This very old, softly-prickly cottage garden plant, between June and August, has hairy flowers which are pale pink to purple, alternating up the stems, with whorls of leaves which are oak-shaped and deeply lobed into three. Motherwort has a long history of use as a herb in traditional medicine in Central Europe, Asia and North America. Midwives used it for a variety of purposes, including uterine tonic and prevention of uterine infection in women, hence the name Motherwort. And finally, in the Victorian 'Language of Flowers' it symbolizes concealed love. ... Learn More

From the Caucasus mountains comes this rare and quite spectacular plant with a remarkable resemblance to an absolutely giant muscari or "grape hyacinth". Several radiating thick, fleshy, pointed leaves rest upon the ground, whilst a stout stem arises, on the top of which numerous buds open into long-stemmed blue flowers. In a large pot or hot dry garden will be impressive, and it will grow bigger annually. ... Learn More

This rare plant makes an unusual Hyacinth type spike of flowers, the lower fertile ones being deep brown bronze, and pale brown with yellow teeth, the upper sterile tassel is purple to violet and even pinkish in some plants. Quite an amazing combination, and although it will do well in a well-drained rockery it will be absolutely spectacular in a pot! ... Learn More

An unusual new herbaceous plant, related to salvias, from Chile, with beautifully fragrant foliage. The deep carmine red flowers appear very late in the year, from July into late autumn. ... Learn More

This extremely rare and protected plant makes lengthy displays of sizeable, bright-yellow, sunburst flowers on a quite sizeable but also compact, almost shrubby plant. Coming from only a small area of Southern Chile within the protected "Monkey-Puzzle-Tree" forests (Araucania Region), it is possibly not yet in cultivation, and these valuable seeds have been grown for us in a private garden in Southern Chile. A rarely seen native plant, it was used effectively ancestrally by Mapuche people to treat gastrointestinal ailments. Medicinally, it has been proven that flower extracts are rich in mole ... Learn More

Bearing grey-green foliage, which is highly aromatic when crushed, this evergreen, upright shrub has hairy white stems, and saucer-shaped white flowers borne in summer. It thrives in a hot sheltered position, but is nonetheless quite frost hardy in a well-drained spot. ... Learn More

Native to the west of America, this is a rare and endangered plant from the northern California hills which produces large inflated 'bladder-like' seed pods in late summer before which gardeners can also enjoy the spires of typical, cruciform yellow flowers. ... Learn More

A clump forming herbaceous perennial with dark green, toothed, lance shaped leaves, the Shasta Daisy produces huge displays of wonderfully frilly, white, daisy-like blooms with golden centres that perch on upright stems. This eye catching plant is a magnet for bees, butterflies and other pollinating insects. A perfect addition to any perennial border or wildlife garden, excellent in tubs or mixed containers and makes a useful cut flower too. ... Learn More

Hooded white flowers occur in several dense whorls in leaf axils on the stems or this softly, densely wooly-haired perennial herb, which is usually found on stony slopes in the Himalayas at altitudes of 700-3000 m although these seeds should be quite hardy as they were collected at 2,900m. The short-stalked leaves are coarsely saw-toothed, with impressed veins above, and are densely covered with woolly hairs so as to appear silvery. ... Learn More

This compactish, slow growing, pretty palm makes a slender, smooth trunk topped by large, circular, fan-shaped leaves with silvery undersides, which are arranged in a dense crown. A remarkably useful plant, the leaves are a popular thatching material, and are often harvested from the wild for local use, the stem of the plant being used to make poles! It is native to the Caribbean, the Leeward Islands, Puerto Rico, Haiti, Cuba, Bahamas, Southeast N. America down to the Florida Keys, and much of the Caribbean region. In the wild it grows in open woodlands and coastal areas, but will thrive in an ... Learn More

Also known as sea parsley, the leaves and stem of the lovage plant add an intense celery-like flavour to soups, stews and stocks or pork and poultry dishes. It can also be used to enhance the flavour of potato dishes. ... Learn More

Numerous white or pale pink flowers which open fully on sunny day nestle in a tight rosette of deciduous glaucous-green leaves. Plants are best plunged in the alpine house, keeping moist in spring, and just slightly moist even after flowering when they quickly become dormant, new growth appearing in September/October. ... Learn More

A superb mixture of all of our best lewisia cotyledon forms, some of them quite dwarf, ranging from white through all shades of pinks, reds and yellows to deepest crimson. These plants are completely hardy in spite of their exotic appearance. ... Learn More

From attractive evergreen rosettes of succulent leaves, arise repeating sprays of large ivory flowers. Dead heading these exotic, tender-looking plants, which are in fact bone-hardy, produces almost constant flowering. They are perfect for your rockery or even a container on the patio. ... Learn More

Many-petalled, cup-shaped, delicate pink flowers open on branching stems from rosettes of narrow, deep-green leaves all summer long. This unusual plant is endemic to the Sierra Nevada of California in subalpine and alpine moist areas with a rocky habitat. ... Learn More