Far Too Many Plants

Seedlings

2011-12-10T10:18:00.001-08:00

seedlings, originally uploaded by peganum.

Some pots of seedlings to whet the appetite for next year, or the year after that, depending. Seed raising is one of the most satisfying parts of running the nursery. I love it.
I tend to sow most fully hardy species as soon as the seed is shed, both in case they need some summer ripening/winter chill regime to break dormancy and also to get them in as fresh as possible. A lot of my species are a bit obscure to say the least, so information on germination can be hard to come by, so I just get them in as soon as they're ready - as of course happens in nature. Unfortunately this doesn't always work.
I've had to invest in a treatment for Pythium (damping off) for the first time this year, possibly because of the mild damp autumn. Some Penstemon and Asclepias suffered particularly badly when they germinated in October. I think in previous years I've sown these summer rainfall species in mid-winter (when the seed merchant delivered them) so in these cases a winter/spring sowing might be best.
The treatment, by the way, is called Prestop and is itself a fungus (it comes as a yeast-like powder) that colonises the compost, out-competing the Pythium. Seedlings are still emerging and don't appear to be failing now, so fingers crossed. Anyway we'll see how it goes. It's nice not to be using poisons anyway.

Over Wintering

2011-11-25T03:27:00.000-08:00

One might expect this to be the quiet season on a nursery but the mild weather (the mildest on record apparently) means that things are still growing and I've taken the executive decision of continuing to pot things on here and there. Autumn can be a time of prodigious root development in many species in a normal year so it's not as mad as it sounds. They've usually stopped by mid November though so this year is undoubtedly odd. I already have all sorts of seedlings up that I normally wouldn't expect to see until spring and I'll have to keep them cool and well-ventilated through the dark months if they're to survive.
Anything remotely tender of course should be left well alone now. It's important not to damage the roots in case they rot, or prune the tops too much in case they try to make new growth. The damp mild weather produces a lot of moulds and aphids so it's touch and go.
Plants from Mediterranean climates (Chile, California, western South Africa) are the exception. It's worth knowing which ones these are because Autumn to Spring (being mild and damp) is their main growing season in the wild so it's a good time to think about potting them on, or even pricking out seedlings. I have some pots of Chilean Lobelia excelsa and polyphylla seedlings which look very eager to get on with life. I'm not sure they'll look so happy if I wait until March but moving them now might be worse. It's a learning curve, as they say.

The other thing of course is getting the nursery itself set up to receive customers in the Spring. At the moment, apart from the polytunnel and the shed, it's something of a blank slate. At some point soon I'll be buying in a lot of timber to make display beds, and there'll be a shade house and an area with a pond liner for wetland plants. At the moment it's just a basketball pitch sized area covered in Mypex. I'm hoping for some inspiration for the design - something eye-catching but practical.
For now though I'm working on the shed, for which I've been making window frames - something the like of which I've never attempted before. Getting the corners square and strong has been something of a challenge, given that the shed itself isn't exactly square, but they do actually have glass in them now. I'm not planning on becoming a carpenter any time soon but it's been very satisfying.
Next I need to get some gates for the entrance, and a properly installed electricity supply (not just an extension lead strung across). Insurance too - that's a big one.

This is also the time of year for checking out the new catalogues. I shan't reveal my sources of course but going through the lists of the various seed merchants is always exciting and I always end up with longer wish-lists than I can possibly pay for or find space for (assuming they come up). Each year I buy in a few stock plants of things that are particularly uncommon from other UK nurseries but this is my first year importing plants from abroad, in this case from Japan. It's not cheap, what with all the official hoops they have to jump through (quite rightly) getting the certification, and a bit of a gamble, but if seed is not available it's the only way to get hold of some particularly special things. I shan't say any more for now but I must say I'm very excited about the package that should arrive in the post sometime in the next week or two.

I've been putting together my listing for the new Plantfinder. I've just checked and am very pleased to discover that I have no less than 186 new items to add to the existing 102, all but eleven available at less than twenty other nurseries (often a lot less) and nineteen previously unlisted in the Plantfinder. Many of these are still in 3in pots so I'd better stop faffing about and get on, hadn't I.

Eryngium variifolium

2011-10-25T01:29:00.000-07:00

Not even slightly rare but an absolute classic, not just for the spiky blue-white inflorescences, but especially for the evergreen pale-veined foliage. Despite coming from Morocco this species seems better kept not too parched, but otherwise hardy in any well-drained sunny site.
1L pots ~ £4

Three new shrubs for autumn

2011-10-25T01:21:00.000-07:00

Crinodendron hookerianum
A deservedly popular large shrub - the dangling cherry red blooms contrasting well with the dark green foliage. Highly recommended for the same lime-free woodland conditions as for Rhododendrons and Camellias but invaluable for flowering in mid to late summer. Needs shelter but not as tender as is often imagined. Especially good against a north-facing wall where the stock plant has come through the last few winters without trouble.
1L pots ~ £5

Crinodendron patagua
Potentially a much larger species with greenish white flowers and broader foliage, and in my experience distinctly hardier. These plants are self-sown seedlings from our frost-pocket of a garden.
Not often mentioned in the literature are the unusual, somewhat Euonymus-like fruits.

1L pots ~ £5

Viburnum cinnamomifolium
A taller, tree-like version of the common (and unfairly despised) V.davidii. Both species have among the very best evergreen foliage of any hardy shrub, and are well worth growing even without the flowers, which are the usual small rosy white, or the berries, which are intense blue with red stems. You will need male and female plants to get fruits but davidii will pollinate cinnamomifolium apparently.
1L pots ~ £5

Alstroemeria brasiliensis

2011-10-17T02:04:00.000-07:00

Very different from the more familiar garden hybrids but just as adaptable. This species forms a slowly spreading colony of stems up to 2ft tall and flowers sporadically through the summer. Excellent as a part of the ground cover under deciduous 'hardy exotic' trees and shrubs, or growing amongst things like Hedychium and Zantedeschia, to complete the subtropical scene. The colony from which these roots were taken have come through the last few winters unscathed in mid Sussex but might benefit from mulching in colder areas.
I was under the impression for a long time that this was a form of A.psittacina but the flowers here are of a more ruby red with less green.
1L pots ~ £5

Iris lazica

2011-10-17T01:47:00.000-07:00

A terrific alternative to the more familiar I.unguicularis - more adaptable and with better foliage, but somewhat later to flower (although I've seen flowers as early as November) It also does better in part shade and on moister soils and is therefore easier in British gardens.
p.s. I just had a look and there's already a flower coming through on the plant in our front garden - in mid October.
1L pots ~ £5

Rostrinucula dependens

2011-09-30T01:30:00.000-07:00

There's one to get your lallaker round, as my grandpa used to say (ie it's a tongue twister, for those of you that don't speak Olde Sussex).
This is definitely turning out to be one of my favourite plants.

The arching habit, elegant 6in blackish sea green foliage and pale bloomy stems and leaf undersides have been a feature all summer. Exquisitely sculpted 3-4 inch pearly white 'catkins' sprout mauve/pink filaments in Autumn.
The whole thing has a most unusual pale/dark effect - restrained but very classy and unlike anything else. I cannot speak too highly of this plant.

To 4ft tall, and not shrubby, despite appearances, so don't worry when it disappears in winter.

Lonicera hispidula

2011-09-25T02:48:00.000-07:00

Photo by Dennis Carvalho

The Californian Pink Honeysuckle - ideal for drier, sunnier or shady conditions, where a lot of the more familiar types tend to get mildew. The foliage is rounded and somewhat fuzzy and, in the population from which these seeds were collected (thanks Dennis), somewhat marked with irregular maroon-black blotches, especially when young. Some individuals have completely blackened foliage which I find rather striking, but I understand that not everyone will agree. Please let me know if you'd prefer a specimen with more or less black leaves.
1L pots ~ £5

Aphyllanthes monspeliensis

2011-09-17T07:49:00.000-07:00

Masquerading as a low grey rush or sheep's fescue, this mop-top suddenly bursts into life in late spring with bright blue flowers at the tips of its ‘leaves’. (The name means something like 'flowers without leaves'.)
Last I heard, this species was completely alone in its family with no close relations at all. At the same time it seems perfectly hardy and easy in the UK given a well-drained sunny site. I guess it's a relic of the ancient pre-glacial Eurasian flora. I wonder what the rest of the family were like?
10cm square pots ~ £4

Geranium malviflorum

2011-09-11T12:03:00.000-07:00

A less common but much better relative of the familiar G.tuberosum - this has much larger flowers of a rich violet mauve. Like G.tuberosum it comes up in winter, flowers in mid spring and disappears again in summer - ideal ground-cover for summer-growing herbaceous plants and deciduous shrubs.
Drought tolerant but good even on retentive heavy soils.
1L square pots ~ £5

Fuchsia procumbens

2011-09-11T11:44:00.000-07:00

A fascinating little species from New Zealand (almost all other Fuchsia are Latin-American) with a creeping habit and bizarre little green and yellow flowers with violet anthers, peeking up from among the rounded leaves.

In a good year you’ll also get edible cranberry-like fruits.
Normally considered very borderline in cold-tolerance, the parents of these plants have come through the last few winters in mid Sussex without trouble. Best in rather dry shade in my experience.

A ground cover of Fuchsia procumbens with Cyclamen hederifolium under evergreen shrubs.
3in pots ~ £3

New for autumn 2011

2011-09-07T01:27:00.000-07:00

Penstemon barbatus

One of the few western desert Penstemon that can be considered well-established in UK gardens. Tall slender stems with narrow scarlet hummingbird flowers all up one side. Entirely hardy given a dry sunny place. 1L pots ~ £4

Dierama argyreum
A graceful and hardy white flowering species. 1L pots ~ £5

Platycodon grandiflorus

The well-known Japanese Balloon Flower - one of those plants that’s almost too well known for its own good but usually seen in a rather characterless ‘compact’ form. These will be taller and more graceful and more like the wild species. A strong permanent border plant for almost any site, as long as extremes are avoided. Wide rounded violet bell flowers in summer. A classic.

