Large single flowers are borne on short,upright stems in early summer, and consist of purple-blue ray florets and yellow disc florets. These plants slowly form solid clumps of hairy leaves and are one of the favourite scree, tufa and show plants. This alpine treasure comes from high elevations in western North America and will require good drainage, whether in the garden or in a container. ... Learn More

This rare high alpine flower is endemic to Colorado in the USA where it lives in the snow-melt area. Here it makes low, tight cushions of thick, glabrous, slightly hairy leaves, with golden-eyed blue flowers that hug the cushion, opening on the shortest possible stems. This gem is more easily grown in the rock garden than T. hookeri, and it needs good drainage. But to obtain a prize-winning specimen for a show it will do best in the alpine house. Few good seeds collected. ... 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

Throwing up tall, stately, purple-rayed blooms, rather like an elegant showy form of chicory flower, this superb plant flowers from late spring and for most of the way through the summer. It is cultivated for its ornamental flower, edible roots, and herbal properties and grows wild in many places being one of the most widely known species of the salsify family. As a winter vegetable it is very fashionable among chefs and makes one of the best winter dishes, having an unusual fragrant taste. In addition it can be introduced to flower beds and borders, as well as amongst grass to create a wild f ... Learn More

This novel and fascinating plant has bright yellow flowers which open in the morning before suddenly closing at midday, hence its common name of "Jack-go-to-bed-at-noon". But then the surprise happens! The previous day's enormous and impressive, apple-sized, "dandelion clock" opens with large radiating seeds, from huge ripe buds. It can self-seed if happy, but only in a small way. ... Learn More

An extremely rare, choice and delicate perennial plant, it is aptly named for its gorgeous feathery white flowers which appear in clusters atop slender stems, creating an airy, cloud-like effect. The attractive foliage consists of narrow, grass-like leaves that grow in compact tufts at the base of the plant. This very seldom offered protected endemic from the Southern Andean foothills is well-suited for rock gardens, borders, and alpine settings. Due to its compact size and graceful appearance, it will attract pollinating bees and butterflies. True seed, collected from a private mountainside g ... Learn More

This extremely rare new plant has strong stems which extend to 5 or 6 feet through the summer and astonishingly only bud up in September! Clouds of bright cobalt-blue flowers, resembling tiny orchids with huge reflexed stamens, then open, in September and October, amidst musty-smelling leaves. This truly amazing, non-invasive, completely hardy new plant adds colour to our garden when almost all other flowers have long-gone! ... Learn More

This beautiful early-flowering Toad Lily has magnificent purple-spotted yellow flowers on tall dividing stems and is excellent in a shady location. It is native to China, typically growing in forests and on forest edges where it blooms from June-September, preferring sandy or loamy well-drained acidic soils, and either full sun or partial shade. ... Learn More

Yellow, waxy, starry flowers are attractively speckled with deep purple, and have reflexed yellow anthers decorating the face, all atop stems clad in large, hairy, glaucous leaves, highlighted by attractive black spots. These lovely lily relatives usually flower very late in the year but this particular one can begin as early as July or August, going dormant long before Tricyrtis hirta comes into flower. They are perfect for any humus enriched, slightly moist, well drained soil, preferably in partial shade. ... Learn More

An unusual and uniquely-coloured relative of clover, making solid clumps, above which open golden ball flowers, which open lemon-yellow before slowly turning shiny brown. Silvery palmate leaves add to the attractive appearance of this plant which thrives in poor soil, and indeed produces nitrogen fixing nodules on its roots. It is found on riverbank grasslands , in montane and subalpine areas, at altitudes of 1200-2200 meters in the mountainous regions of Europe, and the SW of Asia (Turkey, Iran). In the Iberian Peninsula it appears in the Pyrenees and around the Picos de Europa. ... Learn More

Predictably, each stem has three leaves, petals and calyces. Leaves, wonderfully marbled and mottled in grey appear in spring above which the three petals appear shortly afterwards, which may vary through mahogany to rich crimson-maroon. Very rarely offered but long lived when established, this is one of the aristocrats of the garden. ... Learn More

Spectacular three-petalled flowers usually in rich purple-red, but occasionally white or yellow, poke up above mottled clusters of three egg shaped leaves in early spring. A clump forming perennial, it spreads reliably and is an excellent ground cover plant for a shady spot. It will do best in moist but well drained soil, and the unusual appearance of this plant will certainly make it a talking point in your garden. ... Learn More

This rather more diminutive but most handsome trillium bears sizeable maroon flowers with recurving segments and paler anthers. It is superb in a shady organic bed where in time it will spread to make impressive clumps. ... Learn More