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© Garden Cottage Nursery, 2011
Select from the list below your problem area to see our suggestions of 5 good plants for that role.
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Spring Bulbs
Great plants for putting in and forgetting about, they will come up and flower before
most things have even got started and be over and disappeared again by the time
the main plants in the garden are doing their thing. Here are 5 easy hardy worry-
free bulbs not to be without.
Chionodoxa luciliae ‘Alba’
A simple and beautiful, only a few cms high with a white star-like flower, mix it in
with blues to really set them off.
Narcissus 'Hawera'
A distinctive dwarf Triandrus daff with a cluster of pale sulphur flowers with a short
cup & narrow backswept petals, quite late flowering for a dwarf daff. Makes a lovely
rockery plant.
Fritillaria meleagris
‘Snakes-head fritillaries’ are perennially popular for the unusual and beautiful
hanging bells of chequered flowers, fond of damp soils it will naturalise quite
happily given a dozen plants and a few years.
Muscari latifolium
The normal grape hyacinth is apt to be a bit weedy, this however is an all together
more aristocratic bulb, while still being cheap-as-chips. At about 15cm twice the
size of the normal the hundreds of densely packed flowers are dusky purple with a
pale violet tuft on top of the spike.
Tulipa ‘Little Beauty’
Striking beautiful wee species tulip that doesn’t need lifting to keep flowering year
after year. Wine red flowers with rose & purple centres.
Shrubs For Early Colour
Here are a few bushes that will herald the arrival of spring, even if the weather
doesn’t.
Camellia x williamsii ‘Donation’
Perhaps the best known cultivar with large semi-double pink flowers and lovely
dark glossy green foliage. Make sure you protect the opening and open flowers
from frosts.
Grevillea rosmarinifolia
Needle-leafed evergreen that won’t even wait for the spring to start with it main
flowering starting in February with it’s unusual waxy pink flowers which it continues
to produce for most of the year.
Pieris ‘Forest Flame’
Pink and red young growth against the dark green old leaves and clusters of
hanging white bell flowers.
Rhododendron ‘Snow Lady’
As the name suggest an early flowering small Rhodo with white flowers that stand
frosts better than most, also has furry-edged leaves.
Salix lanata
Dwarf native willow with large round grey rough textured leaves and lovely buff
male catkins in March.
Shrubs For Autumn Colour
When the weathers starts to decline and the nights draw in a last blaze of colours
can help cheer up the garden, here are a few that are worth growing for late foliage
interest.
Amelanchier canadensis
Fine easy large shrub or small tree with masses of white flowers in spring then in
the autumn it colours orange & yellow.
Berberis verruculosa
Slow-growing, semi-evergreen, viciously spinned bushy shrub, glossy dark green
leaves turn brilliant red in autumn. Bright yellow flowers in late spring, early
summer, followed by blue-black fruits.
Cotinus coggygria ‘Royal Purple’
Give a warm and sunny spot and this medium-sized shrub’s purple leaves will turn
bright crimson-red in autumn.
Enkianthus campanulatus
Ericaceous shrub that will come alight with golds, ambers and reds before dropping
it’s leaves. Has lovely handing cream bell flowers with red veins in late spring.
Euonymus alatus
Medium-sized shrub that turns gold & flaming red in autumn. It has unusual winged
stems for winter interest and orange sticky fruits that follow uninteresting flowers.
Shrubs For Winter Colour
Just because it’s dark, wet & blowing a gale outside doesn’t mean that you
shouldn’t have anything worth looking at in the garden. There is more to winter
interest than just witch hazel & holly.
Avoid planting on easterly or southerly aspects as the rapid thawing by the morning
sun of frozen flowers can spoil and discolour them.
Cornus alba 'Sibirica'
Vigorous deciduous shrub grown as a coppice, being cut down every spring to
encourage the whip-like dark glossy red shoots.
Leucothoe fontanesiana 'Rainbow'
Quite slow growing evergreen suckering ericaceous shrub, it is grown for the effect
of large blocks of the colourfully random splashed thick waxy foliage that darkens
to red in winter. Has white Pieris-like flowers in late spring.
Rhododendron 'Praecox'
Upright growing hybrid of R. ciliatum & R. dauricum 'Emasculum'. Very early
flowering, with trusses of rose-purple flowers in 2 or 3s during late winter & early
spring.
Skimmia japonica ‘Rubella’
Thick smooth elliptic leaves with a reddish edge and terminal racemes of
powerfully fragrant white flowers from mid winter to spring.
Viburnum x bodnantense ‘Dawn’
Well known, highly fragrant winter flowering shrub, dense clusters of small tubular
soft pink flowers. Has an upright habit and good autumn colour.
Plants For Damp Rockeries
The majority of true alpines, i.e. those that originate high up on the mountains,
require excellent drainage, there are however plenty of plants which while
preferring the damp conditions that many gardens have, still never grow big and
can therefore be accommodated in a damp rock garden.
Gunnera prorepens
A dense evergreen mat of dark bronzy foliage covered in small downy hairs. showy
red berries in late summer. About 100th the size of it’s better known cousin giant
Gunnera manicata.
Leptinella squalida ‘Platt’s Black’
Great ground cover plant, completely flat to the ground it will creep to form a dense
mat of filigree leaves sea green at the tips with purple-black centres
Mimulus ‘Highland Red’
Growing to about 10cm tall and smothered by large vivid red flowers this wee
perennial adds quite an impact to your rockery
Pratia pedunculata
Dense creeping plant that produces masses of lilac-blue flowers all summer long
Romanzoffia tracyi
A plant of the exposed shores of the Pacific Northwest of the US and Canada, it
makes a tight little mound of fleshy scalloped leaves and has loads of white flowers
in late spring.
Plants For Dry Rockeries
Though many alpines like good drainage, few like to get too dry as well, here are a
few real tough customers that don’t mind a bit of baking.
Arenaria montana
A cascade of hundreds of quite large white flowers from late spring well into
summer, great for going over the top of walls.
Armeria maritima 'Düsseldorfer Stolz'
A fine form of the native 'Sea Pink' or 'Thrift' with dark pink flowers over most of the
summer & a mat-forming habit.
