Plant Catalogue: Herbaceous Perennials
*PELARGONIUM ‘Scarlet Unique’. An easy ‘Unique’ (some aren’t!) with small scarlet flowers well set off by scented greenery. £4.00
*P. sidoides. Prim scalloped silvery leaves, the small dark violet-purple flowers make a resonant statement. £4.00
PENSTEMON. Mainstays of the herbaceous border, with showy tubular flowers. Deep and pale pink, magenta, true blues, reds, etc. colours prevail. Judiciously dead head and you will be rewarded with flowers the summer/autumn long. @ £4.20
*P. ‘Alice Hindley’. Upstanding old favourite with large, pale lilac-purple flowers. 120cm.
*P. ‘Blackbird’. Dark, vinous-purple. 90cm.
*P. ‘Hidcote Pink’. Strawberry flesh pink with a paler throat. 60cm.
*P. ‘Windsor Red’. Smart, bright red complimented by the neat, narrow leaved foliage.
*P. ‘Unamed Cherry Red’. Produces a brilliant and long lasting display of cherry red flowers. 75cm.
*PEROVSKIA atriplicifolia ‘Blue Haze’. The broad, uncut leaves make for a far chunkier plant than the following. Suprisingly uncommon. 120cm. From £4.50
*P. a.‘Blue Spire’. In a well drained soil the spires of small lavender-blue flowers make a fine vertical accent. Invaluable for its late flowering display. 120cm. From £4.50
PERSICARIA. Whilst the foliage of the following could not be described as being refined, their flower shape, colour range and extraordinary length of flowering season lift them, for us, onto a very high level.They are also superb partners to a number of grasses. From £4.30
We have also gathered a number of the newer forms raised on the continent and hope to offer some of these in summer.
*P. amplexicaulis ‘Alba’. The exception to the rule in providing cool white flower spikes.
P. a. ‘Firedance’. Thin tapers of glowing rose-red over fresh green foliage through summer and autumn. A ‘Sharp Eyed’ Oudolf selection. 120cm.
P. a. ‘Firetail’. An old star of the horticultural stage, introduced by Bressingham Gardens. Intense crimson-scarlet spikes over a long season. 120cm.
P. a. ‘Rosea’. Upright spikes of small, pale pink flowers held in crimson calyxes creating for many weeks a charming two toned effect. Extremely beautiful in association with the grasses Panicum and Miscanthus. 120cm.
*P. a. ‘Taurus’. Another classy Bressingham introduction, the spikes of vibrant small ruby-red flowers are the darkest and richest of those we grow. 120cm
PHLOMIS russeliana. Bold plush leaves, pale sage green and whorls of typical yellow hooded flowers in tiers make for a pleasantly butch plant. The impeccable seed heads are of great winter interest. 120cm. £4.50
*P. t. ‘Amazone’. A sought after selection made by German Nurseryman, Ernst Pagels with lilac-mauve flowers. Divisions. 120cm. A few to spare. £4.80
PHLOX paniculata. The genus Phlox provides us with some of the most useful mid to late summer flowering perennials, their colour spectrum ranging from white, vicious pinks (as used by the late Christopher Lloyd) to soothing lilac. But it is their scent, pungent and spicy, lingering in the air (and in the memory too) on a hot, listless August day that quintessentially captures the mood of high summer. We offer the following forms, available from June onwards. Prices from £4.30.
P. ‘Blue Paradise’, ‘David’, ‘Forncett Twilight’, ‘Hesperis’, ‘Mount Fuji’, P. paniculata, P.p alba, ‘Princess Sturdza’, ‘Reddish Hesperis’, ‘Utopia’, etc.
P.paniculata Seedlings. Out of curiosity we raise a batch of seedlings each year. Curious too? Come and see them in flower in late summer.
