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

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

A plant to puzzle and impress your friends. This handsome Chilean plant has long tubular greeny-yellow flowers throughout spring and summer followed by yellow berries. It makes a solid shrub decorated with small, evergreen, glossy, dark green, rather musty-smelling leaves. ... Learn More

Unusual in this genus because of its height, this fishtail-like palm from the Himalayan region has a solitary trunk and large, stiff, feathery leaves arranged in opposite rows in the same plane. An extremely unusual looking palm, the leaves form just two rows on either side of the trunk, so that looking down on the palm from above, the leaves would all form a single straight line. The long, attractive leaflets are dark green above, and greyish white underneath. ... Learn More

This popular shrub bears clusters of bright pink, funnel-shaped flowers in spring and is the perfect specimen for a large shrubbery or even for growing in a lawn. ... Learn More

An unusual white form of the popular garden shrub originally discovered in Korea and China in the mid-19th century. ... Learn More

A truly outstanding deciduous shrub bearing showy funnel-shaped flowers. But this form is special! The buds open to give white flowers which age to pink and finally to red. The whole effect is quite stunning with flowers of all colours on the same plant! ... Learn More

A curious and attractive shrub in the rue family. Sprays of greeny-yellow flowers in spring later produce bright red berries amidst shiny aromatic leaves. Enormous thorns are produced on the old wood. ... Learn More