Geranium (Cinereum Group) 'Ballerina'
Real good value plant, it forms a rosette from which it produces innumerable
purple-pink flowers with deep red veins from spring right through to autumn.
Lewisia cotyledon Hybrids
Available in a neon rainbow of colours these semi-succulent rosette forming plants
are quite amazing when a few different coloured forms are mixed together.
Sedum spathulifolium 'Purpureum'
Tight mat of grey-white & purple rosettes of succulent leaves and yellow flowers in
mid summer.
Shrubs For Dry Soils
Got a dusty bank that things just crisp-up on, well here are some drought-proof
suggestions.
Buddleja 'Lochinch'
A Buddleja fallowiana & davidii hybrid that originated in Wigtownshire in the 1950s
it has attractive grey foliage, white young growth & lilac-blue highly scented flowers
from mid to late summer.
Cytisus ‘Minstead’
Excellent lilac & pale blue flowered broad growing long-lived broom. Prune brooms
back about a third after flowering to improve habit, encourage flowering next year &
prolong their life.
Grevillea rosmarinifolia
Needle-leafed evergreen that won’t even wait for the spring to start with it main
flowering starting in February with it’s unusual waxy pink flowers which it continues
to produce for most of the year.
Ozothamnus leptophyllus
Small pale green evergreen leaves white the reverse on upright white stems, tough
shrub easy and quick.
Cistus x pulverulentus 'Sunset'
Any Cistus will thrive in sunny, drier conditions, this is a very fine variety with an
bushy habit, sage green narrow evergreen leaves and masses of magenta flowers
all summer.
Shrubs For Wet Soils
Great plants for putting in and forgetting about, they will come up and flower before
most things have even got started and be over and disappeared again by the time
the main plants in the garden are doing their thing. Here are 5 easy hardy worry-
free bulbs not to be without.
Leptospermum scoparium
The ‘Manuka’ or ‘tea tree’ of New Zealand &Tasmania loves soggy, horrible site
where little else wants to grow, the redder flowered varieties are rather too tender
for wet sites, but the vigorous white Tasmanian form or some of the hardier pink
forms from NZ, like ‘Chapmanii’ are fine.
Olearia glandulosa
An Australian Olearia. This species has vigorous upright stems to about 4’6”, vivid
green with soft needle-like foliage all the way up and then each of the many shoots
is topped by a cluster of white daisies all summer.
Ozothamnus vauvilliersii
The closely related O. leptophyllus made an appearance in the “Shrubs for Dry
Soils” section and this one would be equally at home in either. Small, dense glossy
green foliage on upright stems, each topped by a cluster of red buds opening to
white petal-less daisies. Makes a dome about 4’ high and slightly wider.
Salix lanata
Dwarf native willow with large round grey rough textured leaves that turng golden-
yellow in autumn & lovely buff male catkins in March.
Sambucus nigra ‘Black Lace’
‘Black Cut-Leaved Elder’ Large deciduous native shrub. Striking deepest purple
intricately divided foliage with white flowers stained dark towards their middles and
autumn these are followed by black edible fruits, great in an apple pie.
Plants for Bog Garden
Though many alpines like good drainage, few like to get too dry as well, here are a
few real tough customers that don’t mind a bit of baking.
Primula Candelabra Hybrids
Stems with several whorls of flowers in many different colours from the mid May
with the earliest, June and into July with the latter varieties. When used in large
numbers and with a good selection of colours they are most impressive.
Astilbe chinensis 'Vision in Red'
A popular variety it holds itself well, about 3’ high with bold cut dark foliage and
dense fluffy rich carmine red erect plumes of flowers on stiff stems in July &
August.
Iris sibirica
Popular irises for wet areas they are available in a wide variety of colours including
blue, purple, pink, rosy purple and white. The flowers are often beautifully and
intricately marked and veined, they are borne in early summer and most are
around 3-4’ high.
Ligularia 'Britt Marie Crawford'
Large perennial that has bold round beetroot leaves and stems. Bares several big
golden daisies on stout stems in mid to late summer.
Persicaria bistorta ‘Superba’
The ‘Bistort’ is a great and easy plant for any soggy spot, adaptable to aspect and
soil type it reliably produces several stiff dumpy spikes of clear pink flowers for
most of the summer.
Plants for Peat Bog
Many people in the Highland have a house stuck on a bleak hillside and much of
their ‘Garden’ is unimproved peat bog. There are quite a few ornamental plants that
will grow fairly well in these conditions.
Diplarrhena latifolia
A most beautiful iris relative from bleak moorlands of Tasmania. Dark green foliage
and stems with clusters of 3 white flowers with lovely purple and yellow markings in
June.
Gaultheria mucronata ‘Bell’s Seedling’
‘Pernettya’ is a vigorous suckering shrub from Tierra del Fuego & thrives on
exposed peat bogs. With dark glossy evergreen leaves with a sharp tip (mucro),
this form is a hermaphrodite so will produce both the clusters of small white bell
flowers & then the bright pink round berries that birds love.
Olearia ‘Henry Travers’
Exceedingly tough customer from the isolated Chatham Islands 550 miles east of
New Zealand in the wild southern Pacific. It is a medium-sized shrub which has
lovely glossy leathery grey-green leaves that are felted white beneath and unlike
most Olearias it has big magenta and lilac daisy flowers.
Ozothamnus rosmarinifolius
A Tasmanian evergreen shrub with greyish foliage and tight petal-less white daisies
from purple-red buds, it thrives across a wide range of conditions and looks really
good when grown in the hard conditions of a highland peat bog.
Sarracenia purpurea
Unusual ‘Pitcher Plant’ from the North Eastern States and Eastern Canada they
thrive in really poor, acid peat bogs, gorging themselves on all the midges!
Plants for Shade
What can you plant under that tree at the bottom of the garden? If it isn’t too dry
here are a few suggestions
Dicentra ‘Bacchanal’
Easy perennial with finely cut foliage and rich crimson ‘Dutchman’s breeches’
flowers for most of summer.
Libertia ixioides ‘Tricolor’
A tough evergreen rosette of bronzy-green sword-shaped leaves with a prominent
pale mid-rib. White flowers and orange seed heads that persist for up to two years.
