One of the very best Japanese maples for autumn colour, this spectacular variety really comes into its own in autumn, with the most intense, long lasting, fiery scarlet autumn colour of all the Japanese maples. It is ideal for border planting, and will also excel in a large pot or container for many years. ... Learn More

This diminutive sycamore tree has delightfully variegated foliage which emerges with salmon pink and red variegation, turning to green with cream variegation in splashes and streaks in the summer, and later, in autumn, the golden, bronzed leaves come tumbling to the ground. Growing well on even the worst soils, it can cope with both air pollution and even sites with salty sea winds, but like many of the variegated maples it is prone to reversion that must be pruned out as soon as it appears. Few seeds collected. ... Learn More

Forming a dense rosette of long, sharp and very narrow leaflets, this unusual frost-hardy plant produces attractive sprays of yellow flowers which are are carried on a strong stalk that can be up 40 in (1 m) high. It is native to tussock grassland in the drier parts of the South Island of New Zealand where it thrives between 300 and 1400 m. In cultivation it does best in a sunny or lightly shaded spot as it does not prefer high summer temperatures and is a perfect replacement for e.g. Agave and Yucca in such climates. In areas where humidity is high it prefers a windy, exposed site. ... Learn More

Blue flowers shading to cream with purple veins open on branching stems. This unusual wildflower is native to western North America where it makes impressive stands in meadows and coniferous forests where it prefers moist areas. It will make an ideal garden plant in gardens that possess these qualities. ... Learn More

Primrose-yellow, darker-anthered "monkshood" flowers open on short stems on this rare gem from the mountain slopes and forest margins of China, Korea and Eastern Russia. Very doubtfully in cultivation, it is a far superior plant to its relative, Aconitum lycoctonum, being shorter and more compact in stature, as well as having flowers which are outward-facing rather than pendent. ... Learn More

Green-lipped, palest yellow flowers open in early summer on this rarely-seen monkshood flower. A cousin to the more common Blue Monkshood, this species is not commonly seen in gardens, where it will form an upright clump of deeply-cut green leaves preferring a site that will not dry out. It also makes an outstanding cut flower. Like all monkshoods, all parts of this plant are poisonous. ... Learn More

Tall stems hold dense pyramids of narrow, hooded, ivory-green flowers, which are crowded up the stem. Dark green foliage resembles that of a delphinium, to which it related, and they are less cut than other species. This plant is a superb treasure for part shade, although it is happy in almost any aspect. ... Learn More

Collected originally on our 2004 seed expedition to the Russian island of Sakhalin, ("Land of the Giants") this unusually large, and very lovely plant bears substantial rosettes of elegant ferny leaves from which arise tall, strong stems bearing whorls of sizeable, deepest blue "Monkshood" flowers. ... Learn More

An imposing specimen, forming an upright clump of deeply-cut green leaves, bearing tall, showy, strong, branching spikes of outward-facing, pale silvery-blue flowers. These are delicately-pencilled with deep blue in mid-summer, the effect being somewhat similar to delphinium, making it excellent as a cut flower. RHS AGM winner ... Learn More

Splendid white bottlebrush flowers open on tall stems above clumps of finely-divided, ferny foliage. It thrives best in well-drained fertile soil with some moisture retention in full-part shade. Rare and beautiful and endemic to Arizona, this splendid plant lives almost exclusively in deep canyons in the middle of the Arizona desert, where it grows up to about 5300-7000 feet, where it often grows in very moist habitats, such as seeps and springs on mountain slopes. ... Learn More

A. kolomikta is a large vigorous deciduous climber with twining stems. Leaves ovate, those of mature plants tipped with silver, later pink. Flowers white, male and female on separate plants. Grown for foliage effect. ... Learn More

This superb annual has feathery foliage and a succession of brilliant blood-red flowers, making a delightful plant for the border. It grows well in any ordinary garden soil, but prefers a moist well-drained soil grown in sun or semi-shade. In olden times this scarce and beautiful European native was used as a medicinal and ornamental plant. ... Learn More

The flowers of Burnt candytuft, a dwarf rock plant, are variable in colour and can be white, pink or mauve. For us living in the UK larger and more common members of this family are associated with neat, edged flowerbeds in gardens and parks in the height of summer. This rare plant grows in rocky habitats in the hills and mountains, where it blooms in the spring. Burnt candytuft is found in the western and central Mediterranean from Spain to Greece and also in Sardinia, Sicily and Crete. ... Learn More

A beautiful variegated Agapanthus with long, slender, clump forming leaves which are cream variegated, producing a most attractive variation from the norm. When flowering, slender stems protrude from the foliage carrying elegant deep violet clusters of flower in the typical spherical shape you would expect. Some variation from seed may occur. ... Learn More

thick narrow upward curving blue-green leaves, with a long, hard, dark apine at their tips, form a tight and most attractive rosette on this incredible plant which is one of the most cold tolerant agaves, being extremely frost-resistant when dry. Mature plants bloom in late winter producing yellow flowers along the tall central stem. Making a formidable, and usually quite dwarf succulent specimen, this fabulous drought-resistant plant comes from the hot areas of the USA in the states of Utah, Nevada, Arizona and California. It is a recipient of the AGM Award of Garden Merit. ... Learn More