The amazing show-stopper, Echium wildpretii, is one of the world's most impressive plants with its 3 to 4 foot spike of raspberry-red flowers erupting from a swan's nest of thin, grey hairy leaves. But it can sometimes succumb to frost and winter wet. So we back-crossed it with one of its bigger and tougher children, "Pink Fountain", itself a cross between the relatively hardy Echium pininana and Echium wildpretii! And this unbelievable 4 to 6 foot spectacle was the result. Fat, bee-magnet spikes are thickly crowded with dark pink or strawberry-red flowers, and blue-pollen-powdered anthers. I ... Learn More

Russia and Eastern Europe is the home of this uncommon and unusual plant which is probably the most attractive of all dwarf echiums. Amazingly it is not only bone-hardy but also, unbelievably, reliably perennial! Many short stout stems carry whorls of long lance-shaped dark green leaves, and a long succession of foot-long spikes of stunning, bright crimson flowers with prominent protruding red anthers. ... Learn More

Dense, compact spikes of numerous brilliant, violet-blue flowers, beloved by bees, open on compact spikes, which erupt in its second year. In a well-drained soil in a sunny, sheltered spot, it will improve steadily for many years, slowly thickening stems and trunk. This superb, rare, but unusually hardy plant is perfect for growing in a sunny, sheltered spot or sunny patio. In the wild it is also rare and endemic to the Canary islands and especially La Palma. Very few fertile seeds collected and the odd variant habit or colour may always appear, so we must respectfully point out that all of ou ... Learn More

Another of our new big echium hybrids. In spring, countless buds sprout sideways from the trunk, they turn upwards, and then become thick, stout, strong, vertical columns. Tightly-clustered sprays of white flowers cloak them in early summer, and continue to slowly open from the the bottom upwards for many months. The flowers on this variety should be even more compact than on its relatives as it has inherited this characteristic from one of its parents, Echium wildprettii! If deadheaded after flowering, numerous new shoots will usually appear around the remaining stems to continue the display ... Learn More

This lovely diminutive native of of the Dalmatian mountains makes compact tufts of narrow grass-like leaves, 2 to 4 inches in length, with drooping flower-stems which become erect later. Violet-blue starry bell-shaped flowers appear in clusters in July and August. Rarely seen, this tough little gem is perfect for the alpine garden or front of border. ... Learn More

Short stems arise from a tiny grassy-leaved tuft of silver-blue foliage in spring, supporting beautiful blue bells that are very large for the size of the plant. This bone-hardy rare endemic from the Komovi mountains of Montenegro is probably best grown in a trough or in a site in the rock garden, where it will not be overwhelmed by neighboring plants. ... Learn More

One of the very smallest species, this makes clumps of thin, grass-like foliage, topped with blue, skywards-facing bell-flowers. This prize-winner is absolutely superb in a pan, scree or rock garden. ... Learn More

From an inconspicuous green tuft of grassy leaves, sprout six inch stems bearing clusters of large, bright purple flowers, each blooming spike being around two inches across. This plant, a native of the Balkans, demands a location with good drainage such as a pot, rock garden, or alpine trough. ... Learn More

This charming member of the Saxifrage family has deep green, notched and lobed, rounded basal leaves. Pale Yellow-green flowers open, each bonnet-shaped calyx being cream coloured and trimmed with five tiny pure white petals that are lobed or fringed. Found on the Pacific coast of USA and Canada, it is clump-forming, spreading by rhizomes, but is not invasive. ... Learn More

This absolutely diminutive, rather rare, summer-flowering perennial is found in the alpine screes and rocky areas from 900–1800m altitude in the mountains of New Zealand's South Island from Nelson to Arthur's Pass where it makes a prostrate creeping carpet of tiny succulent leaves spangled with almost stemless, pretty pink flowers. Later, the curious, erect seed pods are formed, from which the tiny gossamer seed-parachutes are soon blown aloft, but rarely to become a pest! ... Learn More

Greyish narrow leaves and massed spires of rosy pink blooms on this dainty Russian plant. Flowers for a long period in midsummer. Neither weedy nor invasive. "A beautiful plant in full flower." (G.S.T.) ... Learn More

This compact and delightful flower from the Alps is seriously under-used in the garden where its delicate, fragrant, pink flowers, which have four pointed thin dark purple sepals and four bright pink ovate petals, borne on reddish stems against gray-green foliage, would be a welcome addition. It is native to the European mountain regions and to nearby mountain ranges such as the Carpathians, where it typically colonises acid gravels near rivers particularly after the retreat of a glacier. It immediately reminds you of Chamerion angustifolium (Rosebay Willowherb) but is instead a lovely, dwarf, ... Learn More

Slowly creeping growths push up short stems, clothed with small leaves, topped in July with spikes of red-infused flowers with brownish sepals around an intricate white and yellow lip. The overall effect is entrancing. It will do best in full sun in a seasonally wet or damp soil, which for best results should be alkaline. This lovely hardy orchid is native to Europe, Turkey, the Caucasus, West and East Siberia, and Central Asia. Please be aware that these plants are very slow indeed to germinate, but when established are easy to grow and very long-lived as they spread by underground runners. ... Learn More

This lovely geographical variant has larger yellow flowers than the commonly encountered form, and these open around a month later giving a useful progression in the garden. The ruff of leaves also has many more frilly segments which are attractively tinged bronze as they emerge from the ground. It comes from areas around the Mediterranean, especially Turkey and is soundly perennial in ordinary garden soil but enjoys a warmer, sunnier, drier spot than its relatives. ... Learn More

This dazzling plant, which is totally hardy and very long-lived, competes with the snowdrop as the first flower of the year, but is too seldom grown or seen. Buttercup yellow shiny flowers above tiny posies of cut leaves, sprouting from tubers which slowly multiply over the years. ... Learn More