In late winter and earliest spring the curious corms of these little beauties send up crowds of inch-wide, pale-pink star-flowers, making them ideal candidates for an alpine trough or sand bed, where they will self-seed readily and spread by underground runners. They are found in the wild from eastern Europe through Russia into Iran where they grow in grasslands in moist, sandy soil, often up to an altitude of 1400 meters. ... Learn More

An easy to grow dwarf annual bedding flower which produces bright, colourful, daisy-like blooms throughout the summer. 'Harlequin' can tolerate dry conditions and sandy soil and its free flowering habit makes it an ideal plant for ground cover or to brighten up rock gardens, walls and paths. ... Learn More

Metrosideros laurifolia, commonly known as Laurel Ohia, is an evergreen shrub or tree native to New Caledonia. It features large, thick, leathery leaves up to 17 cm (6.7 inches) long, often with pinkish-red stalks. The young foliage emerges with an intense coppery-red hue, adding vibrant color to the landscape. During its blooming period from spring to early summer, the tree is adorned with masses of yellow flowers with long stamens, creating a striking visual display. Thriving in full sun to partial shade and well-drained soils, Metrosideros laurifolia is adaptable to various soil types, i ... Learn More

Numerous curious, lantern-like buds open into a huge candelabra of branching stems holding fantastic, pure white, passion-flower-like blooms, beginning in early summer and continuing until August if dead-headed. One of the world's most astonishing and spectacular flowers, this arrestingly beautiful plant is actually easy to grow either as a biennial or as a short-lived perennial. An unusual member of the Campanula family, it is native to Lebanon and Israel, the genus Michauxia beings named after King Louis XVI of France’s royal botanist, Andreas Michaux, who travelled to America during the la ... Learn More

A rare and stunningly beautiful plant coveted by all who see it. Numerous waxy, pendent buds open to pure white, madonna lily-like flowers with reflexed strap-like petals, opening over a long period. But oh dear, what do you say when friends ask its name? ... Learn More

The best golden grass growable from seed has dazzlingly bright, canary-yellow leaves. Of its best in spring and especially in a shady spot. In commerce "Bowles' Golden Grass" is often the most expensive grass seed in the world! ... Learn More

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