Bright sprays of fragrant cruciform flowers open in early spring on this rare, miniscule and very unusual member of the cruciferae, which deserves a place in a pot in an alpine house, or in a well-drained scree or rockery. Primuloides means 'like a primula', making this another one to baffle the experts! ... Learn More

Both rare and extremely beautiful, these completely hardy members of the "African Violet" family make dark green rosettes of hairy succulent leaves from which arise round-faced, yellow-eyed, purple flowers. They are very, very long-lived in walls where they will slowly get bigger year after year, and can stand an unbelievable amount of cold, heat and drought. ... Learn More

These completely hardy members of the "African Violet" family make dark green rosettes of hairy succulent leaves from which arise round-faced, yellow-eyed, pure white flowers. They are very, very long-lived in walls where they will slowly get bigger year after year, and can stand an unbelievable amount of cold, heat and drought. ... Learn More

The beautiful sky blue flowers of this rare and lovely plant are similar to, but distinctly different from the more commonly seen flowers of R. myconi. It grows in Serbia and Macedonia, mainly in the east of both countries and is well known on the Nidze mountain near Bitola in Macedonia. It was named after the Serbian queen Natalija Obrenovic and is also known as the phoenix flower, referring to the resurrection of the Serbian state after the destruction during World War I. Please note, seeds are extremely small, take care when opening. ... Learn More

Palest moonlight buttermilk coloured blooms, like clouds of shimmering butterflies, produced all spring and summer. Admired greatly here where they naturalise gently along pathways. ... Learn More

This is one of the loveliest of the alpine buttercups with attractive grey-green, glaucous leaves, and short stems carrying open, golden-eyed, pure white flowers. These gems come from the Pyrenees, and the Cantabrian Mountains. ... Learn More

One of the very biggest, and most impressive of all buttercups, this easy-to-grow giant opens enormous, bright green, maple-like leaves beneath large heads of large bunches of huge, shiny yellow buttercups, each with a bright green eye! This display continues until autumn when it dies completely away into a tuber, re-emerging again in early spring. This unexpectedly hardy plant is native to all of the Canary islands and will do best in rich, rather moist soils. ... Learn More

One of our earliest spring flowers, just after the snowdrops, it can appear as early as the latter part of February where it makes carpets of golden stars on shiny green carpets of tightly-packed foliage. on the banks of streams and rivers, or else in the more shaded areas under hedgerows. A valuable addition to any garden, as the bright green shiny foliage is an astonishing annual weed suppressant. Annual seeds simply do not have light to survive until may or June, when the celandine's leaves promptly die completely away, leaving just tiny harmless tubers until the following February. Contra ... Learn More

This lovely gem supplies valuable spring colour for the front of a border or rockery. Even experts are fooled by the long, sisyrinchium-like, glaucous leaves before the very long succession of butter-yellow saucers appears. It has no vices and is too seldom seen. ... Learn More

High in the alpine meadows of the European Alps lives this quite spectacular plant. Golden-eyed, ivory white saucers open in long succession on repeatedly dividing stems, giving a good season of bloom. Easy to grow in good, well-drained but moist soil, it will gently self-seed if you are fortunate! Very few fertile seeds available. ... Learn More

A rare, striking, tall and easy-to-grow plant for most gardens. Flowering all summer with profusions of showy, golden yellow flowers with a protruding brown central cone. Good for cut flowers and arranging. Perennial but best treated as an annual. ... Learn More

One of the most valuable cottage garden flowers, but sadly ignored and rarely seen, is this sweetly perfumed plant. Because it does not possess bright flowers it is often left to languish in some dark corner....The impressive spike-like inflorescence of this ancient ornamental cottage garden plant takes up most of the upper stem, and is densely packed with many deeply-fragrant yellow-eyed white flowers. The relatively insignificant leaves are divided deeply into many narrow lobes. Fill your garden with musky perfume! ... Learn More

A lovely architectural plant with waving, almost snake-like heads, of small, tufted yellow-cream flowers, the appealing rosettes of yellowish green leaves acquiring a reddish blush in cool weather. This species was the most widely used source of the natural dye known as weld, a bright yellow dye. If mixed with the blue from woad, (Isatis tinctoria), it produces greens such as Lincoln green. ... Learn More

This legendary and quite fabulous giant herbaceous plant erupts with an amazing tapering spire of bright, creamy coloured bracts which are held on strong tall stems. These extend out even further as soon as the seed ripens. The equally attractive pleated basal leaves make a low protective skirt, and are rich green and almost rounded with deep veining. It grows in the wild high on the mountains in the Himalaya, northeastern Afghanistan, northern Pakistan, India, Sikkim, Bhutan and Nepal. This is one of the world's most desirable plants and although a slow grower is worth the wait so please be ... Learn More

Superb architecturally slashed and cut leaves form an imposing structure, from which in early summer arise immense spikes of pink fluffy panicles. "Though any form of this plant is worth growing, Tanguticum should be sought." (G.S.T.) ... Learn More