FERNS

A selection of pretty and often handsome ferns to add interest to any garden. Give your ferns a little attention…water and feed and in 2 or 3 years you will have specimens to relish and show off. As I look around the January garden, the wintergreen varieties are looking splendid and are a wonderful companion for emerging snowdrops.

ASPLENIUM trichomanesMaidenhair Spleenwort The attractive small fern, found on old walls. Small leaflets, black midrib...£3.60

BLECHNUM penna marina…Falkland Island Little Fern. Leathery leaves that grow well in dry stone walls and in short grass. A good foil to bright grasses and alpine plantings…£3.50

Cristata… is a heavily crested variety. .£4

BLECHNUM Spicant British Hard fern. 40cm Tongues of wavy-edged leaves, wintergreen. Found under trees, on earth walls…£4

DRYOPTERIS erythrosora 50cm A neat, pretty fern. Bronze young fronds open glossy green.....£4

DRYOPTERIS siebioldii 60cmGlaucous, green straps of leaves. Likes a moist shady spot .....£4

MATTEUCCIA struthiopteris The Ostrich Plume 1 metre. The fern with a wow factor. Often seen in magazines, their graceful plumes looking wonderful with candelabra primulas and poppies…..£4

ONOCLEA sensibilis 50cm Sensitive Fern. Arching fronds, never lots, just enough. Mobile stems segmented leaves and wavy edges.... £4

POLYPODIUM vulgare Native Polypody 25cm A splendid fern for dry positions. Neat ladder rung leaves; black stems. Wintergreen..£4

POLYSTICHUM setiferum 60cm Shield Fern. Beautiful croziers of growth emerge from last years leaves and open to elegant fronds. For me, the loveliest of ferns…. £4

GALANTHUS …Snowdrops

It seems to me that if global warming is delivering anything f it is milder winters and here in Scotland it is longer springs, with any snow later and later. Snowdrops therefore are giving wonderful garden value. They last for 2 to 3 months and this past year I was seeing Finale well into April. They are the loveliest of flowers, hope and strength and beauty all in one.

Galanthus Brenda Troyle large outer petals; inner ones heart-shaped and well marked. Lovely and fragrant……….£4.50

Galanthus plicatus very nice large flowered variety with distinctive folded leaves….£3

Galanthus Finale Large leaves and a beautiful large flower. The last to flower and in a cool spring it hangs on and on. Name Unsure. £4

Galanthus Ophelia Large double flowers. Perfect green edged hooped petticoats. ..£5 each

Galanthus Warham Large leaves with an attractive central silver stripe. Large flowers; late flowering…£4.50

Galanthus nivalis Common snowdrop in pots of 10 …..£3

GENTIANA The Gentians.

Gentians speak of alpine slopes and cool Himalayan valleys. Perhaps that is why they do well in the Highlands.

asclepiadeaWillow Gentian 30 cm A splendid perennial which, improves year on year. Willowy stems with large deep blue gentian flowers along their length…..£3

lutea 1m Giant Yellow Gentian. Large lily-like leaves; tall stems with whorls of yellow flowers nestling in green bracts.Distinct...£3

Cairngorm Wonderful Autumn Gentian As autumn colours warm up these pools of pale, cool blue are wonderful . Grow with autumn flowering Sedums for a necklace of colour. Lovely filling a trough or in a gravel bed…£2.50

GERANIUMS

The hardy Geranium species are an asset to any garden. Some are glamorous; others are workmanlike, doing the job when nothing else will. Some make elegant specimens; others look good in a crowd. Discover one or two and experiment with 3 or 4.

albanum Makes good strong clumps…trails of startling pink flowers, veined magenta….£3.50

Ann Folkard An outstanding cultivar. The young foliage is glorious golden-yellow, the flowers a silky, dusky purple with black veins and eye... £4

asphodeloides 50cm Leafy mounds with a summer long show of exquisite starry pink flowers. Catches your eye in the shade beneath shrubs and trees....£3.60

