Tender Plants

Ipomoea pennata is undoubtedly one of the most beautiful of all annual vines. The feathery foliage with thin, thread-like leaves give the plant a light, airy texture. In summer the plants burst into flower and are covered with hundreds of scarlet red, star shaped flowers.

Ipomoea sloteri is an annual twining vine. A hybrid, with the best characteristics of each parent, this very graceful, airy vine is festooned with pentagon shaped blooms throughout the summer. The leaves look like they've been cut with a scalpel and create a beautifully backdrop to the deep red blooms.

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.

The development of bananas is a source of both pride and amazement to those unfamiliar with banana culture. Musa acuminata is a 'dwarf variety' with broad, long, graceful leaves, and is extremely suitable for containers or gardens.

Musa Balbisiana is a fruit bearing variety and one of the progenitors of the present-day commercial bananas. The clumps of lush, dark foliage make it ideal for creating a jungle landscape. It develops large colourful inflorescence of bright red and maroon.

Musa ornata is a very attractive ornamental banana plant with tropical flair. A small plant that produces long, glaucous-green, oblong leaves and a gorgeous purple inflorescence in summer. It makes a much more manageable plant than other species and is extremely suitable for containers and well suited for indoor use.

Musa sikkimensis is still a relatively new plant introduction and is proving to be as hardy as the most popular banana species Basjoo, but I think more attractive and quite spectacular as a large plant. The leaves are a darker glossy green, with new leaves producing a lovely pink flush to the underside.

Nicotiana alata 'Tinkerbells' is a stunningly colourful plant for borders and containers. The dwarf, bushy habit and the hybrid vigour combine to produce a carpet of colour. To get the most enjoyment from the sweet evening fragrance, plant near patios, decks, or under windows to best enjoy their sweet perfume.

The pure bloom power of Nicotiana Crimson Bedder makes it a winner for every garden. The well branched and bushy plants grow to around 50cm tall. These free-flowering little gems will bloom from early summer to autumn, every inch packed with crimson blooms.

Nicotiana alata 'Lime Green' is a sought after variety which produces a mass of bright green flowers which open fully in the afternoon. It provides a new and refreshing alternative to the usual shade annuals: the unusual colouring lifts the summer border and act as a foil to hotter colours.

Nicotiana Sensation is tall and elegant, with a mix of beautiful star-shaped flowers in shades of lavender, purple, rose, red and white, with a heavenly evening scent that is heavy and penetrating and unlike old varieties, they stay open all day.

A Passiflora that produces very fragrant, unusual flowers. The flowers are white, except the base of the corona which is purple; the filaments are curly, as long as the petals, 5 to 7cm across. The edible fruits possess pleasant flavour, kind of sweet and a little tart.

Pelargonium ‘Paintbox Mixed F2’ is an excellent quality strain producing compact plants that are uniform in habit and early into flower. These multi-blooming plants are ideal for hanging baskets, containers, bedding and borders. In a fashionable colour mix: scarlet, salmon, pink, magenta, white and bicolour.

Spreading petunias soon became the buzz in the industry after introduction a little over ten years ago. With large grandiflora-type veined blooms with wavy edges, the F1 Daddy series is one of the all time best selling seed raised petunias. It is probably the best veined grandiflora type.

Like favorite guests, F1 Prism Sunshine come early and stay very late! This multiple award winning Grandiflora type petunia is considered the best yellow Petunia not only for its big, colour-drenched blooms, but for the uniform, compact plants that bloom early and heavily, and continue over a long season.

The Ultras are an exciting hybrid Grandiflora series that feature characteristics growers can depend on. With a compact and spreading habit they are early flowering. The blooms each have slightly ruffled margins, some are veined and some bi-coloured, either striped or edged in contrasting colours.

Ricinus communis 'Carmencita' is an outstanding new variety with shiny dark brown foliage. The palmate leaves have deeply incised lobes and grow 30 to 75cm (12 to 30in) across. The plants have red stems and in late summer clusters of bright red blooms are followed by stunning scarlet seeds pods.

This is a new and rather spectacular version of the Castor Oil Plant. Ricinus communis 'Zanzibarensis' is a fast growing, palm tree-like plant, it sports large green leaves and would be a splendid specimen for the back of the border. Be warned ... this remarkably architectural plant can grow up to 12 ft tall.

Ricinus communis is one of the best ways to quickly create a tropical effect in the garden. This remarkably architectural, fast growing plant. The huge leaves and interesting flower spikes add drama to borders and beds. The variety, gibsonii grows to around 150cm with gorgeous dark red, metallic foliage.