1L pots ~ £4

New for autumn 2011

2011-09-06T10:39:00.000-07:00

Elscholtzia stauntonii

Nothing to do with the Californian Poppy (that's Eschscholzia) - this is a smallish shrubby plant related to Agastache, notable for its autumn flowering - the mauve flower spikes contrasting well with the foliage which may turn maroon at that time of year. Aromatic and very easy-going given a sunny spot. 1L pots ~ £4.00

Dracocephalum grandiflorum
A compact leafy herbaceous perennial producing a mound of rounded green leaves with rich purple ‘Dragon Heads’ on short reddish stems above. For a well drained (but not too dry), sunny (but not too hot) site, if that makes any sense. Basically a large alpine. 1L pots ~ £4

Leucosceptrum stellipilum formosanum

Mauve pink bottle-brushes and fresh pale green foliage. A lush leafy herbaceous perennial related to Elscholtzia, Agastache and Rostrinucula and with the same late flowering season. Possibly best in sheltered woodland to avoid hot sun and early frosts which can damage the display. Otherwise easy and adaptable.
1L pots ~ £4

Cymbalaria hepaticifolia
Forget the common Ivy-leaf Toadflax that festoons shady walls in many parts of the country (pretty though that is) this is a much nicer species with delicate mauve white flowers and fleshy silver marked leaves and spreading without being invasive. Excellent in dry shade but best to avoid big vigorous neighbours. Good cover for hardy Cyclamen. 3in pots ~ £2

Clematis ianthina (fusca violacea)

2011-07-30T10:01:00.000-07:00

A small climber similar to C.fusca but with thickly textured rather than fuzzy, purplish flowers.
1.5L pots ~ £5.00

Clematis fusca

2011-07-30T09:38:00.000-07:00

A really peculiar species with nodding urn-shaped flowers that look like they're made out of dark brown felt and with a silky white lining. Very odd.
This is a small scrambling semi-herbaceous species growing to about 6ft so plant it among the shrubs near the path where you can get a proper look at it.
2L pots ~ £5

Agastache rugosa

2011-07-30T09:26:00.000-07:00

An intensely minty herb producing violet flowers from dense heads of pinky-purple calyces over a long period in late summer.
A handy, totally non-invasive and easy-going alternative to your actual peppermint.
1L pots ~ £4.00

Strobilanthes nutans

2011-07-21T03:01:00.000-07:00

A really nice change from the better known, upright purple flowered species – this one trails over the ground and is seen at its best in a shady raised bed (or a hanging basket? Why not?) with it’s pure white, hop-like inflorescences dangling over the side.

Hardy so far here and unusually classy.
1L pots ~ £4

Eucryphia milliganii

2011-07-21T02:54:00.000-07:00

A terrific small Eucryphia – a perfect miniature in every way, from it’s neat dark green oblong leaves to it’s exquisitely crafted frilly white flowers. Naturally fastigiate, this is an excellent plant for giving height to alpine and ericaceous beds. Needs a moist but freely drained, lime-free soil in sun or semi shade.
1L pots ~ £5.00

Ribes x gordonianum

2011-07-16T04:02:00.000-07:00

A hybrid between the common pink flowering currant, R.sanguineum and the yellow flowered R.odoratum and to my mind better than either of them. The flowers are an unusual burnished peachy orange and complemented by glossy coppery tinted new foliage. Very special.

1.5L pots £6

Viburnum plicatum mariesii

2011-07-16T03:58:00.000-07:00

Not even slightly rare but a classic nonetheless, with its wide tiered branches, decked with white lacecaps in late spring/early summer. The autumn colour is also strong and in good years accompanied by shiny red berries, turning black.

Give it plenty of space, because it looks terrible cut back.

2L pots £5

Photinia 'serrulata Formosan form' (possibly the one described in Hilliers manual)

2011-07-16T03:50:00.000-07:00

I'm not at all sure about this identification but a very gorgeous shrub nevertheless - more rounded and compact than the normal tree-like P.serratifolia, with more rounded leaves too (to about 3ins across) opening a rich mahogany in early spring, with a soft downy white covering. I just wish I had a better picture of it to show you.
Easy and adaptable and tolerant of heavy and wet soils. 2L pots £5

Buddleia colvilei - large leaved form

2011-07-11T09:19:00.000-07:00

A very choice member of a surprisingly diverse genus. This one produces clusters of individually quite large flowers (up to 3/4 inch across) of a particularly clear and striking purple pink. Flowering is mostly in late spring so any pruning should be done in the summer.

This is a large vigorous shrub, at its best in a sunny sheltered site against a wall. Having said that, my experience is that it's hardy and adaptable at least in this part of the country.

NB. This is not the form frequently seen known as Kewensis which has relatively small leaves, smoother and greener on the upper surface. Ours has much larger (up to 10ins) soft felted leaves.

Large plants in 4L pots ~ £8 (very few available)

These are too large to mail by the normal method so only to be picked up from the nursery, or by special carrier.

Sophora flavescens

2011-07-11T09:13:00.000-07:00

Now for something completely different...
A herbaceous species from

China

with pale yellow, somewhat monk's-hood like flowers on tall slender stems over elegant pinnate foliage. A cool airy alternative to Baptisia and Thermopsis. Hardy.

1.5L pots £5

Salvia chamaedryoides

2011-07-11T08:46:00.000-07:00

An absolutely gorgeous little Salvia from Texas or thereabouts, sprouting spikes of intense indigo violet over low ash-white bushes. It will, like so many species from this area, need the driest sunniest site you've got but is very cold tolerant and if it likes you can eventually make quite a sizeable patch. 10cm pots ~ £3.00

Seemannia (Gloxinia) nematanthodes

2011-07-08T11:24:00.000-07:00

A gorgeous plant producing a large crop of rich velvety scarlet flowers over a long period in late summer and autumn until the frosts come. Originally billed as the hardy Gloxinia - it is cold tolerant but needs a drier winter than we normally experience. Best in leafy soil in shade. Try it outdoors in a sheltered spot among evergreen shrubs. Some of the tubers can be lifted in the autumn (a large crop is usually produced) as insurance. Failing that, a fabulous pot plant for the cold greenhouse.
Scaly tubers (like Achimenes tubers) sprout tiny rosettes on the surface of the soil in June which quickly expand into bushy plants. 10cm pots ~ £4.00

Koelreuteria paniculata

2011-06-13T01:35:00.000-07:00

A dramatic medium sized tree producing masses of tiny egg-yolk yellow flowers in summer, followed by unusual coppery papery heart-shaped fruits, then with intense orange and gold autumn colour as a finale. The compound leaves start out dark red and are good all summer.
This, as far as I know is the only hardy representative of an otherwise tropical group. Very exotic. Excellent street tree. 2L pots £8

Please please please, may I humbly request that you check with me that the plants you require are in stock before you order? Otherwise we'll have to arrange refunds.
Thank you so much.

Conoclinium (Eupatorium) coelestinum

2011-06-13T01:02:00.000-07:00

Essentially a hardy perennial Ageratum with fuzzy powder blue flowers in late summer and autumn. Best grown in a moist (or even wet) rich soil in full sun. Needs a long warm season to flower well but worth it for the late display. To 18ins. Spreading but not invasive. 1L pots £3.00

Please please please, may I humbly request that you check with me that the plants you require are in stock before you order? Otherwise we'll have to arrange refunds.
Thank you so much.

Penstemon spectabilis

2011-06-12T08:53:00.000-07:00

A very different and quite spectacular (which is what spectabilis means) species, this time from California.
A substantial and almost succulent evergreen with basal leaves reminiscent of some species of Aloe or Kalanchoe. The flowering stems rise up to 3ft above with the upper leaves encircling the stems beneath the clusters of flowers.
As this species is Californian it is likely to be more tolerant of winter wet than most desert Penstemon, but will definitely need as dry and as sunny a spot as you can provide, possibly in a container or raised bed.
Hardiness varies in the wild populations (USDA zone 6-10) but our plants came through last winter without any damage at all in an unheated tunnel. Well worth a try on heaths or near the sea, but not tried on chalk yet.
See also P.superbus
1.5L pots £6.00

Please please please, may I humbly request that you check with me that the plants you require are in stock before you order? Otherwise we'll have to arrange refunds.
Thank you so much.

Penstemon confertus

2011-06-12T08:19:00.000-07:00

A quietly attractive pale yellow relative of the normally blue P.procerus. Easily grown in any well-drained sunny spot and totally hardy.
1L pots £4.00

Please please please, may I humbly request that you check with me that the plants you require are in stock before you order? Otherwise we'll have to arrange refunds.
Thank you so much.

Penstemon hirsutus Pygmaeus & serrulatus

2011-05-15T04:05:00.000-07:00

Penstemon hirsutus Pygmaeus
A pretty little species from the north eastern USA and Ontario, growing to about 8ins high and flowering over a long period in late spring and early summer. Very cold hardy.
This is not one of the more exacting species and it will be happy in any not too dry but sunny spot. A rockery seems the obvious choice.
10cm pots £4

Penstemon serrulatus
Another easy species - this time from the north western USA from British Columbia to Oregon. Flowers appear at the tips of upright 2ft stems over a long period in summer.
This species is happiest on wetter soils than most and in sun or semi shade.
10cm pots £4

Felicia rosulata

2011-05-14T08:56:00.000-07:00

As a normally very sensible friend recently commented on Flickr - these are indeed 'adorable'.
Previously known as Aster natalensis, these have proved easy to please in a sunny well drained spot, and although said to benefit from a dryish winter (coming from East Africa, this is to be expected) they have so far been better if not too parched. Completely unfazed by the last few winters' onslaught.
An easy alpine and should be better known.
10cm pots £4

Asclepias exaltata

2011-05-14T08:26:00.000-07:00

Asclepias is another group of plants I have a major thing for. None except A.incarnata or perhaps the tender A.tuberosa are at all well known in the UK but all have a certain something about them. Certainly they don't look like anything else in the garden.
The flowers of A. exaltata are not vividly showy but are exquisitely crafted in jade and ivory and dangle elegantly on long filaments from the tips of the 2ft stems.

Very much a part of the prairie/woodland edge communities in the eastern US - these are completely frost hardy and easy to please on any fertile retentive soil in sun or part shade.
10cm square pots £4

Clematis urophylla

2011-05-14T07:58:00.000-07:00

A relatively unfamiliar but gorgeous winter flowering evergreen species with handsomely textured leaves and good sized, soft felted nodding white flowers. There seem to have been some doubts as to the hardiness of this one but it has grown and flowered in our front garden without any damage through the last three winters and flowered brilliantly this year.
To be on the safe side I'd give it plenty of sun, and shelter from the worst of the weather, in other words, exactly the same as for the other two common evergreen species: C.cirrhosa and armandii.
Sorry ~ sold out. Plenty more this time next year though
There also seem to be some doubts about the naming of this species. You might find it called C.yunnanensis, clarkeana or anshunensis as well as under a cultivar name - Winter Beauty - which as far as I can tell is identical to the species.

