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

This gorgeous and valuable plant produces violet-veined white flowers above fragrant crinkly leaves over an incredibly long period, from the end of winter until midsummer and spasmodically thereafter. It is much admired in our gardens and is bone hardy, although its exotic appearance does not give this impression. (Syn. or very close to Erodium trifolium). ... Learn More

From Argentina comes what is perhaps the king of eryngiums. This statuesque plant, which has evergreen, toothed, sword-like rich green leaves is in fact very hardy, whilst having a tender, exotic tropical look with massed heads of large grey-green spiky flower heads. ... Learn More

Now rare in the wild, this is the true form of this superb plant, with heart-shaped, glossy dark green basal leaves. Large, cone-like, purplish flower-heads surrounded by vivid blue, spiny bracts, are borne on blue stems. It requires a well-drained, sunny site, in poor to moderate soil, with minimal wetness in winter. It has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit. Few seeds collected from cultivated plants. ... Learn More

Usually grown for its outstanding architectural qualities, this herbaceous perennial has spiny, leathery foliage combined with spiky, blue-to-amethyst flowers. The surrounding silvery bracts create real drama in a border, the flowers retaining their colour right into early winter, when the beautiful seed heads also feed wild birds. It is also frequently used for bouquets. This hardy, clump-forming, perennial, long-lived plant pumps out beautiful foliage and flowers year after year, after it emerges from its rosette of spiny, medium green leaves. ... Learn More

Unusually attractive much-divided variegated foliage, holds strong stems carrying masses of bright, metallic, purple-blue flowers. A bone-hardy and fabulous plant. ... Learn More

Numerous greenish-white flowers open in compound stems on stiffly-branching stems. The pale green leaves are sword-shaped, arching and produced in rosettes, the leaf margins being set with many bristle-like teeth. Long-flowering and ideal as a cut flower, it is totally hardy and exceedingly tough growing in dry sun or part shade. ... Learn More

A quite different variation over the very old favourite "Miss Wilmott's Ghost", having a much broader, rather than columnar habit and much larger bracted glorious lime green flowers in early summer. Later, the "flowers" develop a shining silvery hue, appearing a full month after "Miss Wilmott", just barely managing to ripen in the autumn garden. This valuable discovery was brought back from Turkey by plant hunter Martyn Rix, where it was located in beech/pine forest near Trabzon. ... Learn More

One of the most impressive summer plants you can grow in the UK, with unbelievable metallic silvery-blue leaves, flowers and stems. The word gigantea refers to the flowers, not the plants which are rarely more than 0.6 metres high. So named, as famous gardener, Miss Wilmott, used to walk around friends' gardens secretly scattering the seeds from her pocket. Surprisingly, and totally unexpectedly (so please remember this...), they come up the first year with soft green leaves, nothing at all like the final plant. They later die down to a hardy tuber to overwinter. But, surprise, surprise....the ... Learn More

This eryngium is a broader, more compact, and in all ways most superior form of Miss Wilmott's Ghost. It is most desirable in the garden where it holds its silvery colour longer, also making a most attractive cut flower which dries and retains its sheen well. Surprisingly, and totally unexpectedly (IMPORTANT please remember this...), they come up the first year with soft green leaves, nothing at all like the final plant. They then later die down to a hardy tuber to overwinter. But, surprise, surprise....the following year erupts the fabulous metallic, silver-grey familiar foliage, followed by ... Learn More