‘Cloth of Gold’ is a favorite with gardeners, each plant wears a cloak of the finest gold and the large golden-yellow flowers are filled with a sweet fragrance, from mid-spring and throughout summer. They are a perfect foil for daffodils and many other spring bulbs.
‘Fair Lady Mixed’ is a classic tried and trusted variety. Reliably hardy, this uniform mixture blooms in a wide range of colours, both pastels and bright colours and includes the more unusual dusky-pink shades. This marvellous; fragrant, floriferous flower is extremely easy to grow and very rewarding.
Erysimum (formerly Cheiranthus) cheiri ‘Fire King’ is another old and tried variety, with striking, flame-like, glowing orange-scarlet flowers. A compact variety with a bushy habit and a rich fragrance, they will supply the household with an abundance of cut flowers for many weeks.
What spring garden would be complete without a bed of delightful, sweet-scented Wallflowers, harbingers of warmer weather to come? Erysimum cheiri, formerly Cheiranthus cheiri ‘Ivory-White’ is a fabulous form. A compact variety with a bushy habit which is ideal as an underplanting to tulips and other spring bulbs.
This is a classic Wallflower mixture, with the super rich colours you’d expect to see in a Persian Carpet (at a fraction of the cost!) purple, gold, orange, rose, cream and apricot. It is not without reason that this bushy variety so impressed the RHS judges.A favourite with gardeners, Erysimum cheiri ‘Scarlet Emperor’ is a classic wallflower with bold, fiery blooms in shades of rich scarlet and glowing crimson. Strongly scented, the flowers carry the sweet, spicy perfume that wallflowers are famed for.
In the last decade, Gaura ‘The Bride’ has skyrocketed to popularity among gardeners.A graceful, hazy plant with airy spikes of white, star-shaped flowers with long anthers like daddy long-legs, held on slender stems from May to September. RHS AGMMany gardeners look for easy to grow, reliable perennials that provide a bright, cheerful display of colour early in the season. Geum coccineum ‘Borisii-Strain’ flowers the first year from seed producing wonderful vivid orange-red toned flowers from late spring into summer.
Gypsophila has been cultivated since 1759 in England, so its use by florists has a long pedigree. It has recently become rather trendy among celebrity and designer florists, even taking centre stage as the main flower focus of bouquets and arrangements.
If there’s one plant that can inject a little razzle-dazzle into the border during gloomy late summers it is Helenium. From late July ‘Helena’ blooms with masses of vibrant blooms. Very hardy and easy to grow, all this plant needs is sunshine and well-drained soil.
Helenium hoopesii is considered by some to be the most valuable of the species. It blooms with bright golden yellow disk florets that each form a kind of rounded knob that transforms the flower from your typical two-dimensional daisy into something much more interesting and sculptural.
Sunflower ‘Autumn Beauty’ produces numerous long-stemmed flowers from summer to late autumn in a variety of solid and bi-colour bright warm colours – golden yellow, bronze, brown and burgundy. The long stems are excellent for cut flowers and look absolutely stunning in a vase on their own.
Sunflower “Soraya” is an award-winning new arrival. It is the first Sunflower ever to win an AAS award. It produces lovely rich tangerine-orange flowers with dark brown centres. This branching sunflower is prized for cut flower arrangements, producing 20 to 25 flowers from each plant.
One of the best loved summer flowers, ‘Vanilla Ice’ is one of the prettiest sunflowers varieties available. With clusters of delicate pale creamy-yellow flowers with dark chocolate centres this compact variety is suitable for the border or can be left add a naturalised charm to a wildlife friendly garden.
Perennial sunflowers typically don’t grow quite as tall as their annual friends, however Helianthus maximiliani is a wonderful exception. They grow slowly until late summer when the flowers bolt and head for the sky!
Most gardeners are familiar with the annual sunflower, however, it is the perennial varieties that coexist most happily with other garden plants. Helianthus mollis is a lovely perennial with butter-yellow flowers. It grows 120cm tall and requires little more attention than an annual cutting to the ground.
A deep blue carpet of bluebells is an unforgettable sight to anyone visiting many of our native woodlands. The spring spectacle of seeing a wood not only greening, but also ‘blueing’ is one of the joys of the year. When bluebells are in flower, spring has truly arrived.
Iris bulleyana is a classic species Iris from western China. It belongs to a small group of oriental species which are entirely hardy and are of great value to the gardener. The plants are successful in any moist garden soil. Flowering from June to July, the blooms with mid purple flowers and dark purple veins.