Meconopsis ‘Lingholm’
The ever popular and much desired ‘Himalayan Blue Poppy’ needs little
introduction.
Pulmonaria 'Blue Ensign'
Lots of striking deep blue flowers that hold their colour well from the first days of
spring, plain green leaves on a compact plant.
Saxifraga 'Variegata' (x urbium)
The less vigorous variegated form of the well known ‘London Pride’. Tough and
attractive with dark green and cream evergreen foliage and wands of small white
flowers. Useful in very wet & dark situations.
Plants for Dry Shade
Often regarded as the most problematic of problem corners, just what can you
grow in dry shade? Here are 5 that will enliven that dead space under those trees.
Epimedium grandiflorum ‘Rose Queen’
Great short evergreen perennial, in early spring it gives you beautifully sculpted
flowers of deep pink followed by young leaves flushed with purple through the
veins.
Geranium macrorrhizum
Aromatic felty pale green foliage with varieties with white, palest rosy-pink or plumy
magenta flowers in late spring & early summer. First rate groundcover.
Geranium nodosum
An excellent semi-evergreen cranesbill, made more useful by it’s fondness for
austere conditions. Glossy mid green foliage and lilac flowers with dark veins all
summer.
Luzula sylvatica 'Taggart’s Cream'
A vigorous native evergreen groundcover the ‘Wood rush’ thrives in deep dark and
even very dry shade. Has bright cream young growth in spring contrasting with the
dark green of the previous years.
Millium effusum ‘Aureum’
‘Bowles’ Golden Grass’ or ‘Golden Wood Millet’ is perhaps the most often
recommended plant for dry shade, and with good reason, it brightens up a dark
corner from spring to early autumn with it’s bright yellow foliage, it’s self seeds true
and is un-fussy enough to grow in damp full sun too.
Late Flowering plants for Shade
The majority of woodland plants that have found their way into our gardens are
vernals, that is they flower in spring, as or before the leaves come on the trees they
grow under. So the shady border can rather dreary come mid summer, here are a
few to brighten it up after the halcyon days of spring.
Acanthus spinosus
‘Beer’s breeches’ is an architectural perennial with bold clumps of jagged-looking
foliage and tall spikes of showy purple and white bracted flowers from mid summer
to early autumn.
Aconitum carmichaelii Wilsonii Group
Tall and striking perennial with glossy dark green leaves and a delphinium-like
flower spike of many deepest violet-blue flowers in late summer and early autumn.
Gentiana asclepiadea
The ‘willow gentian’ is a most beautiful plant with it’s arching leafy stems studded
down their length with pairs of deep gentian-blue flowers in late summer. There is
also a white flowered form.
Kirengeshoma palmata
The plant that no list of late flowering woodlanders could be without! A lovely
perennial, about 3’ high with large sycamore-shaped leaves on upright stems,
which from mid August to late September have many quite large cupped primrose
yellow flowers towards the top.
Tricyrtis formosana
The strange and beautiful ‘toad lilies’ are a must, this species is an upright
perennial, about 3’-4’ with many pinky-purple flowers spotted all over with crimson
purple with a unusual column structure coming from the centre.
Shrubs for Covering Banks
A bank can be given a green covering in two basic ways, with creeping, stem
rooting plants, like a bramble does or by using fairly tight groupings of shrubs
whose roots will net together to stabilise the soil. The first will give a fairly smooth
finish, the second, a more ‘organic’ look and will allow for more variation.
Brachyglottis ‘Drysdale
Felted grey evergreen leaves and masses of yellow daisies in summer make this a
popular garden shrub, but it is also a tough and useful plant for populating a dry
and windy bank.
Ceanothus thyrsiflorus var. repens
For a dry sunny bank this creeping evergreen shrub is a great choice with loads of
mid flowers in late spring and early summer, very similar but with paler flowers is C.
griseus var. horizontalis ‘Yankee Point’.
Cotoneaster x suecicus 'Coral Beauty'
Arching stems of small semi-evergreen dark green leaves, in early summer it is
sparkled with white flowers followed by masses of red-orange berries. A great
many different Contoneasters make first-rate groundcovers.
Juniperus squamata 'Blue Carpet'
Invaluable groundcover for those difficult banks, tolerant of lots of abuse it will
make a dense thick mat of silvery evergreen needle clad foliage. Quite slow to
establish but rapid & efficient once it has settled in.
Olearia x oleifolia 'Oleifolia'
Dusty leaden grey leaves with white backs, many white daisies above the foliage in
summer. One of the most garden worthy Olearias, tough & looks good year-round.
Plants for Naturalising in Grass
Many of us have that wild bit of the garden that we don’t want to mow, and we
would love it if there were just a few more wild flowers in it, and wish it was just a
bit more jolly. Here’s 5 to put in there and forget about.
Crocosmia x crocosmiiflora Yellow
Our most popular variety we don't have a name for it though. It is 2’ high with clear
yellow flowers form mid August to mid September and will thrive in even the most
neglected area, wet or dry underfoot.
Francoa sonchifolia
Lovely perennial flowering in mid summer with slender erect wands of pink tinted
white flowers with a deep pink marking in the centre of each petal.
Geranium sylvaticum 'Mayflower'
Tough perennial with violet-blue flowers unsurprisingly in late spring & early
summer. Cut back after flowering for a second flush in July-August.
Inula magnifica
Imposing plant, rather like a perennial yellow sunflower, it will happily out-grow any
grass, needs no tending and is completely ignored by all grazers, and grows
happily here to within a few feet of the sea.
Pratia pedunculata
Dense creeping plant that produces masses of lilac-blue flowers all summer long,
great for jollying-up a damp mossy lawn that is not cut too short.
Plants for Rocky Shore
Some people live right on the shore, this does not of course prevent them from
having lovely gardens and here are a few plants that can be used right near the
high tide mark on stony ground.
Erigeron glaucus
This great and very tough rockery plant comes from the sea cliffs of the Pacific
coast of California and Oregon. It has spoon-shaped green leaves in tight rosettes
and masses mauve-magenta daisies with yellow eyes all summer.
Hebe John Collier
Vigorous & very salt tolerant with rounded leaves & short open spikes of pink &
white flowers. We originally got this plant of unknown origin from the late John
Collier a customer & Hebe enthusiast from Lewis. It contains some H. eliptica
blood, a plant that almost always grows wild within a stones throw of the sea.
