This unusual specimen can finally grow into a tall, deciduous tree bearing large, short, sharp prickles all along the branches, and also on the trunk which has a pronounced buttress at the base. The leaves drop off in the dry season, and it is leafless for a long period, allowing the glorious array of large and beautifully-marked pink flowers to display to their best. The large Kapok seed pods contain the fibrous fluff which has been used since early times for a large variety of uses. ... Learn More

This spectacular, fast-growing tree, unbelievably, a member of the Mallow family, bears very tropical-looking palmate foliage, and has an extraordinary bulbous green trunk studded with astonishingly-large, triangular-shaped "thorns". It produces extremely beautiful, sizeable pink and cream lily-like flowers, which are fragrant and borne in great profusion, and are followed by large woody pods that split open to release the long white flossy hairs of the famous kapok. It is native to North-Eastern Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay and Southern Brazil. Although finally becoming an open ground tree in ... Learn More

This is one of the prettiest of Celosias with graceful waves of rose-pink flowers shading to white at the base. The tall, branching stems, up to one metre in height are amazing as both a fresh cut or dried flower. Also makes a fine feature in bedding schemes. ... Learn More

Classic Magic Cornflower produces single, semi-double flowers in attractive purple to almost black shades, and purple and white bi-colours. This stunning flower is ideal for cutting or creating swathes of colour when sown in drifts. Sow in early spring for armfuls of flowers to pick all through the summer. Easily grown, it also makes a most attractive pot plant for the cold greenhouse. ... Learn More

An easily grown, cottage garden favourite. It is a bushy plant with deeply cut leaves and bears lovely large, fluffy, sweet-scented flowers. Wonderful for the border and brilliant for cutting. ... Learn More

The grey-green waxy leaves and very sweetly-perfumed red flowers, occasionally pink or white with no intermediate shades, combine to perfection, and look best grown en-masse on banks, or when allowed to self-seed in walls and paving. They are very attractive to bees and butterflies and other pollinating insects and will even grow well in shallow soil where virtually nothing else will grow. And additionally, in olden times, and even now, both leaves and roots can be eaten, the leaves either fresh in salads or lightly boiled, the roots boiled in soups! ... Learn More

A very low and slow-growing alpine plant, forming a carpet of fuzzy silver-grey leaves with short stems of starry white flowers, which appear in late spring and early summer. It does best in the rock garden or in a gravel scree or alpine trough garden where it does best in a hanging position. ... Learn More

Robust sprays of fragrant, creamy white flowers open above compact stems, bearing leathery, slightly hairy, little-divided leaves, an unusual feature within this group of plants. A new, rare and extremely garden-worthy plant from the windy Azores Islands, it will puzzle even the most knowledgeable plant enthusiast! ... Learn More

Chokeberry is thought to be the world's healthiest fruit! The berries, with very few seeds, should be very ripe indeed before they are eaten, and have a strong, delicious, and quite unique taste. But its most popular use is in juices, sauces, smoothies and summer puddings! Incredibly tough and hardy, it is long-lived, easy to grow, and extremely productive, and truly is a fruit of the future! With an amazing three times more xanthocyanins and antioxidants than blueberries and blackcurrants, (allegedly a highest proportion than any other known plant), and also polyphenols, bioflavonoids, tannin ... Learn More

An abundance of tall stems carry swathes of giant white petalled, yellow eyed, daisy flowers thoughout late summer. Clumps will gradually spread and will return reliably each season. ... Learn More

Purplish stems carrying arching spires of fragrant white flowers in mid-autumn, from September into October, rise above shiny divided leaves. One of the treasures of the autumn garden, this is a magnificent and very valuable mid or back of border plant. ... Learn More

Large, frilly-petalled, golden-eyed, purple-pink flowers open in early summer on this superb, easy-to-grow plant which is perfect for a really hot border or shrubbery. Native to south-western Europe and western north Africa, it is often grown solely for its attractive, greyish-white oblong leaves. ... Learn More

In spring, handsome clusters of large round buds enclosed in red sepals open into golden-eyed, chalk-white flowers, over a dense bush of very attractive, pointed, fresh-green aromatic leaves which have deeply ruffled edges. No other flowering shrub will tolerate such tough dry conditions yet continue to produce blossom for so long and with such impact. ... Learn More

Very large, golden-eyed, frilly white flowers open on bushes of coarse rough leaves. This spectacular plant does best in a hot, well-drained spot where it will be most attractive to all pollinating insects. Very few seeds collected. ... Learn More

Usually a pale green to yellow when ripe, this amazing fruit is much larger than a grapefruit, with sweet flesh and thick spongy rind. By far the largest citrus in the world, the pummelo can reach 12" in diameter. Similar in appearance to a large grapefruit, it is native to South and Southeast Asia and is a natural citrus fruit, not a hybrid, and is indeed one of the original citrus species from which the rest of cultivated citrus were produced by hybridisation. The pummelo tree itself bears most attractive white flowers and generally has a somewhat crooked trunk and low, irregular branches. ... Learn More