Colquhounia coccinea

2011-05-14T07:41:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Alan Gregg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/28188015@N05/2891419653/) for the use of his photo.
Pronounced Cohoonia, A very striking but still little grown medium size shrub, looking, out of flower, like it might be some sort of Buddleia or Phlomis, and in flower like it might be a kind of Salvia. Either way a very striking and exotic species, hardy and easily grown in a sunny, well-drained but not parched situation.

Stems may die back during a hard winter but grow back during the summer in time to flower in the autumn.

Flowering relatively late, this species can be shy flowering if it does not get enough sun or if there is an early frost, but well worth persevering with.

2L pots £6

Penstemon hallii

2011-05-11T02:29:00.000-07:00

Photo courtesy of Bob Skowron, who's company - Rocky Mountain Rare Plants (now sadly ceased trading) supplied the seed.

A gorgeous species grown from seed collected in the Central Colorado Mountains. Not more than 4 or 5 inches high (which should give some idea of how big the violet blue flowers in the photo are) but eventually forming a mat 12ins across.

Completely frost hardy given full sun and a well drained soil. This and its small size mean that a trough or raised bed will probably be necessary.

10cm pots £4

Correa

2011-05-10T02:31:00.000-07:00

Correa reflexa nummulariifolia
When I lived in Australia (some considerable time ago) I became, not surprisingly, a great fan of the native flora, but despite the obvious appeal of Acacia and Eucalyptus, Grevillea and Banksia, Callistemon and Leptospermum, it was the Correas that fascinated me and which have stayed with me since.
I'm not sure what it was about them. I had a bit of a thing for nodding bell-shaped and tubular flowers for a start, and also for green flowers (Hellebores, Fritillaries - things like that). There are some well-known pink and red flowered forms, like Dusky Bells and Mannii but I was never so keen on those. There are some very nice red and green bicolours like Marion's Marvel but I never felt that having plain green flowers was a problem. This is possibly because there's something very refreshing about the pale greens and the unusual texture of the flowers that makes them almost glow from amongst the foliage in the low winter light (NB. Correas are all basically winter flowering - a major asset in the garden). The red and pink cultivars don't really have that. The foliage is usually interestingly textured too, especially when young, rivalled only by some of the choicer dwarf Rhododendrons. Some, it has to be said have a somewhat gawky habit (the red cultivars again especially) but by no means all and generally they look good all year round.
As for cultivation - one of the things that appealed to me was the fact that a good few looked like they might tolerate British winters well. In Australia they are planted everywhere and expected to put up with everything, which in southern Tasmania can mean some very Antarctic weather.
Obviously some species are hardier than others. Several are native to Tasmania and are a good place to start. Others occur in the highlands further north in Victoria and New South Wales and are hardier than one might expect. I have had a small collection of them with me wherever I have lived and they have been outside in their pots through everything our climate has thrown at them (plus a good dose of neglect and rough handling.) Some of them came with me from Australia (all perfectly legally I must add) in my hand luggage as rooted cuttings all those years ago and were forced to make the adjustment from Sydney summer to English winter in the space of 24 hours. All survived. They are genuinely very tough individuals.

So now I am in a position to begin offering some to customers. At this stage they are all in 1L pots and relatively young. All of them should be fine outside all year round at least in the south and west of the UK, but I would avoid very exposed positions. (Last October's freezing wind did for quite a few hardier evergreens.) On the other hand they are brilliant plants for the sea front. Most will also grow in a certain amount of shade as long as not too dense. They grow well under Pine and Eucalyptus which soak up the excess moisture. They are also good for the sunnier parts of heathland and ericaceous type plantings. Like most Australian plants though, their tolerance of chalk is questionable (Australian soils tend to be lime-free) but possibly higher than expected. What they will need more than anything is good drainage so pots and raised beds are a good idea.

Correa reflexa nummulariifolia (see top of page for picture)
My favourite species of all and the one that really got me going in the first place. This is one of those I brought back in my hand luggage all those years ago. A low growing species with heavily textured, small rounded leaves and chubby bells of an unusual pale luminous green, set off by dark chocolate anthers.
Correa reflexa is a variable and widely distributed species but this is very different. Hailing from just a few islands between Tasmania and the mainland, this is a very salt tolerant form and possibly the most cold tolerant too. It received an AGM some years back but remains unaccountably rare in gardens. It should be everywhere.
1L pots £5

Correa backhousiana
Tried and tested in the UK and an old favourite. This species has pale green bells and interestingly textured foliage reminiscent of Elaeagnus. Probably the hardiest species after nummulariifolia. Ideal coastal alternative to the overly large Elaeagnus.
1L pots £5

Correa reflexa Tasmanian Green

There are a lot of green flowered forms of reflexa. This one came with me from Tasmania where it is the common form in the woods all over that area. The combination of the luminous lime green tubular flowers and oddly crinkly textured (bullate) foliage is very appealing. I won't lie to you though - this is not a tidy plant and tends to like to lean to one side so best grown among other sturdier plants and with shelter from too much wind.
1L pots £5

Correa Ivory Bells

This is one I've acquired since I got back. A hybrid between the only white flowered species - C.alba and the very hardy pale green flowered C.backhousiana. The flowers are more flared than usual because alba flowers are open rather than bell-shaped. Compact to 2 or 3 feet high and very salt tolerant.
1L pots £5

Correa Marion's Marvel

A hybrid between a red flowered reflexa and backhousiana and probably the hardiest of the reds. In my opinion it's also a much nicer looking plant than the more often seen Mannii or Dusky Bells. The green and red combination is unexpectedly good. As hardy as backhousiana.
1L pots £5

Correa lawrenciana

Just for the sake of completeness - unfortunately I've been having trouble getting cuttings of this one to root, I suspect because the stock plant is coming to the end of its life span. This is another one I brought from Tasmania with me as a rooted cutting and is the form that grows all over the flanks of Mount Wellington near Hobart.
C.lawrenciana are generally the tallest of Correas, growing to 10ft or more as part of the shrubby understorey of Eucalyptus forest. Quite shade tolerant so a spot among other woodland shrubs is probably more appropriate than for the others. Anyway, like the others I grow, it has come through the last few winters unscathed in its pot and put up with all sorts of neglect. I'll let you know if and when I get some babies.

Penstemon superbus

2011-05-09T07:19:00.000-07:00

One of a number of truly astonishing 'Wild West' Penstemon species I hope to offer. Tubular flowers of an indefinable coral scarlet on tall slender upright maroon stems over somewhat fleshy glaucous rosettes. In time this species can form quite a sizeable clump with flowering stems reputedly up to 5ft tall!
To my knowledge this species is largely untried in this country. It will certainly be cold hardy but susceptible to winter wet. It will definitely grow in the same conditions as Agave and cacti from the same region - in an unheated greenhouse kept fairly dry in winter, but is well worth trying outside in a gritty raised bed in full sun too. They spent last winter in an unheated tunnel without any special treatment except occasional watering to keep them from drying out completely. They'd also likely respond well to being kept somewhat pot-bound in a large container outside, or on the south side of an evergreen hedge or among pines where the roots would take away any excess moisture and the canopy would not exclude too much light.
Not tried on chalk but I have no reason to assume they'd object.
Sold out for this year

Penstemon albertinus

2011-05-09T06:47:00.000-07:00

The first new Penstemon species offered this year and I'm pleased to say a lovely thing. I grew these from seed and was not quite sure what would result as the species (part of the P.humilis complex) is quite variable in the wild and some have less striking colours than others. Anyway they've turned out a good gas-flame blue so that's excellent. A bushy upright plant to 12ins high.
These are among the most adaptable of all Penstemon species, and should grow anywhere that's not to too wet or too shady. Completely and utterly cold hardy.
1L pots £4

Penstemon species

2011-05-09T01:34:00.000-07:00

Penstemon superbus
To most of us here in the UK, Penstemon are a familiar feature of the summer border. Most gardeners know them well for their Foxglove like spikes of flowers in all shades from rich red through various pinks and purples to almost but not quite true blue. Varieties like Sour Grapes, Garnet, Purple Passion, Blackbird and Evelyn are favourites and widely available. These are mostly hybrids derived from Mexican forest species and traditionally they were used for summer bedding - raised fresh each year from cuttings. More recently, and for the last decade or so, they have been hardy and reliable border perennials but they've suffered badly in the last three winters and I've had to go back to treating them as tender bedding in many situations.
A few gardeners will be aware that there are other types of Penstemon. Some will be aware of the alpine species like P.newberryi and P.procerus, and of a few rather understated but dependable prairie perennials like P.smallii and P.digitalis Husker Red.
Very few gardeners realise that this is just the start. There are, I understand, over 250 different species of Penstemon, and when I say 'different' I mean different. They vary from rosette-forming herbaceous perennials, to some quite sizeable sub-shrubs to some exquisite jewel-like miniatures. The flowers come in a remarkable array of shapes and sizes and colours but they do a particularly fine line in clear blues and reds. But instead of trying to describe them I can do no better than point you at this gallery I put together on Flickr.

All but one come from North America but they range from Guatemala in the South to Alaska and The Yukon in the north, and from coast to coast. The largest diversity and the most striking plants come from the drier parts of the west, from the deserts of Arizona and Utah up into the Rockies. Most of these are long-lived perennials and put up with far colder winters even in Colorado and Utah than we ever see here in the UK so the first question people normally ask about any new Penstemon - 'is it frost hardy?' is not an issue. These species do however get much more summer heat than we do, and drier winters. Think Sage Brush and Pinyon, Saguaro and Agave, The Grand Canyon and The High Chapparal, cowboys, gold prospectors and dinosaur hunters.

This doesn't sound very encouraging for British gardeners and yet we do grow plants from this area unprotected outdoors, including species of Salvia, Agastache, Phlox, Asclepias, Amsonia and Agave, and at least two red flowered Penstemon - barbatus and pinifolius are easily available in several forms. What they will undoubtedly require is as much sun as you can possibly provide and a very well drained soil - possibly some sort of south-facing bank or raised bed. This should be excellent news for anyone trying to garden on impoverished sands and gravels. Anyone who laments that their soil needs constant feeding and watering should try growing some Penstemon species.
But I suspect that this group will be of most interest to the collector and the plants-person - anyone fascinated by rare bulbs, woodlanders and alpines. Anyone who has lusted after the exquisite Sino-Himalayan Gentians, Lilies, Primulas and Meconopsis that grow so well in Scotland, but who has failed with them because it's just too damn hot and dry down here in the south, has a huge genus of at least equal fabulousness to play with right here. For us in the south and east I think they could be The Next Big Thing, in much the same way as Fritillaries and Euphorbias were when Beth Chatto first got started with her nursery. I've not tried them on chalk, but alkaline soils are not at all uncommon in their home ranges and there's no reason to assume that at least some of them won't grow there.

