A very rare and beautiful cyclamen with low, gorgeously marbled and patterned marbled heart-shaped foliage. Pink-nosed white flowers add even more to this sought-after and much valued plant, the first ever registered hybrid made in 1955!. ... Learn More

Rarely offered, this naturally occurring enormous variant of the Globe artichoke is native to the Mediterranean, where it was domesticated in ancient times. This giant is a true hardy perennial with silvery, thistle-like foliage, and tall flower stems, which are topped by fat thistle-like buds which resemble small globe artichokes in summer. Whilst the flower buds can be eaten in the same way as the artichoke, the stems which resemble large celery stalks, are usually eaten after being braised or steamed. With an artichoke-like flavour, they are also used as a vegetarian source of enzymes for cheese production. ... Learn More

This superb, easy-to-grow, rapid-growing plant will produce beautiful drifts of dazzling, bright blue flowers that will flower constantly from June until October. And if you'd like to help the world's dwindling bee population, bees absolutely adore these flowers. ... Learn More

Trusses of tubular red flowers open above long, thick, hairy rough leaves. This unusual plant from Southern Europe makes a delightful specimen for a stony spot where it will slowly naturalise if it is happy. ... Learn More

This local form of Cynoglossum montanum has strong stems carrying rough, hairy, pointed leaves, which are tipped with clusters of rose pink flowers in spring and midsummer. These vigorous plants are superb for making a quick-growing statement in the garden. ... Learn More

Dazzling, bright blue flowers, similar to forget-me-nots, are carried in small clusters on dividing stems over strong clumps of rough, narrow, mid green leaves in summer. This plant thrives best in bright, full-sun conditions in well-drained soil. ... Learn More

Strong stems carrying rough, hairy, pointed leaves are tipped with clusters of burgundy flowers in spring and midsummer. These vigorous plants are superb for making a quick-growing statement in the garden. ... Learn More

This exotic-looking beautiful flower opens in a quite unusual shade of french mustard! The individual flowers open for just a day or so, and then another flower opens on the same stem, making a long display as long as buds are produced. These plants will perform well in dryish warm screes but excel themselves in a container when they can multiply up. In the wild they are found from S. Brazil to N.E. Argentina. Few seeds collected. ... Learn More

The "Umbrella Plant" makes an attractive feature in a bright window or sun lounge where it produces strong stems topped with striking umbrella-like spokes. On mature plants, sprays of white flowers appear. It may also be used as an impressive marginal plant in a pond or bog garden. If planted deeply it will survive the average winter although is best given winter protection. It is a native of the swamps of Madagascar and a relative of the famous Papyrus of the Nile river and is also sometimes called Umbrella Papyrus, Umbrella Sedge or Umbrella Palm. ... Learn More

From neat rosettes of attractive purple-spotted, lance-shaped leaves, arise in late spring and early summer, long, densely-packed spikes, at first conical then cylindrical, of shell-pink flowers, each of which is intricately spotted and dotted with candy pink and purple. This is a very easy plant to grow in the garden, in a moist sunny soil, probably the best, and indeed the tallest, dactylorhiza to start with, and one which will, in time, make a splendid garden display which multiplies up very quickly. Seed MUST be sown by simply sprinkling it onto undisturbed garden soil. In a year or so, tiny spotted-leafed plants will appear as though by magic. Sowing in a pot of compost will not work! ... Learn More

This beautiful flower is widespread in the British Isles where it is found at up to 600 m above sea level. It is the more northerly equivalent of D. praetermissa with a delightful stocky dwarf habit with deep blue-tinged, green leaves and compact crowded flower spikes of deep rich violet-purple flowers. The individual blooms are deeply coloured and have a characteristic diamond shaped lip. It grows well and bulks up, doubling annually in ordinary garden soil, which is ideally damp but well drained. ... Learn More

New! Dahlia australis, the true species, is a magnificent plant, with demurely nodding pink to lilac flowers, (which are bigger than the similar D. merckii, which is less vigorous and of smaller stature.) Sadly, we have found that it can be difficult to keep year on year. But one day, we discovered that the busy bees at Plant World gardens had pollinated a Dahlia australis plant with pollen from other lovely dahlia cultivars in our gardens. And what an amazing surprise we received when this handful of seeds germinated and finally flowered! A completely new generation of tall but elegant dahlias with numerous branching spindly stems, offering months of a complete spectrum of vibrant colour with surprisingly little effort. These will flower their heads off in virtually any sunny spot, until the first frosts cut them down. Almost constant-flowering, these lovely single flower forms, with the occasional dark-leafed specimen, make solid, stately, almost shrubby plants, which are very easy to integrate into the average garden border, and appear to be quite hardy, having survived for ten years outside untouched by winter. Not prolific seed producers but worth any trouble to grow. ... Learn More

Cactus Dahlias make for an impressive display, bearing curvaceous, spiky blooms in a range bright colours. Their star-shaped flower form means they stand up well to inclement weather, because they’re less prone to being weighed down by heavy rain, or blown about by wind, than other Dahlia types. They are easy to grow from seed and make excellent cut flowers. For best results grow in full sun in moist but well-drained soil, and lift the tubers in November to overwinter for the following year. ... Learn More

Pendulous bell-shaped, golden-eyed, pale lavender flowers, up to 6 inches or 15 cm. across, hang from the enormous blooming panicle that can reach one metre across. Surely the rarest and grandest of all Dahlias, and seldom seen in gardens, it was only recently discovered in cool cloud forest at high elevations, (around 2000 m.) in Oaxaca, Mexico, where it is accustomed to cool days and not-too-cold nights. This gorgeous, statuesque, deciduous perennial tree dahlia, with towering height and bamboo-like stems can grow up to 3 m tall. It is late-flowering, from September onwards (in the northern hemisphere), bud formation being initiated by shorter day length. It will prefer a sheltered spot in cold areas, or alternatively it can make the most impressive greenhouse or conservatory plant you will ever see! After blooming, the plant may be cut down all the way to the ground as the stems die away. (Image courtesy of John McKenna) ... Learn More

Numerous brightest orange-red flowers open in late summer on plants which have quite finely dissected, bright green foliage. Originating from the mountainous regions of Mexico, they can grow extrely large in the right conditions, especially in good soil and with shelter of a wall. Although often reputed to be tender, the plants that produced these seeds have lived happily outside here with no protection for more than 15 years. ... Learn More