Myosotidium hortensia
The ‘Chatham Island forget-me-not’ is a large fleshy perennial with big heads of
unusual blue and white flowers in late spring and early summer. In the wild it grows
at the base of cliffs in shingle and crushed shells at the high tide mark with regular
mulching of bull kelp.
Olearia solandri
Compact small-leaved shrub with greenish-yellow shoots, white star-like flowers in
autumn. Gives off an atmosphere of marzipan scent when in flower & on cold
winter days. From exposed coastal scrub in NZ, it makes a good very tight hedge
in poor soil
Rhodiola rosea
A native to maritime cliffs and mountains in Scotland, ‘rose root’, formerly Sedum
roseum, derives it’s common name from the rose-scent of the thick rhizome when
scratched. It is a small deciduous perennial with glaucous leaves and yellow
flower heads in midsummer.
Plants for Sandy Shore
Even living on a beach or on stabilised sand dunes there are still many lovely
plants that you can grow.
Anthemis punctata var. cupaniana
Silver ferny-leafed aromatic creeping sub-shrub with masses of large white and
yellow ox-eye daisies all summer. Very tough and very easy plant.
Euphorbia cyparissias ‘Fens Ruby’
Quick spreading sort deciduous glaucous perennial. Comes up ruby tinted in the
spring, slowly fading to grey-green by midsummer. Masses of lime green flowers
from early to mid summer then the plant goes golden before dying down in the
autumn.
Geranium sanguineum
The ‘bloody cranesbill’ forms a dense matt of dark green leaves with thousands of
large white, pale pink, vibrant pink or deep magenta flowers with crimson veins
from late spring to late summer.
Lupinus arboreus
The ‘tree lupine’ makes a broad shrub, usually about 3’6” high when growing in
sand with silvery hairs on the many small pale green leaves and masses of short
spikes of flowers which are typically a soft yellow but forms with blue and white
flowers exist.
Olearia traversii
One of the most wind tolerant trees or large shrubs on the planet. Rounded shiny
green opposite leaves which are silver-white beneath, which flutter aspen-like in
the breeze. Fast growing, clips into a large hedge & can be grown in pure sand!
Shrubs For Coastal Hedges
A hedge is usually for keeping things out, the more things the better, the
commonest being; wind, livestock, short-cut takers and neighbours prying eyes.
These 5 will give you a quick, dense hedge in poor soil in an exposed coastal
situation.
Escallonia rubra ‘Crimson Spire’
Popular Chilean evergreen with dark glossy foliage and dark pink flowers in
summer, very quick growing.
Fuchsia magellanica
The common 'Wild Fuchsia', tough vigorous deciduous shrub which produces an
endless succession of graceful slender hanging blooms of purple & red, beloved of
many pollinators. Fine hedging plant in coastal districts. Prune hard in early spring.
Olearia macrodonta ‘Major’
Ideal for larger coastal hedges, very quick growing with fairly large grey-green
leaves with wavy blunt-toothed edges and masses of fragrant white daisies in
June. It is exceedingly tolerant of salt winds.
Phormium tenax
Not the most conventional choice, but when densely planted the ‘New Zealand flax’
will make an excellent barrier, it is both very tough and adaptable, needs minimal
maintenance and after a few years, utterly impregnable. On the bottom of South
Island it is used as hedges between fields on red deer farms.
Ulex europaeus ‘Flore Pleno’
A good choice for those who really want to keep the neighbours out! ‘Double-
flowered gorse’ does exactly what it says on the tin, a very spiny evergreen with
masses of coconut-scented double yellow flowers in spring, Prune after flowering
to make a neat tight hedge. It’s double flowers are sterile so it won’t self-seed.
Plants for Screening
Fed-up with looking at your neighbours ugly shed, or your own for that matter. Here
are 5 quick and reliable upright growing evergreens that will hide most eyesores.
x Cupressocyparis leylandii
Rather infamous now, makes a lovely big tree if allowed, but also makes a great
quick screening plant, if clipped REGULARLY in a site with some shelter.
Griselinia littoralis
A very attractive evergreen shrub with round leaves with green margins and large
cream splash in the centre. Clips well and makes a dense hedge or screen.
Olearia lineata ‘Dartonii’
Slender erect branches & narrow pale willow-like evergreen leaves, fairly
inconspicuous sweet smelling flowers in late spring. Grows very rapidly & highly
adaptable. Excellent for quick shelter planting.
Olearia paniculata
Popular in New Zealand for taller hedges in coastal districts, it has attractive mid
green wavy leaves with a pale buff underside & a leathery texture. If not clipped it
can form an attractive small tree with smooth cinnamon bark which peels in long
strips.
Olearia traversii
One of the most wind tolerant trees or large shrubs on the planet. Rounded shiny
green opposite leaves which are silver-white beneath, which flutter aspen-like in
the breeze. Fast growing, clips into a large hedge & can be grown in pure sand!
Climbers that will tolerate Coastal Conditions
Climbers originate in forests where they grow through trees, as such evolution has
not placed much selective pressure for salt wind tolerance. However some
defiantly perform better than others. Where possible provide them with a slightly
more protected position, such as growing them through shrubs or trees.
Clematis 'Bill MacKenzie'
Vigorous deciduous petiole climber with fleshy yellow bell shaped flowers in
midsummer with a few still out at the end of summer when they are accompanied
by the long lasting fluffy ‘old men’s beards’ seed heads.
Clematis montana
Very vigorous deciduous petiole climber with pink or white flowers in May, in
several types the flowers are scented and in pink-flowered varieties the leaves are
flushed red. Very quick to cover any wall, fence or climb up a tree, it is also grows
well near the sea.
Hedera helix
Ivy climbs by adventitious root so is self clinging and needs no tying in if on a wall,
but remember that it can be destructive to mortar and should not be grown on old
or un-sound walls. It is evergreen and often looks a bit of a mess after the winter
but quickly sends out new growth. It is available in a multitude a variations of
variegation though there are lots of tender bedding varieties.
