Woodland

Anemonopsis macrophylla is one of the most beautiful and elegant plants that you could wish for. Slow growing and rarely seen, it bears nodding, opalescent white flowers on slender elegant spikes, but this emphatic woodlander is not in fact difficult to grow if given humus-rich, semi-shaded conditions.

Affectionately known as the Snowdrop Anemone, Anemone sylvestris is a charming perennial with satiny white flowers. Blooming in spring, the buds emerge on bent stems, dangling downwards like snowdrops. As the flowers start to open the stems straighten and the flowers face outwards to soak up the spring sunshine and attract pollinators to its scented flowers.

Until a few years ago you would never have seen wild garlic on a menu, but these days is definitely a chefs' favourite. The whole plant is edible. The flavour is softer, more pleasant than cloves from garlic bulbs. The leaves have a vibrant colour that brings food to life.

For most of the year Ajuga is a pleasant, quiet achiever, a very versatile low growing ground cover, with evergreen, rosette-like foliage that hugs the ground like an evergreen carpet but those weeks in spring when the blue flowers appear are simply quite magical.

Ajuga genevensis is used throughout the world yet this relatively uncommon form is less well known. This very well behaved, evergreen groundcover has deep gentian blue flower spikes and is by far the showiest of the species. It is often the plant of choice for smaller areas or along edges and pathways.