Attractive racemes of dazzling, showy, bright red pea-like flowers, open over a long period, followed by sizeable, pink-tinged, bladdery, inflated seed capsules, which many children love to "pop" with an audible bang!Probably the most beautiful of any berry.. ... Learn More

Shiny brown nuts ripen inside softly-prickly fruits. Unlike most nuts, chestnuts have a high starch and water content but are low in protein and fat, and roasted are a popular and tasty traditional Christmas treat in Europe. The trunk of the tree is often very wide for its height, and is also recognisable by its deeply grooved bark. Its hardy nature means it still flourishes across large areas of central and western Europe but especially Great Britain where ancient specimens can be found. ... Learn More

During early summer, the clusters of green-white to pink flowers start to bloom amongst the attractive blue-green leaves, followed by clusters of white, conspicuous, round fruits, 1-2cm in diameter, which persist into the autumn. This bushy, rounded shrub can make a fast-growing, multi-stemmed deciduous hedge which spreads by suckers underground. It is an important winter food source for quail, pheasant, and grouse, but is considered poisonous to humans, as the berries contain the isoquinoline alkaloid chelidonine, as well as other alkaloids and should not be eaten. Ingesting the berries causes mild symptoms of vomiting, dizziness, and slight sedation in children. ... Learn More

These beautiful blooming trees put on a brilliant display of a multitude of two to three-inch-long, fragrant, golden yellow, trumpet-shaped blooms borne in terminal flower clusters. The gorgeous silvery leaves often drop just before the flowers appear making the spectable even more amazing. Deeply-furrowed silvery bark on picturesque, contorted branches and trunk adds even more to its grandeur. Although it thrives only in warmer climates, it can be also be grown in containers, especially small ones, which eventually can turn the tree into a large bonsai specimen. It is native to South America in Suriname, Brazil, eastern Bolivia, Peru, Paraguay, and northern Argentina. The common English name Caribbean trumpet tree is actually misleading, as it is not native to the Caribbean! ... Learn More

Tamarind trees are very versatile and can be grown in tropical and sub-tropical parts of the world. The pod-like fruit contain pulp which is used in cuisines all over the world often in desserts, as a jam, blended into juices, sorbets, ice creams and other snacks. In the West it is famously an integral part of the world-famous Worcester Sauce. The timber is use in woodworking and oil can extracted from its seeds. ... Learn More

Above sharply-toothed, lance-shaped green leaves open large, showy, bright golden yellow trumpet-shaped flowers which attract bees, butterflies, and in warmer climes hummingbirds. It produces attractive pods containing yellow seeds with papery wings and is extremely drought-tolerant, growing well in warm climates. Found native in South America around the tropics. It rarely grows very large and blooms all the year round. ... Learn More

This large tree is native to south and southeast Asia, and is more commonly known the commercial wood product, teak, with a wide variety of uses from furniture to boat building. The leaves are used for fermenting soybeans. With clusters of small, lightly fragranced, white flowers which are pollinated by bees, flies and ants. A tree for a sunny position with moist, well-drained soil, it can however tolerate drought. ... Learn More

A handsome ornamental tree with small white, flowers blooming throughout the year, but more heavily in spring. Seed pods produce an edible almond-like nut, hence the common name. Prefers well-drained, moist soil and is salt tolerant, so suitable for coastal locations. ... Learn More

This lovely shrub or small tree has glossy dark green leaves, and fragrant saffron-yellow to orange or peach coloured flowers. The long funnel-shaped flowers are in terminal clusters and produce deep red fruits which form black seed pods and are not edible. It makes an ideal container plant for a sunny deck or patio. In USA Zones 8-10, these plants are used in a variety of landscape applications including hedges, screens, foundation plantings and borders. Native to the West Indies, southern Mexico and Belize, the generic name of this tropical evergreen shrub honours the 16th century French Franciscan monk Andre Thevet, who accompanied a French expedition to Brazil in the 1550s. ... Learn More

A truly appropriate common name, this rare plant opens glorious, dazzling purple goblet-flowers, which slowly open making a five-bladed windmill! New to cultivation, this slow-growing, dwarf, evergreen shrub will make a stunning plant for a sheltered spot or even a large container indoors. The name Tibouchina is actually adapted from a Guianan indigenous name for a member of this genus. ... Learn More

Masses of goblet shaped, carmine-red flowers open amidst dark green, deeply-carved, soft fuzzy leaves on this very rare shrub, which can eventually become a compact tree. A magnet for butterflies and bees, in the wild it is actually pollinated by hummingbirds, where it thrives high in the cloud forests and paramo of the Andes, in Venezuela, Colombia and Ecuador between 2400 and 3800 m. Seldom yet seen in cultivation, it will make an outstanding specimen in cool temperate climates. ... Learn More

Masses of sizeable, sumptuous, beautiful royal-purple blooms open wide, amidst velvet leaves, constantly from March or April. These continue all through autumn and sometimes into early winter, or even all-year-round in warmer climates. Perfect trained as a shrub, or even allowed to grow finally into a small tree, it is one of the world's most spectacular plants. In the wild, Tibouchina lepidota is fairly widespread in montane and cloud forests of the Andes mountains between Venezuela and Peru from 800 to 3200 m, and therefore has a considerable measure of hardiness. ... Learn More

This very long-lived and most attractive palm is probably the only one which is completely hardy in the UK. However it is best grown in a sheltered spot to preserve the beauty of the impressive fan-shaped leaves. ... Learn More

Impressive large fans of pleated leaves, which are much more divided than those on the normal variety, adorn a slender fibrous trunk and bring an instant touch of the Mediterranean to your garden. Despite its delicate appearance, this plant is hardy across most areas of the UK and tends to be quite slow-growing so that you can be sure it will not be too quick to overwhelm whatever space you give it. ... Learn More

This stunning palm has large, nearly-circular leaves, and when mature forms a smooth, grey, bare trunk. It has a very restricted geographical range in the wild and is found only in an isolated pocket in the Sikkim Himalayas in north-east India which is immediately threatened by destruction. This palm has only recently been introduced into cultivation, but is about to make a huge impression in the palm world! It is heat-resistant and hardy: -10 to -12°C (14 to 10°F) . ... Learn More