Lonicera periclymenum
Honeysuckle is vigorous, deciduous and climbs by twining stems. The sweetly
scented flowers are borne all summer and come in white and greenish, or white
and yellow or crimson.
Solanum crispum ‘Glasnevin’
Semi-evergreen scrambling climber with long stems that need tied in. Has many
clusters of rich violet-blue flowers with prominent yellow stamens in the centre all
summer.
Plants for Fragrance
If an area of the garden has scented plants then it can add much more interest.
Geranium macrorrhizum
Tough ground covering type. It is quite at home in dry shade, it will grow happily in
open situations too. The foliage has a lovely spicy scent, plant it on the edge of a
path where it will be brushed against; there are forms with white, pink and purple
flowers.
Lilium regale
The ‘regal lily’ is well named, a king among princes, tall stems clad in fine grassy
dark green leaves topped out by a several long tubular ivory flowers with a hint of
green and purple down the ribs of the petals, and the delicious scent carries for a
good distance.
Olearia solandri
A bushy evergreen shrub with tiny leaves and very dense twiggy habit. It is a first
rate coastal hedging plant and it’s millions of small star-like flowers in September
are a welcome brightener for an often dreary time of year. It is at this time when
the delicious fragrance, reminiscent of sweet Crème Anglais, is most noticeable.
The fragrance is more of an aura or atmosphere, as if you smell a flower directly
there is little fragrance. On cold still winter days the lovely scent also seems to be
in the air around the plant.
Rhododendron luteum
The ‘yellow azalea’ is a deciduous shrub with outstanding autumn colour it is easy
to grow, adaptable, oh, and by the way it produces a knock-out perfume from the
yellow flowers in mid to late May. Many Rhododendrons are also fragrant,
particularly the tender white-flowered Maddenii types, such as R. 'Fragrantissimum'
Santolina chamaecyparissus 'Pretty Carroll'
Spicy scented lead-silver compact evergreen bush with bright yellow pom-pom
flowers in summer. Great for silver path edging instead of sage in pottages, tough
easy & low maintenance.
© Garden Cottage Nursery, 2011
Select from the list below your problem area to see our suggestions of 5 good plants for that role.
Click on the thumbnail image to see it enlarged, click anywhere on the enlarged image to close it.
most things have even got started and be over and disappeared again by the time
the main plants in the garden are doing their thing. Here are 5 easy hardy worry-
free bulbs not to be without.
A simple and beautiful, only a few cms high with a white star-like flower, mix it in
with blues to really set them off.
Narcissus 'Hawera'
A distinctive dwarf Triandrus daff with a cluster of pale sulphur flowers with a short
cup & narrow backswept petals, quite late flowering for a dwarf daff. Makes a lovely
rockery plant.
Fritillaria meleagris
‘Snakes-head fritillaries’ are perennially popular for the unusual and beautiful
hanging bells of chequered flowers, fond of damp soils it will naturalise quite
happily given a dozen plants and a few years.
Muscari latifolium
The normal grape hyacinth is apt to be a bit weedy, this however is an all together
more aristocratic bulb, while still being cheap-as-chips. At about 15cm twice the
size of the normal the hundreds of densely packed flowers are dusky purple with a
pale violet tuft on top of the spike.
Tulipa ‘Little Beauty’
Striking beautiful wee species tulip that doesn’t need lifting to keep flowering year
after year. Wine red flowers with rose & purple centres.
doesn’t.
Perhaps the best known cultivar with large semi-double pink flowers and lovely
dark glossy green foliage. Make sure you protect the opening and open flowers
from frosts.
Grevillea rosmarinifolia
Needle-leafed evergreen that won’t even wait for the spring to start with it main
flowering starting in February with it’s unusual waxy pink flowers which it continues
to produce for most of the year.
Pieris ‘Forest Flame’
Pink and red young growth against the dark green old leaves and clusters of
hanging white bell flowers.
Rhododendron ‘Snow Lady’
As the name suggest an early flowering small Rhodo with white flowers that stand
frosts better than most, also has furry-edged leaves.
Salix lanata
Dwarf native willow with large round grey rough textured leaves and lovely buff
male catkins in March.
can help cheer up the garden, here are a few that are worth growing for late foliage
interest.
the autumn it colours orange & yellow.
Berberis verruculosa
Slow-growing, semi-evergreen, viciously spinned bushy shrub, glossy dark green
leaves turn brilliant red in autumn. Bright yellow flowers in late spring, early
summer, followed by blue-black fruits.
Cotinus coggygria ‘Royal Purple’
Give a warm and sunny spot and this medium-sized shrub’s purple leaves will turn
bright crimson-red in autumn.
Enkianthus campanulatus
Ericaceous shrub that will come alight with golds, ambers and reds before dropping
it’s leaves. Has lovely handing cream bell flowers with red veins in late spring.
Euonymus alatus
Medium-sized shrub that turns gold & flaming red in autumn. It has unusual winged
stems for winter interest and orange sticky fruits that follow uninteresting flowers.
shouldn’t have anything worth looking at in the garden. There is more to winter
interest than just witch hazel & holly.
Avoid planting on easterly or southerly aspects as the rapid thawing by the morning
sun of frozen flowers can spoil and discolour them.
encourage the whip-like dark glossy red shoots.
Leucothoe fontanesiana 'Rainbow'
Quite slow growing evergreen suckering ericaceous shrub, it is grown for the effect
of large blocks of the colourfully random splashed thick waxy foliage that darkens
to red in winter. Has white Pieris-like flowers in late spring.
Rhododendron 'Praecox'
Upright growing hybrid of R. ciliatum & R. dauricum 'Emasculum'. Very early
flowering, with trusses of rose-purple flowers in 2 or 3s during late winter & early
spring.
Skimmia japonica ‘Rubella’
Thick smooth elliptic leaves with a reddish edge and terminal racemes of
powerfully fragrant white flowers from mid winter to spring.
Viburnum x bodnantense ‘Dawn’
Well known, highly fragrant winter flowering shrub, dense clusters of small tubular
soft pink flowers. Has an upright habit and good autumn colour.
require excellent drainage, there are however plenty of plants which while
preferring the damp conditions that many gardens have, still never grow big and
can therefore be accommodated in a damp rock garden.
red berries in late summer. About 100th the size of it’s better known cousin giant
Gunnera manicata.