Penstemon albertinus
Many other good species grow in less rigorous habitats including woodlands and wetlands and the fact of the matter is that there are probably species for everybody. Those from the Pacific coast are likely to be less cold tolerant but happier with winter damp (I include here the more shrubby Keckiellas). The most adaptable species where damp is concerned will be those from woodlands at mid to high altitudes such as P.humilis and P.procerus and their relatives. The eastern species like P.digitalis and P.smallii mentioned above are very undemanding but also the least interesting, in my opinion at least.

Buying species Penstemon plants or seed, at least in the UK, can be a bit of a lucky dip. I've had all sorts of things come under bogus identities from otherwise reputable nurseries. The situation is not helped by the fact that contributors to at least two well known society seed exchanges are packaging up the seed of one relatively unremarkable species (P.serrulatus) under several labels. I can't imagine how this could have happened by accident so shame on them. They know who they are...
My plants are, to the best of my ability, correctly identified using Robert Nold's excellent book and various reputable internet sources. Where I'm not sure I will say so.
I will be adding entries over the next few days for the species I have ready on the nursery at the moment. Rest assured there are a great many more 'in the pipeline'.

Gentiana paradoxa

2011-05-01T13:02:00.000-07:00

A rather lovely and rarely seen late summer and autumn flowering species. The elegant blue flowers appear at the tips of a cluster of upright 6 inch stems. The narrow leaves typically turn yellowish toward the end of the season making a very pleasing combination.

This is not one of the normal Asiatic autumn flowering gentians. This one comes from the Caucasus and does not require acid soil. In fact, despite warnings to the contrary, I have found this an easy going species for rock gardens and troughs on a well drained but not too dry soil.

9cm square pots £4

Jasminum fruticans

2011-05-01T09:51:00.000-07:00

A terrific little shrub with fresh yellow (unscented) flowers in summer and neat little pinnate leaves. Makes a twiggy bush not more than three feet high here.
Easy in any sunny spot in the garden where it won't be overwhelmed by boisterous neighbours.
I have no idea why this is not very popular indeed.
1L pots £5

Veronica cinerea

2011-04-29T07:15:00.001-07:00

Looking very like a small lavender with spikes of dark purple veronica flowers in early summer. Can be trimmed in late summer to form a very low hedge (excellent in knot gardens) or allowed to ramble over sunny banks. Perfectly hardy on our heavy soil here.

1L pots £4

Molopospermum peloponnesiacum

2011-04-29T07:09:00.000-07:00

What a brilliant name!

A very good-looking medium sized umbellifer with jagged cut glossy green foliage and creamy umbells turning lime green - a very nice contrast. Absolutely not at all "yet another bloody hog-weed" and not even slightly coarse or invasive. Although southern European in origin this plant is best kept not too hot or dry.

1L pots £5

Codonopsis lanceolata

2011-04-07T00:39:00.001-07:00

Rather like a climbing Fritillary is how I'd describe these unusual herbaceous vines. The flowers have the same bell-shape and a similar green and maroon colour scheme, though without the chequering. The markings are just as interesting however.

Often recommended for woodland conditions but adaptable to a variety of rich and not too dry soils where the vine can grow up through shrubs into the light.
Watch out for slugs early on.
To 6ft tall. Flowering late summer /autumn

1L pots £5

Geranium incanum

2011-03-11T01:02:00.000-08:00

Like a very up-market South African relative of our native G.sanguineum - with flowers of an intense (though not garish) violet magenta in midsummer and finely cut green foliage. Worth having even out of flower as the undersides to the leaves and the buds have a very classy silvery sheen to them. (The name - 'incanum' usually indicates a metallic silvery effect.)

A low, spreading (but not invasive) species, looking its best in rather hot dry conditions, but happy in any well-drained sunny site. Good for raised beds and an excellent accompaniment for other South Africans such as Agapanthus or Dierama that can look messy at the base. The stock plant has come unprotected through the last few winters not only alive but evergreen.
3in square pots £3

Season's Plantings

2010-12-24T06:03:00.000-08:00

I know it's been a while since I posted just for the fun of it (as opposed to trying to sell you something), I think it's about time though, and an opportunity to wish all my customers A Great Christmas and an Excellent New Year.
The main nursery news is that I'm on the look out for a patch of land to rent to expand the nursery onto. Already I've outgrown the space I have (basically a suburban garden). The greenhouse bench has over fifty new pots of seeds already and if even only a small fraction germinate I have no idea where I'll put all the babies. Of course, I'm hoping that a large fraction will live so that's even more of a problem. At the moment much of my stock is protected in a polytunnel at Stonepit nurseries near here in Henfield (thanks Neil). He grows mostly summer bedding so his tunnels are largely empty at the moment, but come the spring....
Perhaps you could help me find a place. It'll need to be very close to home so I can get over there regularly, and since most of you are not local you won't be able to help with that - but do any of you know how one might go about locating local landowners who might be interested? I have a few in mind that I'll visit in the new year. I reckon I'll need not more than an acre, at least initially, somewhere reasonably easy to find and pleasant for customers to visit. It needs to be open and sunny (more so than here) and suitable for building display beds and benches (plus of course the poly tunnel and a potting shed), and it needs to be for at least five years. Anyway, any advice would be very gratefully received.

So 'What's in the pots?' is what you really want to know. What's new for 2011? Well hopefully a whole lot of stuff you won't have heard of. The internet is a wonderful thing for locating obscure items that no one else is offering. I've had seed sent from all over the world, but mostly the USA, including from a couple of botanically minded friends I met on Flickr who've sent me exciting things from California. There is of course something of a risk in that the plants are not thoroughly tried and tested in the UK, but that's half the fun. Gardeners all over the UK have been very adventurous of late - trying out all manner of 'hardy exotics' and succeeding with a surprising number even through the last three winters. I'm a huge fan of the Correas - an Australian group that flowers at this time of year and has proven remarkably tough. On the left there is C.Marian's Marvel. This and others should be available later on in the year. Another Australian, Grevillea victoriae is also flowering well in it's pot in the open at the moment, and has been since October despite snow and frost. I hope to be able to offer some later in the year.
Most of the new things will be spring and summer flowering though. I'm trying out a whole lot of species from the mid-western USA at the moment - in particular the wild species of Penstemon - a hugely neglected genus of over 250 species varying from tiny cushion forming alpine and desert plants to some quite substantial shrubs. Most are very cold tolerant (unlike the well known bedding hybrids) and in a stunning array of exciting flower colour and form including clear azure and lapis lazuli (always sought-after colours in the garden.) Most need a very sunny, freely drained site which makes them ideal for gardens on chalk or sand or gravel and especially in the south and east. It's been something of a fashion of late for nurseries to specialise in plants for cool, moist, shady conditions - Tricyrtis, Deinanthe, Anemonopsis - to name but a few - all excellent plants, but sometimes difficult to grow well in this part of the country. If you don't have a dry sunny garden, species Penstemon are excellent in raised beds and pots, but for people with a parched impoverished border where 'nothing much will grow' they should definitely be considered. Anybody who's into the hardier American Salvia or Agave should have no trouble.
In a similar vein I've also been working with Asclepias - another little-grown North American group, often from the same habitats. The appeal is less obvious perhaps but for those who appreciate something a little different they are well worth a look.
Besides these I'll be offering an increasing range of choice shrubs, climbers and perennials, almost all chosen because hardly anyone else offers them, and I'll be revealing them in this blog as they become available through the year.
Anyway folks - thanks for your custom and hope to hear from you again.
Take care on the ice and have a very merry time.

Steve

A couple of shrubs

2010-09-15T02:30:00.001-07:00

4L pots £7 (too big to post)

Psoralea glandulosa

A willowy Chilean shrub with soft green foliage and spikes of violet flowers toward the tips of the stems in summer. Potentially quite tall but often dying down in winter as with some Fuchsias. Somewhat experimental in UK gardens but proving surprisingly hardy in the south east and in a sunny sheltered spot.

Popular as a vegetable apparently in it's home land. Can any of you enlighten me as to how?

1.5L pots £5

A couple of climbers

2010-09-15T02:14:00.001-07:00

Actinidia tetramera maloides, originally uploaded by peganum.

Actinidia tetramera maloides (previously sold as A.pilosula)
A gorgeous climber - similar to the familiar A.kolomikta but with narrower, more richly coloured foliage. The rosy white blotched leaves act as coloured bracts - drawing pollinators to the small pink (but very pretty) flowers hidden among them.
Adaptable and vigorous.

Young plants in 1L pots £5

Schizophragma hydrangeoides Moonlight
Anyone who wants a climbing hydrangea should seriously consider the Schizophragmas as an alternative to the common H.petiolaris. They have all the advantages of the Hydrangea (self-clinging, shade tolerant) but in my opinion with better foliage and flowers. Moonlight is the deservedly popular silvery variegated form.
Young plants in 1L pots £5

Keckiella

2010-09-06T03:11:00.000-07:00

Another one to experiment with in the hottest driest sites - Keckiella are a group of shrubs closely related to Penstemon and come from seasonally dry areas of the western USA. (The same part of the world as Romneya, Fremontodendron and Zauschneria.)
Thanks to Dennis Carvalho in California for the seed.

Photo by Dennis Carvalho

Keckiella antirrhinoides
Plentiful pale yellow flowers appear in early summer on arching wiry stems with small rounded green leaves - rather reminiscent of Lonicera nitida out of flower.
Potentially very pretty indeed but new to me here and very experimental.
1L pots £5

Keckiella cordifolia
Much better established in cultivation in the UK, this species is similar to K.ternata but with broader (cordate) foliage and needs exactly the same conditions. We have here the results of two collections. Not sure yet how different they'll be. Flower colour seems to vary from dark red through dusky orange so probably best to come and see which one you like best.
10cm pots ~ £3

Keckiella ternata
An arching evergreen sub-shrub with tubular scarlet flowers (rather like some of the tropical Columnea if that makes it any easier to imagine.) As with K.antirrhinoides, largely untried here, but sunny, sheltered, very well-drained sites are recommended, and possibly near the sea too.
10cm pots ~ £3

Monarda bradburiana

2010-09-02T01:56:00.000-07:00

Monarda bradburiana
A very classy bee-balm - just as easy and adaptable as the better known didyma types but with flowers of a soft rosy pink, framed by rich maroon tinged calyces and bracts. A very striking combo.

