This shrub or small tree can be found growing wild just about everywhere in Britain, the fragrant, flat topped, cream flower heads appear in May and June followed by the purple-black berries in September. The flowers are used to make the delicately-perfumed elder flower champagne, whilst the berries are used for wine. It used to be said that if you had an elder tree in the garden you had a medicine chest, or even a larder! The pith of the stems is easily pushed out and whistles were made from the hollow stems, the belief being that the sweetest sounding ones were made from trees that grew away from the sound of cock-crow. Pop guns were also made out of the stems by country children. ... Learn More

Seeds collected from the very best cultivars of the dark, narrow leaved forms of the fragrant-flowered elder such as 'Black Lace'. Seedlings will vary, with less than half having dark or very dark foliage, and pink or dark pink flowers. It is very important indeed to remember that many green seedlings will turn darker as the plants mature through the summer in their first year, so do not discard all green-leaved seedlings. ... Learn More

White, fragrant spring flowers give way to dazzling, pendulous clumps of pillar-box red berries, which shine with great intensity. A great improvement on our own black-fruited elder and now you can make red elderberry wine! Collected on our Russian trip to Sakhalin (RBS0265). ... Learn More

Groups of tall, thin stems arise from low clumps of deep green, finely-cut foliage and support corymbs of delicate, tiny white flowers from May to September. The plant is incredibly frost hardy and prefers damp shady conditions on neutral or alkaline soil, where it will spread over time to provide good ground cover. ... Learn More

This unusual alpine plant carries clusters of buttermilk-yellow flowers on stems carrying lanceolate leaves, which arise from a basal rosette of spathulate leaves. This high altitude species exhibits the same features as some of the Lychnis catchflies in having sticky hairs, especially on the leaves. In the wild in southern Europe it grows amongst mountain rocks and in pastures to 2000m. ... Learn More

From a low cushion of grey-green leaves arise short stems, bearing clusters of pink flowers starting in late spring and early summer, although in the wild, high in the Pyrenees it flowers much later from August to September. The Tight compact cushions are perfect for rock gardens or troughs. ... Learn More

One of the most popular plants in rock gardens and dry stone walls, or between stepping stones on a path, this lovely semi-evergreen cushion plant opens its bright pink flowers all summer long, from May to August. This species extends from the mountains of Spain to Corsica, Sardinia and Slovenia, and from the Apennines to the Alps. AGM winner ... Learn More

This ancient member of the carnation family, "Bouncing Bett", should be in every cottage garden, and will form long-lived, slowly-spreading clumps which display sprays of very sweetly perfumed, double pink flowers which are produced from spring until late autumn. ... Learn More

Very easy to grow, this is a very attractive and showy annual with graceful sprays of star-like, deep pink flowers, each about one third of an inch across. Produced in profusion, the stems are excellent for cutting and are often used as a filler, with Gypsophila. ... Learn More

A hardy annual with light green leaves and large sprays of sweet smelling, star like white flowers from July to August. The stems are thicker, stronger, taller, and easier to manage than those of annual gypsophila and can be used as an alternative in displays and bouquets. Ideal for borders and cut flowers. ... Learn More

This lovely hybrid, coming true from seed, between Saponaria caespitosa and Saponaria ocymoides, combines the small plant size of the former with the larger clear pink flowers of the latter, which are held well above the rosette of leaves on densely-tufted flowering stems. Very few seeds collected. ... Learn More

Endemic to China this rare plant is on the 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. This unlikely but gorgeous relative of asarum, or wild ginger, grows in dense forests, valleys, and stream banks, at 600-1000 meters where it bears heart-shaped, woolly, felted leaves and bright yellow flowers in April-May, and is a must for the woodland garden where it will spread if happy. It was named after Augustine Henry, an Irish physician, who collected intensively in China for the Royal Botanic Garden Kew. Very few seeds collected. ... Learn More

An unusual alpine, with dark purple thistle-like flowers some 3cm across and papery, purple-tinged bracts are displayed in August above a basal rosette of long, deeply lobed leaves with white woolly undersides. ... Learn More

This encrusted saxifrage makes a tight mat of very small compact rosettes which have silver-edged, dark-green leaves, and arching, dividing stems that bear sprays of pure white flowers in summer. It comes from the mountains of central and southern Europe, where it lives on limestone screes and rocks, and will do best if grown in tufa, but if in the open garden, it is best kept out of full sun. ... Learn More

This rare mossy saxifrage, restricted to the Cevennes region of Southern France, makes an exceptionally tight, dark green "mossy" dome, completely covered in yellow-eyed white flowers in spring. ... Learn More