Bertie Crug a prostrate variety. Shiny bronze leaves studded with bright pink flowers. Sun .£4

Brookside 40cm. Clumps of fine leaves and bowls of blue flowers for months. Splendid ...£3.60

cinereum Ballerina 10cm Low growing grey green carpet with these lovely purple-pink heavily veined flowers. Great show for months. ..£3

x cantabrigiense Cambridge A neat attractive variety; soft mauve/pink flowers over pretty evergreen leaves. Good in dry situations under shrubs and trees, …£3.60

x cantabrigiense Westray 20cm bright pink blooms over compact evergreen foliage ..£3.60

endressii 30cm A, compact selection with good blossom pink flowers. One of the best ground coverers of all and several months in flower....£3.60

himalayense plenum 50 cm A sheaf of palmate leaves and very pretty violet/pink double.... £4

Johnson’s Blue 40cm A fine variety and deservedly popular. Blue flowers flushed red-pink. Their special character is the lightness of their form and how they move in the breeze…as a host of butterfly wings….£4

Kashmir White 40cm x 30cm. The loveliest of white flowers, veined grey-pink…..£3.60

Luscious Linda 20cm One of a range of new hybrids from Orkney. Bronze foliage and super sugar pink flowers over a long season…..£3.60

macrorrhizum All the macrorrhizum plants have attractive scalloped , aromatic leaves and make excellent ground covering plants. Sun or shade. ...£3.60

m. Czakor Deep magenta flowers.....£3.60

m. Ingwersen’s Variety 30cm The nicest. . Fresh, green, apple-scented leaves and soft pink flowers. Lovely with London Pride….£3.60

m. Pindus 20cm half the size of the other varieties; red bracted magenta flowers…£3.60

maculatum Beth Chatto 70cm The first to flower. Good leaves and lilac pink flowers....£3.60

orientalitibeticum 20cm Marbled foliage, no one leaf the same as the next; pink flowers.....£3.60

palmatum 80cm From Madeira. Amazingly hardy, both in the border or in a pot. I actually think it looks even better in winter, when the slick palmate leaves are very attractive. Branched sprays of pink flowers. …£3.60

pratense violacea plenum 20cm Lovely violet blue double. Exquisite with roses…£4

psilostemon 1 metre. A spectacular geranium , and the one you see most often glowing from stately home borders. Sizzling magenta with a black eye. A real impact plant……£4

p. Bressingham Flair 75cm Much softer in colour and blends rather than dominates…...£4

pyrenaicum 25cm spreading. One of the fastest spreading plants I know, but it never seems to be invasive. Neat scalloped leaves erupting into a foam of small purple flowers all summer. Great in new borders….£3

pyrenaicum albiflorum 25cm White form…£3

renardii Tcschelda 40cm Lovely sage green soft foliage and lovely pale blue veined flowers....£4

Roxanne 50cm A new and outstanding variety. Large blue, white centred flowers from July..... £4

Russell Pritchard 30cmNeat grey-green leaves and striking magenta pink flowers……£3.60

sanguineum 20cm x 40cm Good low-growing magenta flowered variety well-suited to sun.....£3.60

Tanya Rendell 20cm . Another Orkney hybrid. This one is vigorous; dark bronzed, evergreen foliage and lots of lasting, bright pink flowers.... £4.

versicolor 30cm This native species scrambles through a border. Masses of tiny white flowers exquisitely veined purple. Wonderful…£3

GEUM Avens Most in litre pots

Bell’s Bank A Geoffrey Smith hybrid. Large fat double bright pink flowers fading to stripes..£3.60

borisii 25cm x 40cm Early orange/red flowers. Often repeats in autumn. Neat clumps….£3.60

Dolly North 30cm strong clumps of rough green leaves with splendid tangerine flowers..£3.60

Dingle Apricot Compact. Apricot yellow..... £3.60

Lady Stratheden 30cm Fine double yellow flowers. Perfect plant for June borders……£3.60

Marmalade New marmalade orange.….£3.60

Nordek Open cups of brick orange…...£3.60

Primrose Pretty primrose yellow …….£3.60

Prince of Orange 80cm excellent flowers; lovely soft orange with a green eye. Scarce…..£4

rivale album 30cm Modest, nodding white flowered variety. Native to stream sides…£3.60

GRASSES and SEDGES.