2L pots £4

Magnolia wilsonii

2010-08-25T10:55:00.000-07:00

With nodding flowers in early summer and attractive fresh green foliage this is an ideal small tree/large shrub for light woodland or to mix with other woodlanders such as Acer and Euonymus.
Very interesting fruits too.

Like most Magnolias it will need a deep, moist and fertile situation but does not require lime-free soil.

2L pots £7

Helianthus mollis

2010-08-25T10:26:00.001-07:00

I've never really been into the perennial sunflowers (Jerusalem artichokes are a typical example), which I'd have previously dismissed completely as coarse and garish. Lately though I've come to appreciate them more and more, just for their sheer exuberance and sunniness.
The ashy sunflower is a case in point. The foliage is of good quality and complements the soft golden yellow flowers, which are produced over a long season in late summer and autumn.
Any rich soil in sun.
2L pots £6

I also have H.atrorubens available in the old fashioned way (as large divisions straight from the garden) in late winter/spring.
This is essentially a refined form of Jerusalem artichoke - the black stems make all the difference!
£5

Alangium platanifolium

2010-08-25T00:59:00.001-07:00

Another collector's item perhaps. This rare small deciduous tree or large shrub is grown both for its striking foliage (something between a plane tree and a tulip tree) and the flowers, which are individually quite small but very nicely made. They have been described as resembling little white martagon lilies.

Hardy but growing and flowering best in a warm spot on a moist fertile soil.

3L pots £9

Iris confusa

2010-08-25T00:47:00.001-07:00

Iris confusa, originally uploaded by xerantheum.

One of the peculiar evergreen 'shrubby' irises - that is, the usual iris fans of foliage develop at the top of green bamboo-like stems up to 18ins off the ground. The frilly mauve flowers appear on further stems above in spring and may be followed by further fans of leaves. The total effect is quite exotic and somewhat orchid-like.
These plants are cuttings from a colony growing vigorously in dry shade in a local garden and have been unaffected by the recent harder winters.

1.5L pots £5

Dictamnus albus

2010-08-24T01:28:00.000-07:00

The pure white form of this magnificent and exotic looking (and yet totally hardy) herbaceous perennial. A sturdy and long lived plant on any soil that is not too wet or in too much shade. Besides the showy flowers and luxuriant foliage, the entire plant is highly aromatic - a mix of citrus (to which it is related) and maybe coriander or basil - anyway, a flavour that wouldn't be out of place in a Thai curry. The developing fruits are especially pungent but please be aware that (as with Rue, to which it is also related) brushing up against the fruits in hot weather can cause blistering of the skin. Maybe grow it away from the path - just in case. Apparently you can set light to the fumes on hot, still days. I've not tried it.
1L pots £4

Iris odaesanensis

2010-08-24T00:54:00.001-07:00

Iris odaesanensis, originally uploaded by 理性的疯狂.

A gorgeous little Iris from Korea forming dense tussocks of narrow dark green foliage with perfectly formed miniature white Iris flowers on short stems above. Adaptable but best on moist woodsy soil with perhaps a little shade. Should be very frost hardy (zone 5 or less)
4in square pots £4

Sophora davidii & flavescens

2010-08-09T06:03:00.001-07:00

Sophora davidii, originally uploaded by peganum.

A very lovely medium sized evergreen shrub with fresh green pinnate foliage and white flowers tinted dark violet. The more vigorous stems are also dark violet and can be a feature in winter. The seed pods too are a bit unusual.
Adaptable and easy in any well drained sunny site.

1L pots £5

Salix lanata

2010-08-09T06:00:00.001-07:00

Salix lanata, originally uploaded by peganum.

Another excellent small to medium sized shrub and unusual in that most plants with silvery or glaucous leaves prefer dry conditions. Our native woolly willow however, like most willows, thrives in heavy and wet soils and does not mind some shade (though more silvery and compact in sun.)
Be aware though that this is not one of the miniature 'alpine' species and can grow to three or four feet tall and twice that across.
For any soil that does not dry out too much, in sun or semi shade.

1L pots £4

Iris (aka Pardanthopsis) dichotoma

2010-08-09T05:51:00.001-07:00

Pardanthopsis dichotoma, originally uploaded by peganum.

A lovely slender species, to about 18ins tall with just a modest fan of glaucous leaves at the base. The flowers pictured here are about an inch and a half across, and unusual for an Iris in appearing late in the summer. Each flower only lasts a day but they appear in succession over a long period.
For any well drained soil in sun.

3in square pots £4

Hydrangea involucrata

2010-08-09T05:34:00.001-07:00

Hydrangea involucrata, originally uploaded by peganum.

Why doesn't everyone grow this? A reliably neat dwarf Hydrangea with dense heads of mauve flowers (with a few white 'lacecap' florets surrounding) and plush foliage.
Best in shade or humid conditions and mustn't dry out at the roots.

1.5L pots £6

Euptelea polyandra

2010-08-09T05:23:00.001-07:00

Euptelea polyandra, originally uploaded by peganum.

Something of a collector's item perhaps - the two species of Euptelea are unusual hardy deciduous small trees or large shrubs (to about 5m), somewhat reminiscent of a Parrotia perhaps but not closely related to them or to anything else for that matter. The flowers are a dusky reddish colour with prominent anthers but are more curious than striking and this is one of those trees (like Zelkova, Nyssa, Cercidiphyllum or Parrotia for example) grown more for foliage effect and overall form.
Adaptable in sun or semi shade. I've not tried it on chalk, but I've no reason to think it would object as long as not too dry.

1L pots £6

Silene zawadskii

2010-08-09T05:10:00.001-07:00

If you have ever admired the fresh white blooms of the white campion but wished it wasn't quite so weedy this might be the answer. This 'alpine' version is very neat and adaptable.

3in pots £3

Lychnis coronata sieboldii

2010-07-05T06:05:00.001-07:00

Lychnis coronata sieboldii, originally uploaded by peganum.

Unexpectedly large (2in) salmon orange flowers over a long period in summer. A Japanese relative of our native red campion, and just as easy to grow in sunny borders or semi shade - anywhere as long as not too dry.

1L pots £3

Please please please, may I humbly request that you check with me that the plants you require are in stock before you order? Otherwise we'll have to arrange refunds.

Thank you so much.

Hypericum aegypticum & reptans

2010-06-29T02:38:00.001-07:00

Hypericum have something of a reputation for being rather nondescript shrubs, suitable only for unimaginative municipal plantings. There are quite a few very choice miniatures though. Here's a couple of them.

Hypericum aegypticum
A terrific little shrub for a hot dry spot, looking perhaps more like one of the shrubby Linums than a Hypericum.

Bear in mind that it stays very small (just a few inches across) so avoid invasive companions, but otherwise ideal for a sunny raised bed or a trough with other Mediterranean sun-lovers.
My plants have come through the last two winters unprotected here in Sussex without difficulty.

10cm pots £4

Hypericum reptans

Another very small species, this time creeping over the ground like a thyme. The flowers though are more like the more familiar shrubby species - rich golden bowls and quite substantial for such a tiny plant.
Fully hardy and suitable for any open sunny well-drained spot with other small plants.
10cm pots £4

Please please please, may I humbly request that you check with me that the plants you require are in stock before you order? Otherwise we'll have to arrange refunds.

Thank you so much.

Viburnum henryi

2010-06-29T02:13:00.001-07:00

Viburnum henryi, originally uploaded by peganum.

Among the very best of a large genus full of excellent plants. This one has well textured foliage that, although evergreen, turns unusual warm fawn/maroon shades in winter, tinted red and with a pale midrib. There are also creamy flowers in summer and berries turning translucent red to bloomy black in autumn.

Large and spreading. Suitable for most ordinary garden situations but especially good on chalk.
5L pots £10
Too big to post - for collection from the nursery only.

Buddleia lindleyana

2010-06-21T08:20:00.001-07:00

A very striking and relatively small species (to 5ft tall or so), and not at all what you might expect a Buddleia to look like. The rich purple flowers are tubular and have a waxy bloom to them which gives a particularly richly coloured effect and are produced over a long period in summer.

2L pots ~ £5

Salix myrtilloides Pink Tassels

2010-06-21T05:37:00.001-07:00

Salix myrtilloides Pink Tassels, originally uploaded by peganum.

A remarkable little alpine willow with shimmering mauve pink catkins in spring and periodically through the summer.
Forms a low, gnarly shrublet as many dwarf willows do, probably covering a sizeable area eventually, but not to the extent of smothering other things. I'd recommend growing it with other robust alpines like dwarf geraniums, Dryas or thymes and with small bulbs coming up through it. So far very adaptable and not bothered by drought but probably better on a moist gritty 'alpine' sort of soil, in a raised bed or rock garden.
10cm square pots £3

Chaos theory

2010-06-08T03:08:00.001-07:00

I had someone the other day come and tell me that they sympathised with my not having the time to keep my garden in good order. She liked the flowers and was not unappreciative of the foliage but said that her garden was a bit of a mess by June too. She didn't know what to do about it.

I didn't know what to say. I'm one of these very English people who politely seethes inwardly. Another time, last year I think, I had someone out the back tell me how much he liked the flowers but that it was a pity they were "mixed in with all these weeds".
"Mess"? "Weeds"?
'I'll have you know (I should have said) there's nothing in this garden that isn't supposed to be there. This is what it's supposed to look like.'
I'm not sure they'd have believed me. For some, tidiness is beauty, and beauty is neat.

I've been lucky with this garden. The estate we live on was built on fields, and with the exception of a few annual arable weeds, there's none of the usual pestilential species - no ground elder, no bindweed, and (heaven forbid) no mare's tail. We get whatever floats in on the breeze - dandelions and willow herb of course and in May a deluge of willow but by and large they're easy to pull up. I also inadvertantly introduced a species of Impatiens with little yellow flowers that made a ground cover of it's seedlings last year, and the white form of Herb Robert, which is extremely pretty, and which, if you buy plants from me, will likely turn up as a freebie in the pot. They're both very easy to pull up and frankly no real trouble at all. Bitter cress I have to keep an eye on, and there was literally a carpet of seedlings where the goldfinches had discarded the niger seeds last year. I don't buy them any more and the goldfinches are just as happy (there's two fledglings on the feeder as I write). In fact the sheer quantity of seedlings suggests they were chucking them all on the ground to get at the real sunflower seeds.

