The lovely British native "Scarlet pimpernel" is too often overlooked, but closer inspection of the flower and seed capsule will reveals the fact that it is in fact in the primula family! Its stemless scarlet-red flowers appear over a very long succession all summer long. When allowed to naturalise in a hot place it will surpass many of the more common alpine plants, and it will even send out its long, leafy prostrate stems where others will not, such as on hot dry banks and rockeries. ... Learn More

A low-growing perennial with trailing stems bearing dark green ovate leaves, and deep blue, bowl-shaped flowers from early summer to autumn. It is very often grown as an annual and is truly one of the most exquisite blue-flowered plants available. ... Learn More

Anchusa azurea 'Dropmore,' commonly known as Italian Bugloss 'Dropmore,' is an enchanting herbaceous perennial celebrated for its vibrant azure-blue flowers and its ability to attract pollinators. As a member of the Boraginaceae family, this cultivar brings a burst of color to garden landscapes. The most prominent feature of Anchusa azurea 'Dropmore' is its intense, true blue flowers that appear in dense, elongated clusters. The tubular blooms form on tall, branching stems, creating a visually striking and lively display. The electric blue hues of the flowers make 'Dropmore' a standout in t ... Learn More

One of the compact mossy kinds of androsace, this dwarf alpine from the Caucasus mountains forms small rosettes of deeply-toothed oval leaves and dense heads of pale pink flowers from April to July and is best in an alpine house or on a dry rockery. ... Learn More

This tiny "Rock Jasmine" has small loose rosettes of dark green leaves, with short stems bearing clusters of white flowers. It is excellent for a trough or raised bed and does not need winter protection. It is a fairly easy-to-grow plant when established in sun to part shade in gritty, sharply drained soil. ... Learn More

This strong-growing plant makes tight rosettes of shining green leaves, and in spring large white flowers with a yellow centre, in broad loose clusters of five or six. It will do best in a gravel bed or scree with good drainage, and will usually self seed freely around. In the wild it inhabits limestone rocks from 3000 to 4500 feet, from the Cevennes through the Alps into Austria. ... Learn More

From narrow-leaved rosettes arise long slender stems carrying fountains of pure white flowers. A charming annual member of the primula family which will actually self-seed when happy. ... Learn More

Dense, green rosettes are covered with white stemless flowers in spring. This good grower is one of the very choicest alpines and a frequent show-winner. It is a very rare plant in nature, being found only on a few of the highest peaks of the central Apennines. ... Learn More

This robust and easily grown plant forms cushioned tufts made of large rosettes of spoon-shaped leaves fringed by fine hairs, and short downy stems carrying from one to six white or rosy flowers with a yellow eye. It grows at over 1600m in the Alps and Carpathians. ... Learn More

This delightful dwarf member of the primrose family, also called the pygmy flower or rock jasmine, grows high on the the Fell Fields of California, where it produces small rosettes of crinkled leaves from which arise thin stems carrying small yellow-eyed, creamy white flowers. ... Learn More

Androsace strigillosa has neat rosettes of small leaves in winter, and much larger leaves in summer. It has upright stems with a loose umbel of a few flowers, white when they are open. But what makes this highly sought after is the reverse of the petals, seen also in bud, which is a deep, dusky pink, outlined with white. It has grown well outside for many years, eventually making a wide clump. A variable species forming loose clumps or hummocks depending on altitude. Central Himalaya (Nepal to Bhutan) above 2500m in light woodland and among scrub, smaller forms higher up in alpine meadows ... Learn More

A beautiful, long-lived plant bearing golden-eyed, creamy-white flowers in spring and early summer on shortish stems holding jaggedly bisected leaves. It grows, predictably, on Mount Baldo in Italy! ... Learn More

This is one of the easiest and long-lived of the clump-forming Anemones which improves with age, bearing dense sprays of white waxy-petalled flowers with a blue reverse. An exceptionally beautiful flower from China. ... Learn More

Anemone rivularis, commonly known as 'riverside windflower', is a clump forming perennial. The white saucer shaped flowers, tinged with blue on the reverse and indigo in the middle are borne on erect, branched stems in late spring and early summer. ... Learn More

This lovely Chinese species gives a valuable late summer and autumn display of large rose pink flowers in profuse clusters on long stalks, which make perfect cut flowers. Clouds of decorative woolly seed pods remain on the plant until shredded by the winter storms. ... Learn More