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Magnolias are some of the most magnificent specimens in the garden. Magnolia kobus is a beautiful small tree which displays upright oval growth in youth, bearing flowers at an early age, it spreads and mounds with maturity. They can be used as specimens or as lovely backdrops for other plantings.

Malva is one of the truly grand old-fashioned flowers of that almost mythical English Cottage Garden, which so many people strive to recreate. With lovely ice-pink flowers and finely lobed foliage that possesses the elegance of some ferns, Malva will bloom profusely given a sunny position.

Considered by many gardeners to be the most desirable of the Malva species, this rare white-flowered form is even lovelier than the normal rose-pink Musk Mallow. Flowering throughout the summer, the pure white, scented flowers contrast beautifully with the ferny foliage.

Malva sylvestris 'Zebrina' is an easily raised perennial which thrives in sun or part shade, producing strong, erect stems crammed with white to pink flowers with purple, almost black 'flamed' markings. The purple veins out as if stroked on with a paint brush.

Malva 'Bibor Felho' feature velvety, plum-purple flowers with deep purple veins which emerge from distinctive purple flower buds. A short-lived perennial that is often grown as a biennial or as an annual, this electric, willowy plant mingles well in the herbaceous border with plants of equal stature.

The Brompton Stocks have been in cultivation for well over a hundred years, and no wonder. The robust, branching, fast-growing, vigorous plants, are wonderful for flowering in late spring and early summer. They produce gloriously scented flowers in a good colour range and are splendid for cutting.

Florists’ bouquets often include stocks. They enchant us with the soft colours of the double flowers and with their intensely sweet scent. The Miracle series is specifically cultivated for cutting. With extremely large flower heads and upright strong stems, they do not branch but grow neatly to about 70cm tall.

A pure white variety of our familiar Stocks, Matthiola incana ‘Pillow Talk’ is utterly gorgeous. An excellent flower for spring and a great addition to the cutting garden. They enchant us not only with their beautiful blooms, but above all, with their intensely sweet scent.

Matthiola ‘Lucinda’ is a fabulous series of mid-season Stocks that have been bred for especially for cut flower production. They bloom uniformly across the colour range to facilitate cutting at the same time.
This fabulous series is now available in range of single colours.

Night or Evening-scented Stock is one of the easiest and rewarding scented plants to grow. The flowers open in the late afternoon and emit a most delightful fragrance. The scent has been compared to vanilla, rose, spice and even cloves. It will become a summer fragrance you will never want to be without!

The Meconopsis genus contains some of the most exquisitely beautiful of all flowering plants. M. cambrica is the easiest to grow, and is reliably perennial. The delicate cup-shaped, golden-yellow flowers are borne in abundance from late spring to early autumn.

This is the familiar Livingstone Daisy or, as it seems to be generally known, just "Mesembryanthemum". A cultivated strain of this splendid annual plant with a spreading habit, the plants are covered with flowers in a wide range of brilliant shades of gold, salmon, pink, purple and carmine red.

Mimosa pudica, the 'sensitive plant', is a source of fascination to adults and children alike. When touched, the narrow fern-like leaflets they almost instantaneously fold together and the leaf stalk droops. This sometimes sets off a chain reaction, with several leaf stalks falling on top of one another.

Introduced from Japan circa 1870, Miscanthus sinensis has been grown in gardens for over a hundred years. It is one of the best tall grasses for a winter garden. They provide handsome clumps of deep green foliage and airy, plumed seed heads that endure from August until late January.

An icon for well over a hundred years, the range of Miscanthus cultivars expanded dramatically in the 1950's when the German plant breeder Ernst Pagels persuaded two of his plants to set seed at the same time. The result of his work has provided us with some of the finest flowering grasses available today. ‘Early Hybrids’ are a selection of early blooming cultivars with differing colours and forms.

Miscanthus are the queen of ornamental grasses. Miscanthus sinensis ‘New Hybrids’ provide a multitude of cultivars with varying heights, leaf widths and bloom times. Some plants will be upright growing and others will have a cascading habit, also expect variation in colouring.

Few other grasses have such a great separation between foliage and flowers than Molinia caerulea ssp. arundinaceae. With clumps of arching, blue-green leaves above which the most slender stems and delicate see-through flowers grow to six foot or more. In autumn they turn golden yellow to deep copper.

With a unique character and undeniable charm, Molinia caerulea produces masses flower stems that are at first so delicate they are almost invisible, together they form a floating sea of movement. Probably at their resplendent best as summer turns to autumn and their foliage turns a warm butter yellow.

'Bells of Ireland' are flowers to please anyone who loves flower arranging. Cut fresh, the bells will last for years and they are very useful for winter arrangements but they also look good in flower borders and with the recent fashion for green blooms are becoming more sought after.