Anyway, the point I wanted to make was that this is how I planned the garden. This is what it's supposed to look like.
I thought I might try to explain here what's going on.
First up - I've always known about the value of ground cover and mulch. My Grandad's traditional view of the border with an expanse of freshly turned earth surrounding each Dahlia or Lupin is just not for me. Weeds love freshly turned earth, and removing them is time-consuming and damages the roots of your plants. On the other hand there's no way I'll be replacing a lot of indiginous weeds with a lot of introduced weeds (Rose of Sharon, Greater Periwinkle etc.) The point is to cover the soil with nice things, not just any old thing that will spread.
Secondly, I've never been very impressed with the whole 'massed planting' ethos - big banks of this, broad swathes of that. I know this school of garden design has been the orthodoxy up until very recently and probably still is for many. I find the effect can be a bit heavy and dull but, apart from anything, I like way too many plants and have far too little space to give anything that amount of room. The other extreme - small numbers of lots of different things has been described as 'dotty' and we all know what that looks like. I'll come back to how I think I've avoided that later.

Thirdly, and on a more positive note ~ Ecology. What I am trying to do here is grow plants that look right together and, of course, that like the same conditions. The two tend to go together in my opinion. I have an early exposure to the work of Beth Chatto to thank for that, that and a love of the local countryside and other wild habitats I've seen elsewhere on my travels.

For example, the photo above of the lower part of the shady side of the garden is quite deliberately reminicent of a woodland edge. It could be anywhere from Liijiang to the Ozarks to Sussex (I'm no purist) but the idea is to recreate something of the lushness and variety you see in such places. There's the influence of 'wildlife gardening' here of course, and I have no problem with including natives - lots of proper English Bluebells (none of your Spanish), Wood Anemone, Cardamine and Violets, but I can't imagine wanting a garden devoted to nothing but natives. My aim here has been to create something that is reminiscent of the local hedgerows, only more so.

Fourth and finally, behind this tangled bank is a more shaded area with a wide variety of woody plants. Purists would no doubt prefer me to give each species more space but that is not how nature does it. In the wild, on recently wooded ground large numbers of different species (Acer, Sorbus, Asimina, Cornus, Magnolia, Euonymus etc etc) vie for space and light and the effect is a complex tapestry of foliage, form and flower (and fruit). No doubt my Acer japonicum would look stunning as an isolated specimen in a lawn but I don't have space for that (and I don't have a lawn.) Somewhere in Philips & Rix's book on shrubs (p.259) is a picture of a woodland edge in Japan - a mass of different shrubs and small trees in their autumn finery and all coexisting. It may be that some forest giant will eventually arise and shade the rest out but not just yet ~ not in my time anyway.
Underneath, and this is the key, is an understorey of bulbs and woodland herbs (Cyclamen, Snowdrops, Hellebores, you know the kind of thing) that appear briefly between autumn and spring and then disappear behind the bank of herbaceous perennials and the canopy of the woody plants. Understanding how to use the seasons to use the same bit of garden several times is crucial.
Of course the other bit of crucial know-how is matching the vigour of the various plants. I find, on further enquiry, that the thing that disturbs most people looking at my style of gardening, is that it will all 'get out of hand', that something will 'take over'. This is the trick, and it's not an easy one to learn. I claim no special expertise - just three decades of trial and error, observation and research. You have to think about how things are likely to behave. You have to know which things are likely to grow quickly and swamp others, and which things are likely to get swamped. Some things tolerate more competition than others, slowly biding their time in the shade of other, bigger things to emerge in the Autumn when other things die down (evergreen ferns and shade tolerant shrubs like Sarcococca for example.) You can use climbers to enliven early flowering shrubs (and even sprawl through early flowering perennials) but you'll need to know which ones will grow nicely through other things (Clematis alpina or viticella varieties for example) as opposed to covering everything completely (C.montana or armandii for instance.) I know that, of the shrubs I've planted in my thicket, the Weigela coraeenesis is a bit of a thug (4ft of arching shoots by mid summer) but that it can be cut back hard after flowering in July or August. The Asimina on the hand is slowly and steadily making a small tree at the back and will hopefully eventually emerge and flower for me.

There's always a certain amount of tinkering goes on. I misjudge things all the time. Some Anemones out the front come up later and need longer in the spring than I expected and get covered too soon by Geraniums. I'll need to move them. The Thalictrum rochebrunianum, unlike its hybrid, Elin, cannot cope with the competition from the roots of the Pagoda Tree so I've had to move it to a wetter patch. Impatiens arguta, after a magnificent display last year in the shady raised bed has completely failed to compete with the surrounding ferns this year, but I have cuttings and I'll try it elsewhere. Competition and coexistence among plants, both above ground for the light, and below, for root-space are essential concerns.

So that's it really - diversity, competition, coexistence, ecology. I think ultimately it's about trusting the plants to do what they do and not interfering too much.

Now if I could only be bothered to cut the damn grass. That'd be something.

Silene asterias

2010-06-06T12:23:00.001-07:00

Silene asterias, originally uploaded by peganum.

A lovely little Bulgarian species unlike any of the other Silene in cultivation that I'm aware of. This has tiny flowers massed into thrift-like heads well above the rosettes of fresh green leaves.
The combination of vivid pink (what colour is that? carmine?) flowers in dark wine red bracts and the violet anthers is extremely striking. The foliage is good too.
In cultivation it is an easy and adaptable species suitable for any moisture retentive soil but is particularly useful for wet sites where something smaller is required.
£3

Please please please, may I humbly request that you check with me that the plants you require are in stock before you order? Otherwise we'll have to arrange refunds.

Thank you so much.

Gelsemium sempervirens

2010-05-21T01:15:00.001-07:00

The Carolina Jessamine - a gorgeous small evergreen climber from the southern states, and lightly built so not too overwhelming in small spaces.

The parent plant has come through the last two winters in Sussex with little frost damage but it needs a combination of summer heat and a moist fertile soil that is not always easily achieved under a south-facing wall. A west facing wall and a rich soil are therefore recommended, possibly with supplementary watering during dry spells. An excellent choice for a large container or unheated greenhouse in colder areas.

4.5L pots £9
1L pots £5

Aquilegia rockii

2010-05-21T01:06:00.000-07:00

A small Asiatic species, with flowers of a deep wine purple with a distinct buff interior, but, as usual with Aquilegias, variable. The foliage is strikingly edged black.

Easy in any soil that doesn't completely dry out but avoid overly aggressive neighbours. 4in pots £3

Happy Potlings!

2010-05-10T07:44:00.001-07:00

Happy potlings, originally uploaded by peganum.

Being somewhat new to this business, the novelty of having a greenhouse full of babies hasn't worn-off yet. It's extremely exciting.
Until last year I'd only raised a few items here and there for fun or if I needed something specific for a garden. I'd done some courses (one especially good one at Armidale tech, NSW) and paid close attention to what other nurseries did. I raised my plants as well as I could (and often ended up with a lot more than I knew what to do with) but I never really had to develop what you might call a production system before. It's what's known as a steep learning curve.

I'm obviously reluctant to give away trade secrets - a customer asked me recently where I got my seeds from and I said something vague about the internet, but the fact is that the internet has been absolutely indispensible, both for hunting out likely looking species that are not easily available over here in the UK, and for finding people to sell me the seeds. In the process I've also made a few friends.

So, what have I learned in the last twelve months?
Vigilance - that's one thing. Neighbours might have a spotted me in slippers, PJs and fleece, with a torch, prowling about out here, periodically dropping something on the path and squishing it into oblivion. I make no excuse for this. For whatever reason the local pest control team (hedgehogs, slow worms, toads) are not doing their job and I have to step in and thin the slimy hoard. It's become a nightly ritual although the period spent at said ritual has decreased lately as the new shoots firm up and the slugs amuse themselves elsewhere.

Making more space is the other thing. Not for nothing is this blog called Far Too Many Plants. I've no idea where I'm going to put it all. The original idea with the 12 x 8 greenhouse my wife very kindly bought me a few years back was to keep half with benches for growing my weird and rare plants, and half with borders filled with compost for growing tomatoes and basil and such like. That was before I decided to try to run a nursery. As a consequence, all last winter my newly potted cuttings sat in blue mushroom crates on top of the compost - horribly vulnerable and intolerably risky with freshly pricked seedlings. I just couldn't see the slugs coming at all. So this last couple of weeks I've been out with the timber and the hammer and the expletives, building new benches. It all looks very neat but I still don't know where I'm going to put everything...

What else? More sand in the compost (at least for young plants and dry climate plants) keeps it more open and drained for longer, and to try not to prick out more than one seedling per pot. This I have trouble with. I'm too soft. I hate throwing seedlings out when they've gone to all that trouble coming up for me and I've tended to put two or three in each pot (as insurance, in case one dies, ha ha.) You can do this with some species. The seedlings either coexist or there's a certain amount of 'self-thinning' as I believe the foresters call it, meaning that the weaker seedlings get out-competed by the stronger and disappear. In the worst case scenario though, all survive but none thrive. Stanleya pinnata and Penstemon palmeri I think suffered this way last year.

Another punishing winter took it's toll but much less so than last year. The greenhouse was minimally heated and fleeced (see article) so it didn't drop below -5C but limited space meant some relatively young plants had to sit outside. I chose only those that I believed to be fully hardy but, like I say, it's a steep learning curve. Plants aren't necessarily killed by the cold per se, but, if they're sick or weak for some reason (or too small), winter is when this'll catch up with them. All the Hibiscus made it through by the way, in their pots, out in all weathers, as did Senna hebecarpa - my most experimental new items. All the Desmodium and Asclepias, Colquhounia and Caryopteris divaricata made it. Those that didn't make it include Nepeta govaniana, Spigelia marilandica and Atropa belladonna. All sizable plants, and I'd have thought, pretty hardy. Strange.

Anyway, there's lots of exciting new things coming along.
As soon as they're ready you will, of course, be the first to know.

Happy Spring to all our customers.

Salvia Amber

2010-04-26T00:30:00.001-07:00

Salvia Amber, originally uploaded by peganum.

