Lavender-pink flowers, attractive to bees and butterflies, open very pale pink in late spring to summer, before darkening to pale purple with age. These quite rare and protected evergreen plants are the symbol of the Upper Rock nature reserve in Gibraltar, and after blooming can be cut back to keep them compact and bushy and also promote a second flowering. ... Learn More

A very low-growing, evergreen cushion with dark green leaves and large, fragrant white flowers in spring that sometimes fade to lilac. It does best in full sun with very well-drained soil and is very hardy. In the wild it grows in Spain, France, Italy, Switzerland, Greece and Romania. ... Learn More

A dwarf evergreen shrubby plant, ideal for a sunny hot spot. Branches clad in fleshy rounded leaves hold massed racemes of palest lilac flowers all summer long. ... Learn More

Domed clusters of fragrant flowers in all shades of pink, mauve or white, open all summer long. A popular and easily-grown plant, it is particularly useful for providing colourful ground cover in poor soil. This species is native to the Mediterranean region, but is also present in most of Europe, especially along the coasts, from Spain to Greece and also in northern America. ... Learn More

I. umbellata is a small, bushy annual to 30cm, with slender leaves and sweet-scented white, pink, purple or crimson flowers in flattened clusters in late spring and summer. ... Learn More

Garden balsam is a frost-tender annual. The sparsely branched succulent stems can grow up to 30" tall but frequently exceeds this height in the wild. The vibrant cup-shaped flowers come in various shades of white, pink, red, and a bicolor version. It prefers a moist setting and has a low tolerance for drought conditions. An ideal plant for containers and areas along walks or paths. ... Learn More

Thin dividing stems form a medium-sized mound which only buds up in late autumn, producing clouds of small, bouncing, bee-like yellow flowers, which appear on thin delicate stems. This is another 'surprise' plant, which only performs late in the year when you are beginning to give up hope of ever seeing a flower! This new-to-cultivation plant was discovered and collected recently on an Himalayan expedition, although it may have originally been an introduction from North America. We recommend that these plants should not be allowed to spread into the countryside. ... Learn More

A quite astounding new plant which grows and grows into the summer, and you think "what a waste of space, a huge leafy, shrubby bush with no buds". But then comes the surprise! Thousands of tiny buds miraculously inflate and finally open in late August. Throughout September and October the plant is a picture, smothered in wide-throated, nodding, canary-yellow throated, palest primrose flowers. And even as I write in mid November, the buds on this absolutely unique treasure are still opening daily! We recommend that these plants should not be allowed to spread into the countryside. ... Learn More

This fantastic, incredibly rare, fast-growing plant has flowers of the most remarkable sapphire blue with a contrasting white throat, amidst attractive serrated leaves the colour of polished jade. No photoshop-colour needed! Hidden in a remote part of Tibet in the Himalayas lies the world's deepest canyon, the uninhabited Tsangpo gorge, twice as deep as the Grand Canyon! And discovered there as recently as 2003, in the barely-explored Namcha Barwa Canyon was this unbelievable beauty, the first ever deep blue impatiens, that also happens to be easy to grow! Unlike the traditional flat-disk sha ... Learn More

The "Himalayan Jewel Orchid" grows on cool forest slopes where it forms a large wide solid mound completely studded with pairs of intriguing, creamy yellow, orchid-like flowers, each with two unequal lips. This new gem will add a tropical air to your garden. ... Learn More

Huge, stemless, dark pink trumpet flowers erupt in clusters from May to July, the pinnate leaves barely rising above ground level. Possibly the choicest and one of the very dwarfest of this group of plants from high places in South West China, it is very similar to I. younghusbandii, growing best in semi-shade or direct sun, and preferring medium levels of water. ... Learn More

Appropriately-named as "The Hardy Gloxinia" with large, exotic-looking, mauve-pink trumpet-shaped blooms which appear before the foliage. Despite its exotic appearance, it is bone hardy as long as it is grown in well-drained soil, such as a rock garden or raised bed. ... Learn More

Clusters of exotic-looking, trumpet-like, yellow throated white flowers open from early to midsummer, whilst the thick, bold, divided leaves of this attractive plant form a backdrop for the large, showy blooms. This easy-to-grow gem will bloom for many weeks, beginning in late spring, if regularly deadheaded, and is ideal for adding an exotic touch to a sunny herbaceous border, and is even perfect for growing in a container on a sunny patio. ... Learn More

This rarely encountered form of the "Hardy Gloxinia" is a quite spectacular plant originating from Western China being hardy and very long-lived too, bearing large reddish-purple trumpet flowers which are borne on strong stems in spring and early summer. ... Learn More

This gorgeous plant bears dark pink trumpet flowers in early summer and late spring, and takes less than a year to flower, growing well in direct sun. It is more compact than Incarvillea delavayi, and is rarely seen in the trade, and although it looks tender it is in fact utterly hardy and can bear very harsh temperatures without any problems. ... Learn More