The Kniphofia hybrids have extended both the flower colour and height range. The usual fiery reds and oranges work particularly well in a planting scheme based on ‘hot’ colours – use them to light up sultry August borders. The cooler yellow, cream, ivory and sometimes green flowers is more restful.
‘Matucana’ was first introduced into this country from Sicily in 1699, this delightful heirloom dates back at least three centuries, highly valued for its wonderfully strong, sweet scent as well as its brilliant bicoloured blooms of richest purple and violet .Extra early, extra large blooms are the feature of this award winning sweet pea, an excellent choice for early spring colour and the best strain for producing early cut flowers. If you have never seen this kind of sweet pea on long stems before, and don’t quite understand what all the fuss is all about…they are marvellous …guaranteed to make you fall completely in love with them.
The Heirloom Mixture is a wonderful mixture of the Heirloom Grandiflora Sweet Peas. Representing most of the colours of this type and containing varieties that date back to the 16th century. Fabulous flowers in great colours that grow on vigorous plants, each have an intense full bodied perfume.
A highly scented heirloom sweet pea introduced by Henry Eckford in 1905 and named in honour of Queen Alexandria, wife of King Edward VII. Lathyrus odoratus ‘Queen Alexandria’ has bright scarlet-pink blooms with three flowers per stem. Strongly scented too.“Midnight” is very special variety. Seed of which is seldom available. Beautifully formed scented blooms of dark crimson, almost black. An amazing colour. The flowers are almost twice the size of a regular sweet pea and its stems are almost twice the length and so are perfect for cutting.
A blended mixture of outstanding quality. Composed of over 40 colours and shades of the Spencer Waved sweet peas. Large flowered and fragrant with an excellent colour range – with so many having such a beautiful scent … who could resist?
Sweet Pea ‘Princess Elizabeth’ was first introduced in 1945. It was on display when the Queen first visited Chelsea Flower Show in 1947. In 2008 the Queen was delighted to be presented with a new bouquet and to hear that hear her namesake has been grown continuously for more than 60 years.
Lavendula angustifolia is an excellent plant for low informal hedging and as a specimen evergreen for borders and formal gardens. Flowering generally begins from mid to late June to early July. The flowers have a rich sweet scent and are highly attractive to bees and other beneficial insects.
Linaria ‘Canon J Went’ is a delightful plant with tall spikes of pink and mauve tiny flowers. Easy to grow and flowering prolifically in a sunny spot, the delicate plants provide a softening haze in perennial borders.
Lupin ‘Noble Maiden’, occasionally called Fraülein, feature soft ivory white buds that open to pure clean white. The flowers open from the bottom up making for a longer blooming period. Stunning in the border or in a vase.
George Russell developed his Lupins aiming for, and achieving a central stalk or spike totally obscured by colourful flowers. ‘The Governor’ is one of the most popular from the series and features deep ultramarine blue blooms each with white flag. Each small flower of Band of Nobles ‘Chandelier’ is a glorious shade of golden yellow, and the standard (the upper petal) is often a shade or two lighter. They have been bred for a long flowering period and give unbeatable garden performance.
The magnificent vertical stems of Lupin ‘My Castle’ produce vibrant red blooms bringing height and grandeur to summer borders. The intense colour of this robust variety makes a real statement when planted in drifts, or dotted among other perennials.
The Russell Hybrids ‘Band of Nobles’ series have exceptionally bright and strong colours. ‘The Pages’ produce magnificent vertical stems of carmine red blooms. These hardy plants will surviving extreme temperatures withstanding frost to at least minus 25°C. Recently introduced to gardens and a hit Chelsea Flower Show, Lysimachia ‘Beaujolais’ feature flower spikes of deep claret which bloom continuously from May to September. The plants give a good effect used in tight drifts through grasses and other perennials. Ideal for cutting, the dark flowers are adorable in bunches.
Lysimachia ‘Lady Jane’ produces spires of white blossoms right above the foliage, they arch over then tip up at the ends and grow in beautiful curvy forms. Absolutely loved by butterflies, an additional feature is the good autumn foliage colour.Classic and richly scented, Brompton Stocks are the aristocrats of the stock family. These tall, elegant biennials produce dense spikes of double and single blooms in a sumptuous mix of colours. The flowers are extremely fragrant, in bloom from late spring and are excellent for cutting.
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.
