirm’. Stout, glossy purple stems rise to 2.2m, climaxing in a display of dusky rose-purple domed flower heads. A distinguished late summer perennial. £4.50
*E. rugosum ‘Chocolate’.‘Snakeroot’. Striking black-purple foliage and domed heads of white flowers in autumn. A asset on all accounts for any fertile border in full sun. 1.5m. £4.50
EUPHORBIA. Given reasonable drainage the Spurges are easy to please and give us all that we should expect of a plant. Do however be cautious of the white sap they exude when torn or damaged. It can burn skin badly! Seed set has been poor recently which has sadly led to a much shortened list.
*E. donii ‘Amjillasa’. A very handsome Kew collection from Nepal with large, lurid yellow flower bracts. Seed raised. plants will be offered. 1m+ £4.00
E. griffithii ‘Fern Cottage’. A very good form with decorative fiery reddish-orange flower bracts. Would liven up any late spring border. 90cm. £4.00
*E. ‘Jade Dragon’. Said to be an E. amygdaloides hybrid, the eye catching green flower heads fade to an equally beautiful dusky red over a period of many weeks. A great favourite here. 75cm £4.25
*E. longifolia. Elegant, narrow leaves with a pronounced white mid-rib clothe sturdy 90cm stems. Domed heads of brilliant yellow-green bracts in summer. £4.00
Images at the top of the page are ©Gardens Illustrated / Sharon Pearson