Also known as the 'Tower of Jewels'. Echium pininana initially produces a palm tree-like rosette on a thick woody stem. A year or two later, the centre, holding thousands of flowers, shoots upwards, sometimes to 15-20 feet!. Bees love this giant... (Click for more details)

Twelve inch spikes of Oxford Blue flowers on strong branching stems in spring and summer, although very few good seeds are often produced. This really IS a perennial in a sheltered situation, e.g. in a large pot or a very protected garden. In Th... (Click for more details)

This suberb specimen plant makes an impressive rosette of many long, branching, hairy grey stems. The sprays of icing pink flowers around the stems are produced from June until October, with the main, quite spectacular flush, in July. (Click for more details)

The most lusted-after plant in the gardens every June. A cross we made between the fabulous Echium wildpretii with its four foot, fat red spike and the giant blue Echium pininana. The result is a 15 inch wide, tapering tower of delicate pink flow... (Click for more details)

A friend on Guernsey sent us some seeds of an absolutely pure white Echium pininana she had discovered. We could barely believe such a plant existed, but were thrilled to finally see an enormous 15 foot high snowy cascade. (Click for more details)

Stout rose-pink spikes of massed flowers, each with protruding stamens holding bright blue pollen, arise from prostrate rosettes of radiating furry grey leaves and if kept very dry it is quite incredibly frost-hardy. This challenge from the high ... (Click for more details)