A herbaceous plant forming a strong cluster of rich green deeply textured triangular leaves at the base in spring and 4ft tall branching stems of yellow flowers with brown lips over a long period in summer.
An interesting hybrid involving the rather coarse but wonderfully named Jupiter's Distaff (what is a distaff when it's at home?), Salvia glutinosa from eastern Europe and the Chinese species, S.flava megalantha. It's much more refined than the former and much easier to grow than the latter.
For a sunny spot on well-drained soil.
1L pots £5

Lathyrus vernus narrow leaved pink form

2010-04-14T02:38:00.001-07:00

An extremely pretty version of an invariably lovely species.

L.vernus, unlike many species in this genus is a neat little woodlander, flowering early (and stepping into the background once finished) and suitable for all sorts of conditions as long as not too dry or in too deep shade.
3in square pots £3

Rhaphiolepis umbellata

2010-04-06T00:37:00.001-07:00

A compact evergreen of medium size (up to about 4ft high and a bit more across) with thick, leathery, somewhat scurfy dark green foliage, rosy white flowers in mid summer and bloomy black fruits later on.

Rhaphiolepis are unusual in being mainly subtropical members of the rosaceae (a mainly temperate group) and they stay most compact, and flower and fruit best in rather hot and fairly dry conditions.
R.umbellata is probably the hardiest (undamaged outside in their pots through the last two winters) and is tolerant of some shade and salty wind. It can confidently be added to the list of reliable and adaptable evergreens that includes Skimmia, Choisya and Viburnum davidii.
2L pot £5

Euphorbia myrsinites red tinted form

2010-04-03T01:38:00.001-07:00

Euphorbia myrsinites red form, originally uploaded by peganum.

Subtly but distinctly different from the normal yellow form (see below for comparison) these are seedlings of a plant originally bought from the sadly defunct Washfield's nursery.

Considered a rather tender species when I first began gardening @*% years ago, in fact, despite coming from Greece it requires only a well drained sunny spot in order to thrive. Very good on poor chalky soils.

1L pots £4

Arthropodiums

2010-03-22T10:01:00.001-07:00

Arthropodium milleflorum

A very pretty and understated plant found growing among the grasses and other herbs under Eucalypts over large parts of south-eastern Australia, where it is very adaptable.

In the UK it will be less adaptable (shade in England is not like shade in New South Wales) but given a well drained soil and sun or light shade it is quite hardy and the delicate mauve flowers on tall, slender arching stems (to 3ft high) give a fresh, light effect in the border. 1L pot £5

Please please please, may I humbly request that you check with me that the plants you require are in stock before you order? Otherwise we'll have to arrange refunds.

Thank you so much.

Arthropodium candidum maculatum

A more familiar plant in European gardens, this is a tiny New Zealand version of the above. The overall effect is of a small grassy tuft with tiny white flowers on short thread-like stems. The foliage though, as with so many New Zealanders, is the real feature, being a rather cryptic mottled coffee brown.
Intriguingly pretty, but grow it in a trough or raised bed or you'll forget it's there.
3in pot £3

Primula florindae

2010-01-24T11:47:00.001-08:00

The ones I have here came from HPS seed and vary in colour from the more 'typical' soft yellow to some very lovely orangeish shades, all liberally dusted with 'farina' (the white powder many primulas produce) and all extremely sweetly scented, filling the garden with fragrance over a long period in early summer.
These have done well without a bog garden, on a heavy clay with only the hose dripping nearby when I do the watering
Please specify which colour you would prefer
1L pots £3

Please please please, may I humbly request that you check with me that the plants you require are in stock before you order? Otherwise we'll have to arrange refunds.
Thank you so much.

Trollius europaeus

2010-01-24T11:39:00.001-08:00

A lovely native species, ideal for any damp or waterlogged soil in sun or part shade. I've also however seen good plants only a little smaller than usual in a garden in Kingston near Lewes under some apple trees where the soil was rather dry and chalky, so a surprisingly adaptable species in fact.

Another neat, non-invasive plant for the water garden.
1 L pots £3

Please please please, may I humbly request that you check with me that the plants you require are in stock before you order? Otherwise we'll have to arrange refunds.

Thank you so much.

Nurseries vs Garden Centres

2010-01-16T08:04:00.000-08:00

It's a bit late now but I was very sorry to see that one of my favourite nurseries closed down last year, or rather, they were taken over by one of the big chains (clue: it rhymes with 'why sales'.)
It was a sad day for me because it was a place we used to go when my dad was alive and they had a nice tea shop and a very unusual selection of indoor plants (rare species Begonias for example. Evidently someone who worked there was an enthusiast.)

It was an unusual place actually in that it had a lot in common with what we know as garden centres (a lot of garden ornaments, composts and sundries and the tea shop) but it was independently owned (not part of a chain) and probably as a result of this it had a quirky character and an idiosyncratic selection of plants on sale, many of them produced on site and not too expensive. When it was bought out, the oddities disappeared, the place was 'tidied up' and the prices rose by, I'd say, about 50% (£6.99 rose to £10.99 for a shrub for example. So much for economies of scale.)
Of course, most punters won't know the difference. They go to a garden centre of a Sunday not to pick up a rare Begonia but to peruse the wax cotton jackets, drink a cappachino to a 'Celtic Chill' soundtrack, and maybe take auntie Maude an azalea for her birthday. It's a nice day out.
So why, besides the nostalgia, does it bother me so much that this take-over happened? After all, the public get what they want don't they? The owners were presumably offered a fairly hefty incentive. Probably they retired on the proceeds.

I like that film, The Devil Wears Prada. Besides seeing Anne Hathaway running around in that green dress, I especially like that bit where the Meryl Streep character explains to the Anne Hathaway character that the clothes she wears are not merely stuff (I love the way she says that - 'stuff'.) No - high street fashions are the end result of a tremendous effort involving designers and fashion houses, selecting one colour over many other almost identical ones, cutting the shape just so, presenting it on the catwalks in Paris so that it will eventually end up in the local chain store so that we can buy it.

I know nothing about that world. Haute couture is a mystery to me. I'm an ordinary clothes wearer. I buy what I can find reasonably easily in the highstreet (or at the army surplus) if it seems to fit and will do the job and I can afford it. I'm not an expert. Life's too short. You can't be an expert in everything (or many things actually). There are people out there who really love and know about clothes and I have to trust them to provide me with things that will look ok and not fall apart immediately from the vast array of clothes that are produced, or could be produced in the world.

Most people who go to a garden centre are like me in H&M. They may even consider themselves keen gardeners. They no doubt buy the odd copy of Gardener's World, watch Titchmarsh on the telly from time to time, own a copy of the RHS Encyclopedia of Garden Plants. Many may know the names of most of the plants in their garden and a few others besides. They may be members of the RHS or NT. They're ordinary gardeners and quite right too. As I say, life's too short. They can't be an expert in everything and they have to trust the garden centre staff to provide them with plants that will grow well and look good from among the vast array of plants that are grown, or could be grown all over the world.

I can hear the hollow laughter from here ('Trust the staff? Hah!') but even so, I hear you say, if people want obscure Begonias, surely they can go to an obscure begonia nursery? There are plenty of specialist nurseries about. Each to his own. Live and let live, surely?

Unfortunately not. Small specialist nurseries only rarely sell only obscure and unusual plants, and generally only if they are not totally dependent on them for an income. Go to Crug farm in North Wales, renowned for being one of the finest purveyers of rare and obscure plants probably in the world, and if you look at their list you will also find pages and pages of hardy Geraniums on offer which have always been a bit of a speciality of theirs. They're probably less dependent on them now they're known all over the world but I'm fairly certain it was the Geraniums originally that gave them the freedom to offer all the obscure stuff.

For the grower, plants can be divided up into broadly two categories - those that are easy and quick to produce and those that are not. The best garden plants can be found in both groups. Many plants that are difficult to propagate are hardy and reliable once established in the garden. Now, the keen nurseryman will be trying to produce the best garden plants, probably based on his own tastes and experience. They will want to provide the best plants for their customers in the best possible state to transplant quickly and establish easily in the customer's garden. To do this they may need to talk to the customer and provide advice, even if that means discouraging them from buying something because it may disappoint. They will of course be trying to make a living at this, and one way of doing that will be to make sure they offer a range of plants in the 'quick and easy' category (eg Crug Farm's Geraniums) as well as the more awkward stuff.
The problem then with the garden centres, and the wholesalers who supply them is that they tend to cream off the 'quick and easy' plants and ignore the ones that are not (or in a few cases they may offer them as a 'speciality' or 'plantsman's' range of fashionable items with an extravagant price tag. The whole 'architectural' plants thing is the obvious example.)
Either way, the small specialist nursery, unless they are doing it for love, will be forced out of business. Live and let die, you might say.

Will the average punter even notice the loss? Highly doubtful, but the overall result is obvious - the apparent choice and variety at the garden centre masks the actual loss of diversity overall. I see it every time I go to one of these places, but then I've lived and breathed plants for the last thirty years.
Obviously which ornamental plants you can buy for your garden is not a life and death situation, but it does make me wonder about the supposed choice available in other products that I do not know so much about, such as food or clothes, finance or, for example, medicines; as the suppliers get larger in size and fewer in number.
Surely the free market is supposed to promote choice?

Fleeced

2009-12-19T08:37:00.001-08:00

Fleece, originally uploaded by peganum.

I seem to have erected a tent inside my greenhouse. I lost so many things that were supposed to be protected in the greenhouse last year that I've just lined the entire thing with fleece this year (and installed a fan-heater.)
There was the option of using bubble wrap but, besides being pricier, it also accumulates condensation and then drips, which can lead to botrytis (grey mould) on any dead, sick or weak vegetation.
Some plants from Mediterranean and subtropical climes, although potentially hardy enough might not be used to the kind of dank overcast conditions we get. If you keep them too warm they may try to grow, but without enough light and heat the new growth may be pale and weak and prone to moulds and aphids.
The fact is, winter protection of tender plants is always a balancing act between keeping just enough warmth in, not letting the air stagnate and providing as much light as possible.

Lonicera crassifolia

2009-10-28T12:33:00.001-07:00

Lonicera crassifolia, originally uploaded by peganum.

A lovely little evergreen creeping (not climbing) honeysuckle for ground cover or rockery. Possibly too vigorous for a trough but not rampageous. Just to give you a sense of the scale, that's an ordinary winter heather there at the top.

1L pots £5

Please please please, may I humbly request that you check with me that the plants you require are in stock before you order? Otherwise we'll have to arrange refunds.

Thank you so much.

Another view of the same plant with heathers and thymes

Pelargonium sidoides - the real black form

2009-10-26T05:40:00.001-07:00

Pelargonium sidoides, originally uploaded by peganum.