Grasses are great. There are lots of ways to use them in the garden. Here are a few of my best ideas.

• Use in a mixed border, they are a great change of texture and a cooling colour.

e.g. Miscanthus; Pennisetum; Millium

• Grasses look great in “designed plantings “among rocks and large gravel.

e.g Stipa; Miscanthus; Cortaderia; Carex

• Some grasses look fantastic as potted specimens e.g. Stipa arundinacea; Hakenochloe ; Carex
• Try some annual grasses with poppies .Fabulous e.g. Hordeum jubatum

CAREX comans Frosted Curls 30cm swirling mounds of slender silver-green leaves…£3.60

CAREX pendula 2m Elegant wands of brown brush-like heads from tussocks of foliage. Very effective by water with Irises and candelabras....£4

Chionochloa conspicua 2m in flower. An impressive tussocky grass from New Zealand, with airy, elegant plumes….large pots....£4.50

ELYMUS magellanica 20cm Silvery blue icicles of leaves colour best when hot and dry...£3.60

LUZULA nivea 25cmA graceful small woodrush with many pretty ivory white flowers…..£3.60

MILLIUM effusum aureum Bowles Golden Grass. 40cm Soft straps of golden leaves opening into golden oat like flowers. All parts are golden . Amazing with Meconopsis …£3.60

Yaffle Broader blade, with a green mid rib... £3.60

PENNISETUM alopecuriodes 80cm The grass with the lovely bottlebrush, fat caterpillar heads in autumn. Eye-catching. .£3.60

STIPA arundinacea 90cm A very glamorous grass. A fountain of richly streaked leaves; red, yellow, bronze; the colours intensifying in drought and cold. Makes a fantastic large pot….£3.60

Stipa gigantea 2m one of my desert island plants. Imagine lying, looking at blue sky through the wonderful oat-like flower heads....£3.60

Stipa tenuissima 60cm. Sometimes called pony tail grass, with the swirl and texture of a long soft tail. Lovely to stroke. It lasts as a feature all year and can be cut down in spring….£3.60

GUNNERA

hamaltonii Handsome small ground cover. Leathery bronzed leaves…£3.

magellanica A favourite memory. The flat ground covering Pig Vine from the Falkland Islands . Crinkled leaves on a matt of stems....£3

manicata The Big One that people often call the giant Rhubarb. Large rough textured leaves and cones of amazing red flowers. Nothing like it. 2 litre pots …£7.50

tinctori Another big one , though not so tall as manicata same fabulous presence…£7.50

HELIANTHEMUM. Rock roses

The Helianthemums are second to none for rapid foliage in a dry, poor soil; ever-grey and evergreen. Midsummer gives a great display of primary colours or soft pastels. Excellent value.

Amabile Plenum dbl Red

Amy Baring Neat golden yellow

Ben Fhada Good bright yellow, orange eye.

Ben Ledi Crimson red

Ben Lomond Rich, dark pink.

Ben Macdhui Rich single red. Rare

Ben Mhor Excellent Bright orange

Ben Nevis Orangey Yellow

Ben Vane red

Broughty Beacon Vibrant brick red

Bunbury soft pink

Captivation Dark centred orange flowers.

Cheviot A combination of warm orange and salmon

Chocolate Blotch Large amber flowers market with chocolate

Cornish Cream Lovely cream flowers.

Cupreum Rich copper.

Double Apricot – a pretty double apricot

Fairy yellow

Firedragon (Mrs Clay) Brilliant flickering orang/red

Georgeham Large rich pink, yellow centre

Golden Queen Good, large golden yellow

Henfield Brilliant Vibrant orange, Excellent grey foliage.