P. stolonifera. Purple Form. A resilient carpeting woodlander with clusters of large papal purple flowers, paler on their reverse, through early summer. 20cm. £4.30
POLYGONATUM multiflorum ramosissimum A gift from a Belgian colleague, the small flowers of this oddball are held on lateral branched stems. The bronze caste to the stems and leaves of early spring is a superb bonus. Formerly offered as P. ‘Branched Form’. 60cm. £4.50
P. curvistylum Those among you only familiar with green/white Solomon’s Seal will be enthralled by this Himalayan species. From the axils of the narrow leaves hang small mauve flowers in clusters. 40cm. £4.30
P. odoratum var. Pluriflorum ‘Variegatum’. The profuse and striking striped variegation of this vigorous plant would redeem the drabbest spot of any garden .75cms. £4.30
POLYPODIUM cambricum. The polypodies are really great garden plants, easy to grow and requiring only half-decent soil in semi-shade to prosper. The new fronds emerge in late summer and retain a remarkable freshness throughout the autumn and winter months. From £4.80
P. c. ‘Oakleyae’. The segments are closely stacked together in this form giving the frond a dense and well structured appearance. Very beautiful. 30cm.
P. c. ‘Whilharris’. Generally shaggier in its appearance, the lobes of the large 35cm long fronds are also deeply cut, each vaguely resembling a small Christmas tree.
Polypodium glycyrrhiza. Bold bipinnatifid fronds whose classic, simple line could not be improved upon. The root apparently tastes of liquorice. 45cm.
*POLYSTICHUM setiferum ‘Herrenhausen’. A classic selection of the soft shield fern with ascending fronds from the German garden of this name. 70cm. From £4.50
*P. s. plumosodivisilobum. The fronds of the Soft Shield Fern gently curve and are made up of closely tiered pinnae, the whole resembling a wacky designer cushion.
P. s. Perserratum group. A gift from a fern fan, looks promising but beyond my ability to describe. Come and have a look for yourselves.
POTENTILLA ‘Flamenco’. Another old cultivar whose sizzling scarlet flowers are sure to get your castanets a’clacking. 30cm. £4.30
P x hopwoodiana. An old (1829) and now legendary hybrid with cream flowers flushed with the fleshy rose tint of a Milk Maids wind blown cheeks. £4.30
P. thurberi ‘Monarch’s Velvet’. Deep madder red flowers with a black-maroon eye, the size of a ten-penny piece. Ever gaining a fan club. 50cm. £4.30
PRIMULA auricula ‘Devon Cream’. Somewhat blowsy, cream-yellow flowers. Very cottagey. £4.00
P. auricula ‘Old Mustard’. Deliciously scented, mustard-yellow flowers with a large powdery white eye. Uncommon. 15cm. £4.30
P. sieboldii lactiflora. A species with downy, pale green leaves and large brilliantwhite notched flowers in spring. A woodlander from Japan. £4.00
P. vulgaris Lilacina Plena (‘Quakeress’,‘Quakers Bonnet’,etc.) The long grown lilac-pink form of cottage gardens, always held in great affection. A few only. 10cm. £4.20
PULMONARIA. Groundcover is often a descriptive word attached to the Lungworts. What a drab description for a genus that offers so much more .We hope the leaf variation and flower colour of the following will prove the point. Priced at £4.30
P. ‘Blue Ensign’. Large flowers, vivid deep blue over unspotted, bottle-green foliage. 25cm. First rate.
P. ‘Cotton Cool’. A bold and vigorous newcomer from the States with platinum, spear shaped leaves over 30cm long. The blue and pink flowers are nothing to boast about. 30cm.
P. ‘Crawshay Chance’. A Lungwort with particularly neat silver spotted leaves and ample pale blue flowers. A lovely partner for dark purple Hellebores. .A few to spare. 20cm.
P. Diana Claire’. A P. longifolia hybrid with striking silver-green foliage and large violet-blue flowers. 25cm.
P. ‘Little Star’. A pert American selection, its clusters of brilliant blue flowers held over neat clumps of faintly silver splashed foliage. 20cm.
P. ‘Opal’. A hybrid with palest lavender-blue flowers, small but effective, and good spotted leaves. 30cm.
P. ‘Roy Davidson’. Inheriting the narrow spotted leaves of its parent, the clusters of narrow flowers are clear Spode blue. 30cm.
P. ‘Samourai’. Slender, almost entirely silver leaves (pertaining presumably to the sword blade of the warrior) A very handsome lungwort lacking only handsome flowers. 40cm.
Images at the top of the page are ©Gardens Illustrated / Sharon Pearson