Leptinella squalida ‘Platt’s Black’
Great ground cover plant, completely flat to the ground it will creep to form a dense
mat of filigree leaves sea green at the tips with purple-black centres
Mimulus ‘Highland Red’
Growing to about 10cm tall and smothered by large vivid red flowers this wee
perennial adds quite an impact to your rockery
Pratia pedunculata
Dense creeping plant that produces masses of lilac-blue flowers all summer long
Romanzoffia tracyi
A plant of the exposed shores of the Pacific Northwest of the US and Canada, it
makes a tight little mound of fleshy scalloped leaves and has loads of white flowers
in late spring.
few real tough customers that don’t mind a bit of baking.
summer, great for going over the top of walls.
Armeria maritima 'Düsseldorfer Stolz'
A fine form of the native 'Sea Pink' or 'Thrift' with dark pink flowers over most of the
summer & a mat-forming habit.
Geranium (Cinereum Group) 'Ballerina'
Real good value plant, it forms a rosette from which it produces innumerable
purple-pink flowers with deep red veins from spring right through to autumn.
Lewisia cotyledon Hybrids
Available in a neon rainbow of colours these semi-succulent rosette forming plants
are quite amazing when a few different coloured forms are mixed together.
Sedum spathulifolium 'Purpureum'
Tight mat of grey-white & purple rosettes of succulent leaves and yellow flowers in
mid summer.
suggestions.
it has attractive grey foliage, white young growth & lilac-blue highly scented flowers
from mid to late summer.
Cytisus ‘Minstead’
Excellent lilac & pale blue flowered broad growing long-lived broom. Prune brooms
back about a third after flowering to improve habit, encourage flowering next year &
prolong their life.
Grevillea rosmarinifolia
Needle-leafed evergreen that won’t even wait for the spring to start with it main
flowering starting in February with it’s unusual waxy pink flowers which it continues
to produce for most of the year.
Ozothamnus leptophyllus
Small pale green evergreen leaves white the reverse on upright white stems, tough
shrub easy and quick.
Any Cistus will thrive in sunny, drier conditions, this is a very fine variety with an
bushy habit, sage green narrow evergreen leaves and masses of magenta flowers
all summer.
most things have even got started and be over and disappeared again by the time
the main plants in the garden are doing their thing. Here are 5 easy hardy worry-
free bulbs not to be without.
The ‘Manuka’ or ‘tea tree’ of New Zealand &Tasmania loves soggy, horrible site
where little else wants to grow, the redder flowered varieties are rather too tender
for wet sites, but the vigorous white Tasmanian form or some of the hardier pink
forms from NZ, like ‘Chapmanii’ are fine.
Olearia glandulosa
An Australian Olearia. This species has vigorous upright stems to about 4’6”, vivid
green with soft needle-like foliage all the way up and then each of the many shoots
is topped by a cluster of white daisies all summer.
Ozothamnus vauvilliersii
The closely related O. leptophyllus made an appearance in the “Shrubs for Dry
Soils” section and this one would be equally at home in either. Small, dense glossy
green foliage on upright stems, each topped by a cluster of red buds opening to
white petal-less daisies. Makes a dome about 4’ high and slightly wider.
Dwarf native willow with large round grey rough textured leaves that turng golden-
yellow in autumn & lovely buff male catkins in March.
intricately divided foliage with white flowers stained dark towards their middles and
autumn these are followed by black edible fruits, great in an apple pie.
few real tough customers that don’t mind a bit of baking.
Stems with several whorls of flowers in many different colours from the mid May
with the earliest, June and into July with the latter varieties. When used in large
numbers and with a good selection of colours they are most impressive.
Astilbe chinensis 'Vision in Red'
A popular variety it holds itself well, about 3’ high with bold cut dark foliage and
dense fluffy rich carmine red erect plumes of flowers on stiff stems in July &
August.
Iris sibirica
Popular irises for wet areas they are available in a wide variety of colours including
blue, purple, pink, rosy purple and white. The flowers are often beautifully and
intricately marked and veined, they are borne in early summer and most are
around 3-4’ high.
Ligularia 'Britt Marie Crawford'
Large perennial that has bold round beetroot leaves and stems. Bares several big
golden daisies on stout stems in mid to late summer.
Persicaria bistorta ‘Superba’
The ‘Bistort’ is a great and easy plant for any soggy spot, adaptable to aspect and
soil type it reliably produces several stiff dumpy spikes of clear pink flowers for
most of the summer.
their ‘Garden’ is unimproved peat bog. There are quite a few ornamental plants that
will grow fairly well in these conditions.
and stems with clusters of 3 white flowers with lovely purple and yellow markings in
June.
Gaultheria mucronata ‘Bell’s Seedling’
‘Pernettya’ is a vigorous suckering shrub from Tierra del Fuego & thrives on
exposed peat bogs. With dark glossy evergreen leaves with a sharp tip (mucro),
this form is a hermaphrodite so will produce both the clusters of small white bell
flowers & then the bright pink round berries that birds love.
Olearia ‘Henry Travers’
Exceedingly tough customer from the isolated Chatham Islands 550 miles east of
New Zealand in the wild southern Pacific. It is a medium-sized shrub which has
lovely glossy leathery grey-green leaves that are felted white beneath and unlike
most Olearias it has big magenta and lilac daisy flowers.
Ozothamnus rosmarinifolius
A Tasmanian evergreen shrub with greyish foliage and tight petal-less white daisies
from purple-red buds, it thrives across a wide range of conditions and looks really
good when grown in the hard conditions of a highland peat bog.
Sarracenia purpurea
Unusual ‘Pitcher Plant’ from the North Eastern States and Eastern Canada they
thrive in really poor, acid peat bogs, gorging themselves on all the midges!
here are a few suggestions
flowers for most of summer.
Libertia ixioides ‘Tricolor’
A tough evergreen rosette of bronzy-green sword-shaped leaves with a prominent
pale mid-rib. White flowers and orange seed heads that persist for up to two years.
Meconopsis ‘Lingholm’
The ever popular and much desired ‘Himalayan Blue Poppy’ needs little
introduction.