‘Panorama’ must be rated a marvelous achievement in the perfection of the whorls of flowers and the brilliance of the colours. In many shades of scarlet, bright red, pink, salmon and crimson, each plant bears up to 20 long stems. They are as long-lasting as they are dramatic and excellent for cutting.
Monarda fistulosa, also known as Bergamot is famed for its medicinal qualities. While in the perennial border these lovely plants produce a mass of mauve-purple blooms (even in their first year from an early sowing) and have uniquely scented foliage. Highly attractive to bees and butterflies.
Papaver orientale ‘Brilliant’ exhibits immense scarlet red satiny blooms, each boasting intricately decorated, deep purple-black hearts. A good border plant, as well as an eye catching cut flower, they are very long-lived and virtually care-free, these undemanding plants provide a real spectacle year after year.
Nothing compares to the grace of the Oriental poppy, and ‘Royal Wedding’ is perhaps one of the most striking examples. It exhibits immense pure white satiny blooms with intricately decorated, deep purple-black hearts. They provide a real spectacle year after year. Papaver ‘Black Peony’ has fascinating, large, fully double, dark purple-maroon, almost black flowers, with lovely crinkled petals. When the flowers do burst, overnight, from their casings, the gardener is treated to some of the most dramatic flowers in the plant kingdom.
Also known as Peony poppies, Papaver paeoniflorum producing a summer-long succession of fascinating, heavily doubled, large flowers with lovely crinkled petals. Their spectacular blooms, in a multitude of colours are one of the easiest ways to add a bit of architecture and a lot of colour to your garden.
With its brilliant scarlet flowers, this native wild flower needs no introduction. Single, red, cup-shaped flowers usually with a black blotch at the base of the petals. It is the classic poppy bloom that paint a road verge or embankment a brilliant hue in their first year.
This ancient form of cultivated poppy produces the most unusual seed pod of all poppies. The main pod is surrounded by masses of smaller pods. Primarily grown for their curious seed pods which are extremely decorative, they are much in demand for cut and dried flower arrangements.
With their impressive variety, spectacular blooms and strange seed pods, ‘Pepperbox’ poppies are one of the easiest ways to add a bit of architecture and a lot of colour to your garden. The glorious, papery-textured flowers bloom in a multitude of colours, rich purples, deep reds to pale lilac-pinks.
Russian Sage is one of the great garden plants of all time, but if you’ve been frustrated by their floppy nature, this new variety will be a welcome addition. Growing to about 60 to 75cm tall, Perovskia atriplicifolia ‘Taiga’ is also the first Russian sage available as a first year flowering perennial.
A justifiably popular plant. Phlomis russeliana blooms with dramatic whorls of hooded, soft yellow flowers on tall, erect stems. Each plant can contain as many as fifty individual blooms creating a magnificent candelabra effect.
The white form of the lovely Jacobs Ladder, named after the slender, fresh green leaflets arranged like the rungs of a ladder. Blooming in late spring to early summer, the bright foliage and white flowers will brighten shady locations. Both the flowers and the attractive ferny foliage are excellent for cutting.
Rudbeckia are one of the top ten favorites of many gardeners’. Goldsturm is a compact form of the yolk-yellow black-eyed Susan, it is short enough not to need staking and never flops. An excellent cut flower and a great choice for mass planting.An absolute gift to flower arrangers, this is a noble and ornamental plant for the back of any border making nice clumps of foliage. It is, of course, the flowers that are remarkable: three or four inches across, “green” is one’s immediate impression on seeing them.
Salvia farinacea ‘Fairy Queen’ is an attractive new variety that bears multiple spikes of bicolour blue and white flowers on dark distinctive flower stems from June to October. With a bushy, compact habit and thick stems. A small white spot on each sapphire blue flower creates the illusion of fairy dust.
Salvia sclarea var. turkestanica ‘Vatican White’ is a choice white cultivar that is not that easy to find. A nobly architectural Sage, each of its branched stems is topped with a profusion of blossoms with brilliant white bracts. The flowers are attractive and are boosted in impact by the large petioles that surround them.
This hardy biennial Sage has been grown in almost every botanical sanctuary in human history and has many plus points: it grows well in poor soil resists slugs and other beasties, and doesn’t slump or need staking. It copes well in sun or light shade and the blooms are a magnet for bees and butterflies.
This hardy biennial Sage has been grown in almost every botanical sanctuary in human history. Each stem is topped with a profusion of pale blue blossoms and large pinkish white bracts. A truly architectural plant. Organic Seed.€2.80
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