More on the Oenothera theme 'Copper Canyon' will have Oenothera pallida seeds in the Shop soon


A little later than Oenothera speciosa - Oenothera caespitosa ' Rosea' and slightly smaller flowers (around 3- 4 cms) very easy to grow, we find it is not quite as tough as Oenothera speciosa so we bring them into a cold greenhouse in the Winter or else save some seed and grow as an Annual                                                 31.7.2018


Oenothera speciosa 'copper canyon' white turning to pink flowers a very hardy perennial, it's not too late to sow some seeds, they will flower this year!  12/6/2018


Tropaeolum minus 'Ladybird cream purple spot'   A dwarf Nasturtium idea in containers flowers from May into the Autumn


Schzianthus litoralis look at those colours, from South America an annual, seeds available later this year 18.5.2018


Heuchera 'bloodvein' they look very good at this time of year and we have sold quite a few as a result 18.5.2018


Lathyrus odoratus 'senator' an older variety we sowed the seeds in the autumn in an unheated greenhouse, the flowers have a look like a slice of watermelon with ice cream

Ipheion 'alberto castillo' a small bulb easily grown from seed, flowers through May/June. We find it does best in a pot seems to take cold but not the wet soil in winter 4.5.2018

Tropaeolum ' Ladybird cream purple spot ', seeds sown indoors in February now in a cold greenhouse, flower and the plant all edible very 'peppery' taste. 3.5.2018 

Fritillaria pontica, not often seen, large flowers,  needs a well drain soil but in general very easy to grow and flower  1.5.2018



Erodium pelargoniflorum  common name heron's bill ( apparently Erodium from the Greek for Heron ) another good Alpine plant very hardy grows from a tap root ,well drained soil29.4.2018


Lewisia nevadensis just about to bloom, from North Western U.S.A. Oregon, tends to grow in a mountain habit quite often on a North facing slope, small ( this plant is in a 7 cm pot ) deciduous plant best as an Alpine needs very well drained soil, easily grown from seed.     28.4.2018     We also grow Lewisia cotyledon 'Sunset strain' this one is an evergreen and again needs a very well drained soil, flowers a little later than nevadensis photos to follow.

Muscari macrocarpum 'Golden Fragance' ? amazing colours - we bought these in some time ago as Muscari muscarimi turns out they had other ideas  

Corydalis flexuosa ' China Blue' well into flower now !   21.4.2018

Two Violas coming into bloom smaller on the left is Viola papuanum from Papua New Guinea, it prefers a shady moist spot and spreads slowly, it is small the flowers are around 8 mm across but worth it as there are a lot of them.                                                                                                                                                                      The other on the right is Viola corsica no surprize it does come from Corsica, a hardy plant, seed germinates in the spring at 15 - 20 c, the flowers are 25 - 30 mm across and an incredible purple/blue in colour will form a clump in time                                                                                                                                                          17.4.2018 

Corydalis flexuosa 'China Blue' just being to flower, shortly will be a mass of blue flowers, a herbaceous perennial dying down in summer, grows to around 30 cm tall. Originally from China.It is very popular at present being used at Chelsea etc.     16.4.2018

Lewisia nevadensis with flower buds just appearing, they are an ideal plant for an alpine situation 16.4.2018

A new Muscari 'Baby's breath' just colouring up, should be in full colour in a day or 2 - 16.4.2018 

Pulsatilla campanella, lovely flower, from seed sown last year. It is native to West-Siberia, Central Asia and North Mongolia. Grows to around 18 cms tall, good in an Alpine situation and very hardy


Love these, now in full flower

Primula mistassinica just coming into flower 5.4.2018

Puschkinia scilloides libanotica beautiful flowers in March/April 2.4.2018

Primula mistassinica with flower buds on their way up  2.4.2018.  Known as the Mistassini Primrose, the name refers to Lake Mistassini in Quebec Canada. It is quite rare mainly because of it's habit needs, generally lives in marsh or boggy areas. Seeds will be available later this year.

Tecophilaea cyanocrocus violacea 7.3.2018 from Chile, hardy down to -10c but best to keep in a cold frame/greenhouse as they do not like sitting in cold wet soil, looking forward to the flower opening out - and here they are ! 12.3.2018

Iris Katharine Hodgkin, first flower has just opened this morning 18/2/2018 and Crocus chrysanthus Blue Pearl 

Zephyra elegans seedlings, seed sown 24.1.2018 photograph taken 14.2.2018, very fast germination they will reach around 30 cm high with grass like leaves and will produce white flowers going blue towards the edges in spring but not until at least their second year.  They are not frost hardy.                                                                                                        

11/2/2018             Hellebore orientalis, good to see flowers open, our seedlings are all growing well

10/2/2018   Erysimum scoparium seedlings, these seeds were sown in November in a cold greenhouse and they germinated in December.  We have just transferred them to 7 cm pots  

Primula mistassinica, occurs around Wisconsin pefers damp soil neutral to alkaline, flowers with lovely lilac petals in May/June. It is an interesting species that has a white powder on the leaves quite often. It is of concern in the wild so the more gardeners that grow it the better !