This plant will bring hours of entertainment to kids of any age as the leaves instantly fold up when you touch them! And give them an hour or so and up they’ll come again. As potted plants mature, they form small pink puffs of bloom adding an extra benefit to this unique species and what a perfect way to introduce children to the world of plants. Technically speaking, the leaves have the capability to display thigmonasty (touch-induced movement). When the leaves are touched, shaken, or heated, the speed of the response depends on the magnitude of the stimulus. Hitting the leaf hard with the fl ... Learn More

This uncommon plant resembles none of the common mimulus, or "monkey flowers". It is an erect woody-stemmed plant, which produces bright tomato-red pinched snapdragons from June onwards amongst downy foliage on tall woody stems. ... Learn More

"Monkey Flower". This lovely Chilean flower produces a succession of red-spotted bright yellow "snapdragon" flowers from earliest spring. It will grow in moist soil or will grow equally well with its feet in water, when it spreads with gay abandon, making a glorious floating carpet of flowers all summer long. ... Learn More

Originating from the foothills of the Andean mountains of Chile, this new and adorable, low-growing, spreading perennial makes clumps of hairy, sparsely-toothed, pale to mid-green leaves, above which open most unusually-coloured trumpet-shaped flowers. These are borne in late spring and summer, and are white to cream-coloured, overlaid with a pink to purple flush, fading to cream at the edges, with the tongue spotted purple. ... Learn More

This absolutely amazing mimulus bears masses of blue "snapdragon" flowers, a rare colour in this genus, on strong erect stems over an extended period from late spring to early autumn. Small thin pointed leaves clad the stems on this lovely hardy and reliable plant which will grow almost anywhere but excels in good moist soil or even in shallow water! ... Learn More

From March to July the night air is filled with the delicious heady aroma of its sprays of star-shaped, yellowish white flowers. People collect them as they retain their perfume for many days after they fall and they are offered in temples and shrines. The fruits are eaten fresh and are softly hairy becoming smooth, ovoid, and bright red-orange when ripe. With its small shiny, thick, narrow, pointed leaves, straight trunk and spreading branches, it is a prized ornamental specimen as it provides a dense shade. It is found in tropical forests in South Asia, Southeast Asia and northern Australia ... Learn More

This exotic looking climber, with twining stems ideal for rambling over trellises and fences, produces impressive trusses with up to 12 flowers per spike producing a spectacular combination as they age. They start off a most powerful and stunning bright red, maturing from red to orange, orange to yellow and from yellow to white, some of each combination being in flower simultaneously. These plants when positively loaded with flowers are an impressive sight. ... Learn More

This pretty and rarely-seen high alpine plant makes small cushions of needle-shaped leaves with white, starry flowers on thin delicate stems. It thrives in the harshest of conditions often on almost bare rocky outcrops and serpentine soils, which harbour a distinct and unique flora rich in endemics. Minuartia laricifolia has two ecologically distinct subspecies with disjunct distributions. Subsp. laricifolia on siliceous rocks in the western Alps and eastern Pyrenees, and subsp. ophiolitica on serpentine in the northern Apennines. Few seeds collected. ... Learn More

M. jalapa is a bushy, tuberous perennial often grown as an annual, with fragrant flowers opening in the afternoon, in a wide range of colours, and sometimes bi-coloured. ... Learn More

These colourful, cheerful plants have the common name “Four O’Clock Plants” because the flowers open in late afternoon, and indeed they remain open until the following morning, and on cloudy days, they may not close at all! Curiously, flowers of different colours can sometimes be found simultaneously on the same plant. They are grown as annuals in colder countries but will in fact make perennials in warmer climes. ... Learn More

A delicate and lovely woodland or shade area plant. This distant relative of saxifrages has tiny, fringed brown and green flowers on delicate stems over rosettes of dark green kidney-shaped leaves. Will self-seed in shady spots. ... Learn More

The giant form of "Purple moor-grass" makes spectacular broad-leaved clumps, with very long stems holding huge, divided, purple heads in summer, aging to golden-brown in autumn. A superb specimen grown alone, long-lived, non-invasive and extremely hardy! ... Learn More

This rare and strikingly attractive, strongly aromatic plant, comes from the mountains of central and southern Europe and bears jaggedly cut, glossy green foliage, and creamy umbels turning lime green. In late spring it produces large numbers of yellowish-white, sweetly fragrant flowers, which in turn form large, intriguing heads of sizeable, twisted seeds.... And yes, what a brilliant name! ... Learn More

An exceptionally choice and rare dwarf plant with pink buds opening to deepest violet-blue flowers. Stems bear oblong-lance-shaped, linear leaves which are dark blue-green above and white beneath. One of the best-ever alpine house and show plants, this fabulous miniature semi-evergreen sub-shrub originates from the mountains of Yugoslavia, Albania and Greece. ... Learn More

This fast growing annual or biennial is very attractive to bees and butterflies. It is a clump forming plant putting out several thin stems from the centre, each adorned with multiple powder-puff flowers in shades of white, pink and purple arranged in whorls along its length. Resembling oregano in appearance, it is a stalwart of the herb garden but is equally at home dotted through the herbaceous border. When crushed, the leaves release a lemon-like scent. ... Learn More