Highdown – rich apricot

Honeymoon Yellow

Jubilee Excellent double yellow

Jubilee Variegated Double Yellow, Variegated foliage

Lucy Elizabeth White flowers, yellow eye. scarce

Mrs C.W. Earle The best double red; blood red rosette

Mrs Lake

Nummularium Tomentosum Small neat habit, yellow

Old Gold A distinct burnished gold

Orange Phoenix Vibrant dbl orange

Pink Glow Rose pink

Praecox ..the earliest yellow flowers.

Rhodanthe Carneum Exceptional Grey foliage and rose pink flowers

RoseQueen Large pink orange centre, semi-prostrate.

St John’s College Yellow Good old yellow variety, grey foliage

Sterntale r Compact flat growing variety Yellow.

Sudberry Gem Compact, deep rose flame

Sunbeam Bright yellow, noted for its young golden growth in Spring

The Bride Grey foliage, pure white flowers

Voltaire Excellent grey leaves, yellow flowers.

Wisley Primrose Vigorous growth; grey leaves and delicate primrose yellow flowers, excellent

Wisley White Pure white

ALL HELIANTHEMUMS ......£2 EACH.

Helianthemums are second to none for fast growth and early flower; hence great for new plantings. Particularly useful for dry soils.

To encourage you to try some new varieties

We are offering the following collections.

(Some will have 2or 3 of a type )

HOT COLOURS 10 red and orange hot pink or yellow varieties, that will vibrate and dance above the ground on a bright summer day.

PASTEL COOLERS . A selection of 10 softer pastel colours that cool any planting. An excellent ingredient in any new border.

All collections or 10 mixed (our choice) at the exceptional price £16.00 plus postage

HELLEBORUS

ericsmithii 40cm It is good to offer this excellent hybrid. Large white flowers, flushing pink as they age, which last from mid-winter until May. Dark pewter foliage...£5

Sternii Blackthorn Strain 40cm beautiful marbled foliage and cups of apple green pink flushed flowers from late winter through to summer….£5

HOSTAS

It is a great shame that many people don’t grow Hostas because they fear slugs will eat them. Our experience is that slugs are a minimal problem, even with our late, wet springs. Hostas settle well and by their 3rd year, are wonderful garden features, their bold leaves giving interest and structure, especially in shade. Do discover or rediscover them. They are the handsomest of plants We grow several in stylish terracotta pots. Large 2 L plants this year

August Moon Medium sized Hosta. Chartreuse Yellow leaves. Excellent in sun; good pot ....£4.50

Bold Ribbons 40cm arching, slender olive green leaves , white margin. Part shade. £4.50

Christmas Candy 40cm. A fabulous swirl of olive-green leaves, white centre.Attractive..£6.50

Fragrant Bouquet 60cm Green leaves, edged golden. Fragrant lilac flowers…£4.50

Fire and Ice 60 cm A very striking new variety. White centre, curving olive leaves.... £6.50

Frances Williams 70cm Large textured blue leaves with a yellow margin. Handsome…£5

Halcyon 30cm. Classic blue Hosta. Thick, lance-shaped blue leaves, beautiful lavender-grey flowers. Best in part shade. The classic…£4.50

June Perhaps the loveliest Hosta. Butter yellow centre with a smoky blue outer. Very fine...£6.50

Mildred Seaver 30cm Heart shaped leaves, dark green centre and cream edge……£6.50

Paul’s Glory 60cm Large leaves, centre bright gold and blue/green rim..£6.50

Red October 30cm Small to medium Hosta with unusual red stems on grey/green leaves. Tall lavender flowers with red scapes…..£6.50

Sieboldii elegans A lovely big Blue. Handsome paddle shaped leaves make a large mound...£6.50

Tokudama True Blue I first saw this as a fine specimen at Inverewe. An excellent blue, corrugated leaves, medium clump. .. £6.50

Wide Brim 40cm Good clump forming plants. Green with irregular cream/yellow rim…£4.50

Wolverine 30cm Very smart narrow leaves, green edged cream. Good lilac flowers..£6.50

As an introduction to Hostas

Our selection of 3 Hostas….£14