A genuinely hardy Pelargonium, at least if given a sunny, free drained spot. This one has been in the same south facing site in sandy soil for the last six years. Last winter was the first time it lost it's leaves but it came back as strongly as ever to flower late summer and autumn.
There seem to be at least two forms of this species in cultivation in the UK - one with flowers of a deep wine maroon, on somewhat shorter stems, and this one with black flowers on very long stems. The flowers are quite strongly honey scented, and may be produced in mild weather until Christmas.
1L pots £4

Season of fruits and mellow mistfulness

2009-10-19T04:27:00.000-07:00

I surprised myself this morning, strolling into town (to the dentist as it happens). It was wet and overcast and the leaves were really beginning to turn and fall, and I thought to myself what a relief it was that the summer was over. That's what surprised me. Normally I love the warm weather and tend to get a little depressed when it's over, but no, today I was positively buoyant.

The summer has been 'disappointing' they say, but then they say that every year. Normally I'd disagree but this year... What's it been? It's not been the rain - we've had something of a drought. Things have been looking quite sorry for themselves. Maybe it's been the sun. It's been dry, but it hasn't been bright, which is an unsatisfying state of affairs. This carried on until early October, by which time I was heartily sick of it. The cold and wet came as a welcome reprieve.

Actually I've known for a while I have a problem with August - memories of wet camping holidays as a child I expect. August is a con. It's not summer. August is the overture to autumn (as February is the overture to spring). You can feel it in the air. May and June are summer. I noted this year that things started to go off soon after the solstice. You might have noticed if you've been keeping up with the Emma's Garden photoset on Flickr that there's a lot fewer pictures from July to September than for other times. There's just nothing photogenic going on (unless you're into macro when you can look at the flowers in isolation and ignore the total ho-humness of everything around them.)

So now I look around at the garden and am once again filled with energy. Finally I can do something. As you'll know by now I'm not a fan of the well ordered neat-and-tidy sort of garden and I don't cut things down until I have to, but there's been a few things I've been looking at since July and inwardly groaning. It's my first full year here and I'm still very much learning how to grow things on this soil (clay, not much sun - the total opposite to gardening on the chalk near Lewes.) Things really have taken off here, especially in what I call the sunny border (it's all relative.) The Diascia personata especially has formed a huge engulfing mass, obscuring several less vigorous plants that I hope will still be there when I come to cut the Diascia back (or remove most of it actually.) Salvia uliginosa, which I thought would stand up straight behind and amongst it has flopped over on top of it, and the Helianthus atrorubens, also included for the tall dark wiry stems I imagined would stand tall behind that, has also fallen forward over everything. The problem is partly a red maple (bought as a standard tree some years back - it has never thrived), the fence behind and the path in front. Plants do not just passively fall over, they 'perceive' the path as an open space to grow into, and the tree and fence as shade and competition to grow away from. Hence they end up horizontal, getting trodden on. The mass of undergrowth was satisfying for a time - the Buddleia lindleyana held it's own well, the Eryngium giganteum elbowed its way up through the tangle, Gladiolus tristis shot up to 6ft high of so to get it's peculiar flowers into the light, like Diplodocus heads peering out of a thicket. But Rudbeckia maxima is under there somewhere, as are a couple of Dierama and two Decaisnea. I hope they'll recover. Kniphofia caulescens has definitely rotted off.

So anyway, perhaps you'll understand how, despite the fact that the Diascia and the Salvia are still blooming away, I'll be glad to get in there with the secateurs. The Diascia anyway I can honestly say I am thoroughly bored with. People always want to know about plants that just go on and on flowering all summer long, and if that's what you want I can heartily recommend it. You can have some of mine in fact (they're extremely easy from cuttings and totally hardy) but I'm sick of it. I like my season-long interest to come from the turn-over - things coming and going, changing places.

So that's one job. Whatever Diascia personata I keep will be further back, mixed in amongst everything else.

Then there's the huge Miscanthus in the middle of the border too. I can't wait for that to go over so I can have it out and do something better with that space. The maple will have to go too (it's had its chance) and the Lavatera Lilac Lady beside it. It's a good form - smaller that the commoner varieties and a nicer colour but not what I want now really. That'll leave a huge gap. I can't wait. Everything'll transpire a huge sigh of relief.

As for the rest of the garden - there's similar stories elsewhere. Mostly I'll leave the stems and old seed heads as long as I can - probably until January. I'll leave a stubble to discourage the dog from wandering about snapping off the new growths in spring. I'll make hazel 'bird-cages' for the Salvia and the Helianthus to grow through to support them through next summer. I've taken down the Bronze Fennel because I don't want too many of her offspring - lovely as she is.

People assume fallen leaves smother plants but except for small evergreens (lawns for example) that's rarely so, and the worms take them away and feed the soil in the process. People also like to cut things down as soon as possible after flowering - to get a second flush of flowers or make the plant put it's resources into the roots instead of the seed heads. I'm not sure either of these things make that much difference to most plants. I think it's more about neat and tidiness and I prefer the untidy textures and colours of autumn.

Which brings me back to my original point. When the dusty, listless scruffiness of August gave way to death's rich tapestry a couple of weeks back it was a release. Last 'summer' seemed interminable, but now, here we are, ready to move on again...

Kitaibela vitifolia

2009-09-17T13:13:00.001-07:00

Kitaibelia or Iliamna, originally uploaded by peganum.

A very pretty white flowered herbaceous mallow akin to Lavatera and Althea and without any signs of rust so far. Easy to grow anywhere they will grow and potentially up to 8ft tall on rich moist soils.

2L pots £5

Please please please, may I humbly request that you check with me that the plants you require are in stock before you order? Otherwise we'll have to arrange refunds.

Thank you so much.

Impatiens arguta, uniflora & puberula

2009-08-26T00:35:00.001-07:00

Impatiens arguta, originally uploaded by peganum.

Impatiens arguta
There doesn't seem to be much mention of hardy Impatiens in the literature with the exception of several troublesome annual weeds (Himalayan balsam for example). I.arguta is quite different - a vigorous and hardy Busy Lizzie ideal for damp shady situations and flowering all summer. My stock plant here is about 2ft high.
Large specimens in 3L pots £5. Smaller ones available later in the summer.

Impatiens uniflora

In many respects a miniature version of arguta with dainty little rosy pink flowers. Just as vigorous though, and spreading somewhat underground. Another ideal plant for providing late summer and autumn colour even in deep (but not dry) shade.
10cm pots £3

Impatiens puberula

Another hardy purple flowered species, this time with soft green, somewhat fuzzy foliage. The flowers are more chubby with dark purple lips and a paler 'bag' behind, if you see what I mean.
Needs the same conditions as arguta but is more spreading.

10cm pots £3

Please please please, may I humbly request that you check with me that the plants you require are in stock before you order? Otherwise we'll have to arrange refunds.

Thank you so much.

Caryopteris divaricata

2009-08-26T00:21:00.001-07:00

The name Caryopteris is usually associated with a bunch of rather grey twiggy subshrubs grown mainly because they flower very late in the season (C. x clandonensis and the like). C.divaricata however is very different - making a lush green upright bush and dying down completely in winter. The late flowering is the same but the flowers themselves are much more interesting as can be seen from the photo. Those of you who know the tropical Clerodendron myricoides (ugandense) would be right in thinking they look suspiciously similar, with those long curling filaments and rounded purple blue petals. They are related. The only down side is the foliage which has an odd odour, not unlike Clerodendron bungei or Iris foetidissima, so don't plant it too near the path.

Totally hardy and very adaptable.
1L pots £5

Please please please, may I humbly request that you check with me that the plants you require are in stock before you order? Otherwise we'll have to arrange refunds.

Thank you so much.

Hardy herbaceous Hibiscus

2009-08-23T03:19:00.001-07:00

Photo by Jenae Smiles

Hibiscus coccineus
Another entirely neglected group of extraordinary hardy North American herbaceous perennials (yes I did say hardy perennial). That flower above is a good 5 ins across and of an unbelievably intense red, comparable to those of the tropical shrubby house plant species (H.rosa-sinensis). In this case though, the plant is fully herbaceous, dying down completely in winter and then rising up to well above head hight in summer. The foliage is also very attractive being narrow palmate - a bit like a Japanese maple with red edges and stems.
What's the catch? I hear you ask. Why isn't everyone growing it if it's so fabulous?
The answer is that, like many plants from the south-eastern states of the USA, although totally frost hardy it is used to a very hot summer with high humidity and plenty of moisture at the roots (see my article on summer rainfall climates). Not always easy to provide here. The hottest spots in many British gardens will also be the driest, and hardy hibiscus are often wetland plants in the wild. The result is that your plants might not even appear until June or even July and may struggle to get big enough to flower before the frost cuts them down again.
What's to be done?
a. Choose a place in the garden that gets the longest period of sun possible. A south or south-west facing aspect is good. Anyway, choose one that is totally open to the sky.
b. You should definitely make sure the site is as well mulched and fed as possible. Clay suits them well but may be slow to warm up so add plenty of organic matter.
c. Hardy herbaceous hibiscus often live in seasonally flooded sites in the wild so contriving some sort of mini bog garden with a small pond liner would not be going too far. Extra irrigation would not go amiss and you could grow them in a hole or trench as you would celery.
d. Talking of vegetables, market gardeners have all sorts of tricks for warming the soil for early crops - cloches, black plastic, fresh manure mulches etc.
All this may seem like a lot of faff to go to, and for most ordinary garden plants that would be true but I believe there are some plants that are just so remarkable they are worth the extra effort. Hibiscus coccineus and it's relatives are just such plants. If all else fails you can start them off in a pot in an unheated greenhouse as you would some Hedychium.

Sold out this year. More next year

H.moscheutos - another amazing hardy species, but where coccineus is a study in class and elegance, moscheutos is blousy and over-the-top. A much shorter plant (about 3ft high and much bushier) with large, soft oval leaves and enormous (8-10 in!) flowers usually in some shade of red, pink or white, with a darker eye. Has to be seen to be believed. Hardy and perennial but easier to grow quickly for summer bedding.

H.palustris - may or may not be a subspecies of moscheutos. Anyway, a less 'in your face' form. Palustris means 'of wetland' but I'm not sure it needs more water than the others - just don't skimp on the irrigation with any of them.
2L pots £6

H.moscheutos x coccineus - should be intermediate between the two species. The seedlings so far are indistinguishable from coccineus.
2L pots £6

H.militaris - a medium sized species with large, dark eyed white flowers.
2L pots £5