This rare and gorgeous, showy, Japanese evergreen perennial, grows its congested rosettes of pale green lance-shaped foliage, which turns purple in winter, along rocky streams. The strong lavender-pink, star shaped flowers, all with narrow petals are held in clusters well above the foliage. It excels in moist, well-drained soil in shade where it will very slowly divide up over the years. ... Learn More

Sizeable yellow flowers are borne on naked stems which grow well above a lower-growing clump of arching, linear, narrow leaves. The individual flowers open for one day, but are constantly produced in long succession. It is native to northern Asia (Siberia, Mongolia, China, Korea) where it is eaten as food, being easy to grow and and quick to multiply. The flowers are a traditional food in China where they are steamed and then dried, and indeed in the UK they are used as edible additions to decorate salads. They tolerate any normal garden soil, in a not too dry, sunny or semi-shady location. ... Learn More

This rarely-seen, hardy, rhizomatous, usually semi-evergreen perennial, displays some of the bluest flowers you can grow, forming small clumps, from which, after flowering, the hairy new foliage unfurls to produce glossy green or marbled, three, or sometimes up to five-lobed leaves. Although primarily a woodland plant, with good drainage, they will thrive in a cool crevice or corner in the garden and alternatively are well suited to pot culture. They are native to woodland in temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. Very few good viable seeds are ever collected. ... Learn More

Beautiful, blue-violet, iris-like flowers, brightly-patterned and deeper violet at the centres, open in long succession over clumps of sword-shaped leaves, for many weeks from early summer onwards. Although these plants from southern Chile and Argentina are not totally hardy, they will do well in a sheltered bed outside, or in a pot indoors where you can admire their beauty. ... Learn More

Bright airy sprays of countless, delicate, pinkish-red flowers open on long thin stems which erupt from compact sprays of narrow, arching, bluish, evergreen leaves, which often acquire an attractive reddish tinge in response to cold. It will make a fabulous and very rarely-seen addition to a warm, well-drained rockery or hot garden. Very few seeds available . ... Learn More

Shell pink, 3cm wide, star-like flowers, open during the day, facing outwards from August into October. This lovely plant is a summer rainfall species from the Drakensberg Mountains, KwaZulu-Natal, Lesotho, and the Transvaal which is pollinated both by beetles and bees. As a high elevation species it is hardier than many of the Cape species. ... Learn More

In spring, incredibly fragrant (jasmine to frangipani) white flowers, with a flush of red on the outside, open late in the afternoon or evening when they are pollinated by bees or moths. This beautiful dwarf plant is found growing in the wild on sandstone and shale slopes and coastal flats from the Northwest Cape to the Eastern Cape. ... Learn More

From the South African mountains comes this quite exquisite bulbous flower. Rarely seen in the wild or cultivation, it displays spikes of shell pink flowers in mid to late summer after which the long, strap-shaped leaves die away to a resting bulb underground. In a warm, well drained site, it will , if you are fortunate, self-seed, and will otherwise slowly increase naturally underground. In a pot though, it will be safe from the elements regardless of your location. ... Learn More

The "Dame's Violet" is one of the indispensable cottage garden flowers. Very fragrant lilac mauve stock-like flowers open on tall branching stems, which are produced throughout spring and early summer. This superb, perennial perfumed flower, blooms from seed the first year. ... Learn More

This fabulous mix of pink and white forms will produce flowers varying in colour from deep rich purple, through all the paler lilac shades to white. If you leave them to seed themselves they will maintain this diversity indefinitely, gradually naturalising over a large area. The fragrance is as sweet as a violet's, and most pronounced in the evening (the night-scented stock is a close relative). A perfect cottage garden plant, it is very attractive to wildlife being host to the caterpillars of several butterfly species, including the Orange tip and Small White butterfly. A gorgeous, hardy, long-lived cottage garden favourite. ... Learn More

"Dame's Violet", "Sweet Rocket", or "Damask Flower" has been a favourite cottage garden flower for hundreds of years. We now offer the first ever variegated seed strain of this perfumed old cottage garden favourite. ... Learn More

Quite an unusual form of heuchera with delightfully convoluted, sometimes even parsley-like green foliage. The sprays of greenish-white flowers which appear on long stems, and are ideal in flower arrangements, are an added bonus! ... Learn More

This semi-evergreen, large clump-forming plant bears long arching stems bearing unusual fragrant green flowers along their length. Bone hardy, even in the coldest winters, these plants are extremely attractive to bees and butterflies. ... Learn More

Puckered, folded and pleated leaves, from beetroot red to deep purple and which appear to be transparent in the sun, produce a mound from which arise thin stems carrying fluffy white, superbly contrasting flowers. ... Learn More

These plants have been selected for the most attractive marbled and veined leaves. The colours and shades of mahogany, bronze, aluminium and silver are most distinctive on young spring foliage. Flower sprays in shades of pink and white. ... Learn More