Achillea ptarmica 'The Pearl'
White double flowers. Strongly clumping variety useful as a cut flower or cottage garden background infill perennial; easy and prolific. Stake in windy areas or cram in between miscanthus and eupatorium.
Delightful white starry variety for perennial border and cottage garden, flowering in late summer. Tall arching stems, perfect infill between salvia, helenium, lupins, roses, also useful for floral work.
Delightful white starry variety for perennial border and cottage garden, flowering in late summer. Tall arching stems, perfect infill between salvia, helenium, lupins, roses, also useful for floral work.
Data sheet
White double flowers. Strongly clumping variety useful as a cut flower or cottage garden background infill perennial; easy and prolific. Stake in windy areas or cram in between miscanthus and eupatorium.
Pinkish purple form of paniculata, old fashioned colour good with David Austin roses. Best grown in a herbaceous border or cottage garden setting.
Brightly coloured old fashioned cushion plant for border and rock garden, often known as 'thrift'. Often associated with coastal gardens, armeria thrive in a wide range of habitat and are both drought and frost tolerant.
Red form of Pulsatilla vulgaris, requires good drainage like other varieties, best for rock garden.
A low-spreading variety with attractive grey-green leaves and pink flowers. Great under roses with Heuchera americana and Alchemilla mollis.
White form of Salvia leucantha. Best on open textured free draining soil, plant between roses with Geranium 'Rozanne'.
My friend Paulette grew these from seed, and these are cutting raised plants from selected seedlings. Apparently the flowers are edible, I love the perfume and they flower forever with no fuss. Best in border or rock garden, rich pink flowers.
One of the best summer perennials for the border that flowers well into dry summer periods. Deep blue flower spikes contrasting with dark stems. Frost hardy and deciduous, cut back after first flowering for a repeat flowering later in the season. Taller than other forms.
A lovely species from Greece, useful as a ground-cover for part-sun with attractive velvety leaves. All the attributes of above with white flowers and contrasting red stamens. The foliage colours well in cold winter areas.
Old fashioned blue campanula with tall stems forming a nice clump in time. Ideal between roses and a good cut flower.
One our favourite new grasses, waist high flowers with rich green foliage, creating good mounding fill and texture within summer perennial plantings. Grows best on heavier fertile soils, and responds well to moisture in summer if available, but not overly demanding.
Close relative of Echinacea angustifolia, also used in herbal medicine, sharing many similarities. I find it a better garden plant, more vigorous and productive in growth, and manages better in winter wet.
Pink form of Veronica longifolia, a good perennial groundcover under roses and amongst other perennials.
A robust cold-hardy species from the Balkan peninsula, this salvia is versatile: happy in both warm and very cold climates. If temperatures drop below -5 C the plants will become deciduous, however can remain evergreen in warmer climes. Violet purple flowers and attractive greyish hairy leaves.
Large fleshy leafed variety with orange bells during winter. Easy in coastal gardens, good in pots and perennial plantings; a useful texture plant to combine with other succulents. Keep dry in winter.
Old fashioned spreading grey foliage plant for amongst roses and perennials. Easy and dry tolerant.