Pulmonaria 'Blue Ensign'
Lots of striking deep blue flowers that hold their colour well from the first days of
spring, plain green leaves on a compact plant.
Saxifraga 'Variegata' (x urbium)
The less vigorous variegated form of the well known ‘London Pride’. Tough and
attractive with dark green and cream evergreen foliage and wands of small white
flowers. Useful in very wet & dark situations.
grow in dry shade? Here are 5 that will enliven that dead space under those trees.
Great short evergreen perennial, in early spring it gives you beautifully sculpted
flowers of deep pink followed by young leaves flushed with purple through the
veins.
Geranium macrorrhizum
Aromatic felty pale green foliage with varieties with white, palest rosy-pink or plumy
magenta flowers in late spring & early summer. First rate groundcover.
Geranium nodosum
An excellent semi-evergreen cranesbill, made more useful by it’s fondness for
austere conditions. Glossy mid green foliage and lilac flowers with dark veins all
summer.
Luzula sylvatica 'Taggart’s Cream'
A vigorous native evergreen groundcover the ‘Wood rush’ thrives in deep dark and
even very dry shade. Has bright cream young growth in spring contrasting with the
dark green of the previous years.
Millium effusum ‘Aureum’
‘Bowles’ Golden Grass’ or ‘Golden Wood Millet’ is perhaps the most often
recommended plant for dry shade, and with good reason, it brightens up a dark
corner from spring to early autumn with it’s bright yellow foliage, it’s self seeds true
and is un-fussy enough to grow in damp full sun too.
vernals, that is they flower in spring, as or before the leaves come on the trees they
grow under. So the shady border can rather dreary come mid summer, here are a
few to brighten it up after the halcyon days of spring.
foliage and tall spikes of showy purple and white bracted flowers from mid summer
to early autumn.
Aconitum carmichaelii Wilsonii Group
Tall and striking perennial with glossy dark green leaves and a delphinium-like
flower spike of many deepest violet-blue flowers in late summer and early autumn.
Gentiana asclepiadea
The ‘willow gentian’ is a most beautiful plant with it’s arching leafy stems studded
down their length with pairs of deep gentian-blue flowers in late summer. There is
also a white flowered form.
Kirengeshoma palmata
The plant that no list of late flowering woodlanders could be without! A lovely
perennial, about 3’ high with large sycamore-shaped leaves on upright stems,
which from mid August to late September have many quite large cupped primrose
yellow flowers towards the top.
Tricyrtis formosana
The strange and beautiful ‘toad lilies’ are a must, this species is an upright
perennial, about 3’-4’ with many pinky-purple flowers spotted all over with crimson
purple with a unusual column structure coming from the centre.
rooting plants, like a bramble does or by using fairly tight groupings of shrubs
whose roots will net together to stabilise the soil. The first will give a fairly smooth
finish, the second, a more ‘organic’ look and will allow for more variation.
popular garden shrub, but it is also a tough and useful plant for populating a dry
and windy bank.
Ceanothus thyrsiflorus var. repens
For a dry sunny bank this creeping evergreen shrub is a great choice with loads of
mid flowers in late spring and early summer, very similar but with paler flowers is C.
griseus var. horizontalis ‘Yankee Point’.
Cotoneaster x suecicus 'Coral Beauty'
Arching stems of small semi-evergreen dark green leaves, in early summer it is
sparkled with white flowers followed by masses of red-orange berries. A great
many different Contoneasters make first-rate groundcovers.
Juniperus squamata 'Blue Carpet'
Invaluable groundcover for those difficult banks, tolerant of lots of abuse it will
make a dense thick mat of silvery evergreen needle clad foliage. Quite slow to
establish but rapid & efficient once it has settled in.
Olearia x oleifolia 'Oleifolia'
Dusty leaden grey leaves with white backs, many white daisies above the foliage in
summer. One of the most garden worthy Olearias, tough & looks good year-round.
would love it if there were just a few more wild flowers in it, and wish it was just a
bit more jolly. Here’s 5 to put in there and forget about.
Our most popular variety we don't have a name for it though. It is 2’ high with clear
yellow flowers form mid August to mid September and will thrive in even the most
neglected area, wet or dry underfoot.
Francoa sonchifolia
Lovely perennial flowering in mid summer with slender erect wands of pink tinted
white flowers with a deep pink marking in the centre of each petal.
Geranium sylvaticum 'Mayflower'
Tough perennial with violet-blue flowers unsurprisingly in late spring & early
summer. Cut back after flowering for a second flush in July-August.
Inula magnifica
Imposing plant, rather like a perennial yellow sunflower, it will happily out-grow any
grass, needs no tending and is completely ignored by all grazers, and grows
happily here to within a few feet of the sea.
Pratia pedunculata
Dense creeping plant that produces masses of lilac-blue flowers all summer long,
great for jollying-up a damp mossy lawn that is not cut too short.
having lovely gardens and here are a few plants that can be used right near the
high tide mark on stony ground.
coast of California and Oregon. It has spoon-shaped green leaves in tight rosettes
and masses mauve-magenta daisies with yellow eyes all summer.
Hebe John Collier
Vigorous & very salt tolerant with rounded leaves & short open spikes of pink &
white flowers. We originally got this plant of unknown origin from the late John
Collier a customer & Hebe enthusiast from Lewis. It contains some H. eliptica
blood, a plant that almost always grows wild within a stones throw of the sea.
Myosotidium hortensia
The ‘Chatham Island forget-me-not’ is a large fleshy perennial with big heads of
unusual blue and white flowers in late spring and early summer. In the wild it grows
at the base of cliffs in shingle and crushed shells at the high tide mark with regular
mulching of bull kelp.
Olearia solandri
Compact small-leaved shrub with greenish-yellow shoots, white star-like flowers in
autumn. Gives off an atmosphere of marzipan scent when in flower & on cold
winter days. From exposed coastal scrub in NZ, it makes a good very tight hedge
in poor soil
Rhodiola rosea
A native to maritime cliffs and mountains in Scotland, ‘rose root’, formerly Sedum
roseum, derives it’s common name from the rose-scent of the thick rhizome when
scratched. It is a small deciduous perennial with glaucous leaves and yellow
flower heads in midsummer.
plants that you can grow.
yellow ox-eye daisies all summer. Very tough and very easy plant.
