Spathulate leaves make a compact clump and also clad the short stems which bear mauve-rayed flowers with large golden eyes. This lovely alpine is also one of Britain's rarest native flowers and can only be found on a very few mountain tops including Ben Lawers in central Scotland. ... Learn More

A most attractive alpine with rosettes of finely-divided, hairy leaves and close-packed stems of golden-eyed white flowers, with some rare seedlings being pale pink or blue. It is native to barren places in western North America, Greenland and eastern Canada. ... Learn More

This trouble-free hardy plant thrives on the coastline of Oregon and California where it makes slowly spreading, compact cushions on beaches, coastal bluffs and dunes. The central golden-yellow disc florets are surrounded by petals which can vary from deep blue and purple to nearly white, but are usually pinkish mauve. It is a valuable, extremely-easy-to-grow rock garden plant. ... Learn More

On a gently spreading low carpet of tiny pointed leaves, appear sheets of dazzling daisies, which open white before turning pink and finally fading to deep purple. This gorgeous, drought-resistant cushion plant is very long-flowering, from late spring to autumn, and is one of the best wall or dry-rockery plants, able to stand almost complete dessication without dying. (RHS Award of Merit!) ... Learn More

This gorgeous extremely dwarf plant forms clusters of small rosettes of tiny leaves and short leafy stems bearing clusters of small, pale purplish-pink, fragrant flowers all spring and summer long. Superb when naturalised, especially in cracks in walls or rockeries. ... Learn More

Although this miniature alpine plant is sometimes called the "White Fairy Foxglove" you would never guess it is in the foxglove family. Dwarf spikes bearing clusters of pure snow-white flowers arise over tiny tufts of hairy leaves. These attractive gems will grow anywhere, even in the cracks of a wall or between paving slabs. ... Learn More

Although this miniature alpine plant is sometimes called the "Fairy Foxglove" you would never guess it is in the foxglove family. Dwarf spikes bearing clusters of brilliant purple/red flowers arise over tiny tufts of hairy leaves. These attractive gems will grow anywhere, especially. in the cracks of a wall or between paving slabs. ... Learn More

With evergreen, woolly grey foliage and brilliant bright yellow blooms from late spring through late summer, this is a valuable and very rarely-seen groundcover. Occasionally purple flowers have been seen! Extremely tolerant of drought and heat as well as cold, this dwarf, bone-hardy, slow-spreading, long-lived, alpine gem thrives in dry, hot exposed spots, indeed, it is happy in perfect drainage to the point of living in gravel, even in areas that are too poor to support most plant life. In the wild it lives in ranges west of the Rocky Mountains. Although it assumes star roles in drought-tol ... Learn More

Sprays of flowers looking rather like mini sunflowers open on stems and divided leaves covered with woolly grey hair. This attractive and really excellent garden flower prefers a well-drained bank to do of its best, although as they grow in very wet areas of the north west (Washington State) they can obviously survive wet conditions, but commonly grow in any dry place, especially on rocky slopes and bluffs. It is most common in California, but grows as far north as Vancouver, Canada. ... Learn More

This is the wild form of the gorgeous annual which bears many erect stems, the dazzling blue flowers opening on many-branched stems in summer and until recently it was extremely rare. In the wild it is found from central Asia to Tibet, and Nepal to Afghanistan, in both screes and rock ledges in the drier zones at 2400-4500m. Its flowering power is such that no matter when the seeds are planted - early or late - it will grow and flower quite late into autumn. ... Learn More

This most attractive new compact hybrid produces dense flower spikes of large, brilliant sky-blue flowers. If sown early, it makes a solid dome of dazzling flowers producing an unforgettable display all summer long. ... Learn More

Making small mounds of long leaves above which hover sky-blue, yellow-eyed flowers, this rare and beautiful plant comes from Iberia to the central Ural mountains in Russia, usually on rocky slopes of mountains in steppes, but rarely in forest cover. ... Learn More

Very rarely offered, this gorgeous dwarf erodium, one of the most beautiful of this sizeable family, opens its exceptionally attractive large flowers in a strong cerise colour, all carried in good-sized heads held well clear of the foliage. It has a superficial resemblance to Erodium manescavii but is barely half the size. Unlike many other varieties it perpetually produces new stems for most of the summer, the compact, parsley-like, deeply cut leaves adding value to its flattened clumps. It also makes a perfect large specimen over a long season when planted on its own in a suitable container ... Learn More

A fascinating plant from Sicily. Large violet blue flowers are produced all summer, followed by remarkable, enormous corkscrew seeds which are commercially used for making hygrometers (to measure dampness) - wet one and watch what slowly happens! ... Learn More

Deepest lilac-pink flowers are repeatedly produced for many months over a cascading clump of lovely feathery leaves. This beautiful, long-flowering, very long-lived plant will put on a superb show for year after year where others will not survive. It thrives in all soils and aspects too! ... Learn More