Zingiber mioga Crûg's Zing BSWJ4379

An excellent form of this hardy ginger which produces orchid like blossoms directly from the ground in spring and then the standard upright leafy stems afterwards. Crûg's Zing differs from other mioga commonly in cultivation in that the flowers are pink instead of creamy yellow. 

This is a genuinely hardy species (or at least, as hardy as any of the Hedychiums or Roscoeas) needing nothing more than perhaps a bit of mulch to stop the roots freezing. It does not need a dry winter. The new shoots can be harvested as a vegetable.

sold out for now

Lonicera gracilipes JP5573

A relatively small pink-flowered winter flowering species from Japan. 

The leaves are rounded and somewhat glaucous. 

Hardy and adaptable.
£16

Ribes malvaceum

Soft pink flowers in dangling clusters among soft green foliage any time from autumn to spring in its native California, where it is important for nectar for birds and insects. 

Not the most brightly coloured Ribes but certainly one of the earliest flowering - in full flower here through frost and snow in January. 

Completely hardy here. Suitable for sun or shade, especially among evergreens.

£16

Deutzia crenata nakaiana

A popular creeping dwarf shrub with bell-shaped white flowers in late spring. 

Easy and hardy
£12

Crambe maritima

Our classic native Sea Kale (seed collected locally, on Shoreham Beach by the way) with phenomenal big waxy wavy pale grey leaves and chunky heads of honey-scented white flowers. 

The new leaves are purple and can be blanched under an old bucket and then steamed as a vegetable. 

Easy almost anywhere sunny but definitely looks best planted among pebbles.

£12

Begonia josephi

One of many new hardy Begonias on the market now. This one is a relatively understated species - unusual for its symmetrical leaves and the petiole being attached to the middle, not the edge of the leaf.

The leaves are olive green, to about 18cms long and jaggedly toothed. The flowers are pale pink, and small but plentiful. Hardy and tolerant here so far. Happiest on moist shady sites but, like many hardy Begonias, surprisingly resistant to drought. Dies down to small tubers in winter.

Not to be confused with a very different species with larger mottled leaves and yellow flowers that is being sold under this name.

£10

Anemone canadensis

A simple understated species with perfectly formed white Anemone flowers on upright leafy stems up to about 40cms tall in early summer. 

This species runs underground which makes it a problem among small delicate plants, but it is an excellent ground cover among shrubs, being very shade tolerant. Not fussy about soil or aspect but not too hot and dry is probably best.

£8