Plant Library

The Spanish daisy is one of those inexhaustible happy performers still going strong when longing for pause of winter. Low mounding plants smothered with masses of nickel-sized daisies that open white and turn gentle pink as they mature. Self-cleaning and mildly self-seeding in appropriate locations.

Grows in cracks of walls, among stepping-stones on pathways, in foreground of borders, containers, and hanging baskets, all with same unbridled enthusiasm. RHS Award of Garden Merit. The continuous flowering without deadheading makes it exceptionally low-maintenance. The colour change from white to pink adds interest.

A stork's bill with pelargonium-like foliage and small flowers held on wiry stems. Forms low mats suitable for rock gardens and well-drained borders. The divided leaves create attractive texture.

Requires excellent drainage and full sun. The small flowers appear over extended period. Suitable for rock gardens, gravel gardens, and front-of-border positions. Drought-tolerant once established. The pelargonium-like leaves distinguish it from other erodiums. Self-seeds moderately in appropriate conditions.

The large densely packed flower cone is surrounded by soft bristly bracts. The bracts, cone, and stalks have attractive purple-blue colouring. Suitable for cutting and drying and loved by bees in garden. Attractive in combination with astrantia, phlomis, and grasses like deschampsia.

Great Plant Pick selection. The alpine species provides some of the largest flowers in the genus. The soft bristly bracts distinguish it from more prickly sea hollies. The purple-blue colouring is particularly intense. Excellent for fresh or dried arrangements. The substantial flowers make strong architectural statements.

Deep violet-blue thistles hover in masses atop thinly branched purple-flushed stems. Visited by hordes of pollinators and loved by flower arrangers. Avoid wet and slowly draining soils but consider for warm exposed site. Salt-laden air is not a problem. This form is somewhat shorter than 'Blue Cap'.

Elected Fleuroselect Gold Medal in 2007. The masses of violet-blue flowers create strong impact. The purple-flushed stems add to ornamental value. Excellent for cutting fresh or dried. Salt tolerance makes it suitable for coastal gardens. Requires excellent drainage especially in winter. The flowers attract abundant pollinators.

Rosettes of narrow blue-gray foliage look somewhat like thin-leaved agave. By midsummer thick stems develop that soar upward and branch out carrying thistle-like terminal heads loved by bees and butterflies. Rattlesnake plantain is a United States native occurring in moist locations in native setting.

Combines well with echinacea, thalictrum, helenium, monarda, and grasses like sesleria. The yucca-like foliage creates architectural interest before flowering. Native to prairies and moist meadows. The white flower heads provide contrast with typical blue sea hollies. Suitable for naturalistic plantings and prairie gardens.

A fine clumping selection with self-supporting stems carrying clusters of typical bristly cones surrounded by mildly prickly but beautiful purple-blue coloured bracts. Having grown this for some eight years, no self-seeding has occurred. Beautiful with lavenders, cranesbills, and sages.

RHS Award of Garden Merit. The clumping habit makes it well-behaved without spreading. The self-supporting stems eliminate staking needs. The purple-blue bracts are particularly attractive. Combines excellently in Mediterranean-style plantings. Long-lasting cut flower fresh or dried. Deer-resistant due to spiny nature.

A white-flowered form of California poppy with silky flowers opening in sun. Annual or short-lived perennial self-seeding where happy. The blue-green finely divided foliage creates ferny mats. Thrives in hot dry conditions with excellent drainage.

Native to California and southwestern United States in dry habitats. The white flowers provide cool tones for hot sites. Self-seeds freely in appropriate conditions. Deadheading extends bloom but prevents self-seeding. Suitable for gravel gardens, Mediterranean plantings, and dry banks. Closes in cloudy weather.

A selection of joe pye weed with white flowers appearing in terminal rounded panicles. The tallest joe pye in collection, certain to top three metres on moister soils. Bright green foliage occurs in whorls along pale green stems. Forms large dense clumps suitable for back of borders.

The flower panicles are about half the diameter of purple-flowered cousins. Not only in flower but also in leaf, a strong and sturdy structural addition. Native to North America in moist meadows. The white flowers provide alternative to typical purple joe pye. Requires consistent moisture for maximum height.