Euphorbia cyparissias ‘Fens Ruby’
Quick spreading sort deciduous glaucous perennial. Comes up ruby tinted in the
spring, slowly fading to grey-green by midsummer. Masses of lime green flowers
from early to mid summer then the plant goes golden before dying down in the
autumn.
Geranium sanguineum
The ‘bloody cranesbill’ forms a dense matt of dark green leaves with thousands of
large white, pale pink, vibrant pink or deep magenta flowers with crimson veins
from late spring to late summer.
Lupinus arboreus
The ‘tree lupine’ makes a broad shrub, usually about 3’6” high when growing in
sand with silvery hairs on the many small pale green leaves and masses of short
spikes of flowers which are typically a soft yellow but forms with blue and white
flowers exist.
Olearia traversii
One of the most wind tolerant trees or large shrubs on the planet. Rounded shiny
green opposite leaves which are silver-white beneath, which flutter aspen-like in
the breeze. Fast growing, clips into a large hedge & can be grown in pure sand!
commonest being; wind, livestock, short-cut takers and neighbours prying eyes.
These 5 will give you a quick, dense hedge in poor soil in an exposed coastal
situation.
summer, very quick growing.
Fuchsia magellanica
The common 'Wild Fuchsia', tough vigorous deciduous shrub which produces an
endless succession of graceful slender hanging blooms of purple & red, beloved of
many pollinators. Fine hedging plant in coastal districts. Prune hard in early spring.
Olearia macrodonta ‘Major’
Ideal for larger coastal hedges, very quick growing with fairly large grey-green
leaves with wavy blunt-toothed edges and masses of fragrant white daisies in
June. It is exceedingly tolerant of salt winds.
Phormium tenax
Not the most conventional choice, but when densely planted the ‘New Zealand flax’
will make an excellent barrier, it is both very tough and adaptable, needs minimal
maintenance and after a few years, utterly impregnable. On the bottom of South
Island it is used as hedges between fields on red deer farms.
Ulex europaeus ‘Flore Pleno’
A good choice for those who really want to keep the neighbours out! ‘Double-
flowered gorse’ does exactly what it says on the tin, a very spiny evergreen with
masses of coconut-scented double yellow flowers in spring, Prune after flowering
to make a neat tight hedge. It’s double flowers are sterile so it won’t self-seed.
Rather infamous now, makes a lovely big tree if allowed, but also makes a great
quick screening plant, if clipped REGULARLY in a site with some shelter.
Griselinia littoralis
A very attractive evergreen shrub with round leaves with green margins and large
cream splash in the centre. Clips well and makes a dense hedge or screen.
Olearia lineata ‘Dartonii’
Slender erect branches & narrow pale willow-like evergreen leaves, fairly
inconspicuous sweet smelling flowers in late spring. Grows very rapidly & highly
adaptable. Excellent for quick shelter planting.
Olearia paniculata
Popular in New Zealand for taller hedges in coastal districts, it has attractive mid
green wavy leaves with a pale buff underside & a leathery texture. If not clipped it
can form an attractive small tree with smooth cinnamon bark which peels in long
strips.
green opposite leaves which are silver-white beneath, which flutter aspen-like in
the breeze. Fast growing, clips into a large hedge & can be grown in pure sand!
not placed much selective pressure for salt wind tolerance. However some
defiantly perform better than others. Where possible provide them with a slightly
more protected position, such as growing them through shrubs or trees.
Vigorous deciduous petiole climber with fleshy yellow bell shaped flowers in
midsummer with a few still out at the end of summer when they are accompanied
by the long lasting fluffy ‘old men’s beards’ seed heads.
Clematis montana
Very vigorous deciduous petiole climber with pink or white flowers in May, in
several types the flowers are scented and in pink-flowered varieties the leaves are
flushed red. Very quick to cover any wall, fence or climb up a tree, it is also grows
well near the sea.
Hedera helix
Ivy climbs by adventitious root so is self clinging and needs no tying in if on a wall,
but remember that it can be destructive to mortar and should not be grown on old
or un-sound walls. It is evergreen and often looks a bit of a mess after the winter
but quickly sends out new growth. It is available in a multitude a variations of
variegation though there are lots of tender bedding varieties.
Lonicera periclymenum
Honeysuckle is vigorous, deciduous and climbs by twining stems. The sweetly
scented flowers are borne all summer and come in white and greenish, or white
and yellow or crimson.
Solanum crispum ‘Glasnevin’
Semi-evergreen scrambling climber with long stems that need tied in. Has many
clusters of rich violet-blue flowers with prominent yellow stamens in the centre all
summer.
Tough ground covering type. It is quite at home in dry shade, it will grow happily in
open situations too. The foliage has a lovely spicy scent, plant it on the edge of a
path where it will be brushed against; there are forms with white, pink and purple
flowers.
Lilium regale
The ‘regal lily’ is well named, a king among princes, tall stems clad in fine grassy
dark green leaves topped out by a several long tubular ivory flowers with a hint of
green and purple down the ribs of the petals, and the delicious scent carries for a
good distance.
Olearia solandri
A bushy evergreen shrub with tiny leaves and very dense twiggy habit. It is a first
rate coastal hedging plant and it’s millions of small star-like flowers in September
are a welcome brightener for an often dreary time of year. It is at this time when
the delicious fragrance, reminiscent of sweet Crème Anglais, is most noticeable.
The fragrance is more of an aura or atmosphere, as if you smell a flower directly
there is little fragrance. On cold still winter days the lovely scent also seems to be
in the air around the plant.
Rhododendron luteum
The ‘yellow azalea’ is a deciduous shrub with outstanding autumn colour it is easy
to grow, adaptable, oh, and by the way it produces a knock-out perfume from the
yellow flowers in mid to late May. Many Rhododendrons are also fragrant,
particularly the tender white-flowered Maddenii types, such as R. 'Fragrantissimum'
Santolina chamaecyparissus 'Pretty Carroll'
Spicy scented lead-silver compact evergreen bush with bright yellow pom-pom
flowers in summer. Great for silver path edging instead of sage in pottages, tough
easy & low maintenance.