There isn't long to go now till the Plantedd Garden Party.
A hop, skip and a jump across the calendar and it'll be Friday before you know it and these are some of the goodies that will be in front of you shouting 'buy me!' and there are some real gems that you might have to fight me for! Have a look at the plants below and if you fancy your chances, then head along to the Glasgow Botanic Gardens on Friday, 28 September between 12 noon and 6pm. I'll be ready! *throws glove on the ground*
We've already seen a selection of the lovely plants from the good people of Coblands Nurseries in this post here.
Here are some plants from just a few of the other kind folk who have donated. The descriptions have been cribbed so I can't take any of the credit, but I can assure you that any mistakes are probably mine!
Beth Chatto Gardens
Sedum aizoon 'Euphorbioides'
Heads of warm yellow starry flowers fade to handsome bronze seedheads, reddish stems, green leaves, overall interesting effect. Midsummer. 30 cm.
Kalimeris incisa 'Blue Star'
This deserves to be better known, being very easy and adaptable. Single, 2.5cm soft blue daisy-like flowers over compact mound of green are a delight from mid-late summer and longer if dead-headed. 40 cm.
Gunnera prorepens
Warmly bronzed foliage makes irregular clusters rather than the well-formed rosettes of Gunnera hamiltonii. By late August studded with upstanding 5 cm spikes, looking like sticks of sealing wax, made with closely-set tiny red round fruitlets. It is uncertain how hardy this will be in severe winters.
Melica uniflora albida
Quietly attractive. Above neat clumps of soft green foliage float sprays of pale little buds looking rather like tiny grains of rice. Such a dainty effect planted among ferns, hostas or the grey-leafed Dicentra 'Langtrees'. 45-60 cm.
Tiarella cordifolia 'Jeepers Creepers'
Lovely neat plant with a creeping habit. It has pretty white foamy flowers in spring and summer and then the foliage turns to red and pink tones in the autumn. Another useful runner for shady areas. 25 cm.
Thymus longicaulis
Quickly forms wide-spreading mats of thin wiry stems, with small scented green leaves forming total ground cover. Completely covered in early summer with clustered heads of rosy-mauve flowers. Much admired. 10 cm.
Euphorbia seguieriana
This is the true form. Euphorbia seguieriana is a superb plant that dominates the scene for months from June to November. Many polished mahogany-red stems carry heads of tiny lime-green flowers, still attractive in low autumn sunlight. 75-90 cm.
Phyla nodiflora
A pretty trailing plant for paving, or ground cover for small bulbs in warm, well-drained soil. Small oval leaves cover prostrate branching stems, set in late summer, with globular heads of tiny white and mauve flowers. Disappears in winter, but returns in spring. 10 cm.
Buglossoides purpurocaerulea
Needs sun and well-drained soil - will tolerate chalk. Thrives in open spaces in poor sand, where it makes good ground cover, sending out long trails of dark green matt leaves sprinkled with gentian-blue flowers. Good cover for bulbs, e.g. colchicum and narcissus. 40 cm.
Rubus idaeus 'Aureus'
Very attractive where there is room, among shrubs or in the leaf litter beneath trees. Pale lemon-yellow leaves create a patch of sunlight where its underground shoots weave through fine leaf mold. 60-75 cm.
Blechnum penna-marina
Macplants
Aster 'Little Carlow'
This is one of the easiest asters to grow with larges heads of many small lavender-blue flowers that provide a great show in the autumn garden. It makes a good cut flower. Grow in any average garden soil in full sun. It seldom needs staking. September - October. 120 cm.
Crocosmia 'Star of the East'
This is a very showy form. It has large, open, outward-facing mandarin-orange flowers with paler throats and flushed tips. Easy to grow in any normal garden soil that is not too dry in full sun. August - October. 60 cm.
Nepeta govaniana
Delicate, open spikes of pale yellow flowers are produced all summer above fresh pale green leaves. For sun or light shade and best if the soil is not too dry, though drainage must be good. Long-flowering. July - September. 100 cm.
Penstemon 'Snowstorm' (or 'White Bedder')
White flowers that are sometimes tinged pink in cool weather are borne over a long period. Penstemons prefer a fertile soil in a warm, sunny spot and are not always fully hardy. They should be cut back in late spring. June - October. 60 cm.
Onopordum acanthium (Scotch Thistle)
Cosmos atrosanguineus 'Chocamocha'
Gorgeous dark velvety-red flowers which smell of chocolate. It needs a sunny, sheltered site with good drainage. It can be difficult to over-winter in an average border. Try growing it in a largish pot and bring it into a shed and keep it barely moist during the winter. August - October. 60 cm.
Kevock Gardens
Primula florindae
Primula florindae is easy in a damp place, and in a soggy area of the garden you can even mow over them and they'll survive but won't grow very tall! Elsewhere, they can get to a magnificent 120 cm or more and you have one (occasionally two) whorls of flowers on short, spreading or hanging pedicels (stems), sometimes a hundreds or more, with a lovely scent. They have soft yellow flowers.
Sisyrinchium idahoense var. macounii 'Album'
An easy plant for a rock garden or raised beds, making clumps of grassy leaves and spikes with a long succession of pure white flowers. It seeds itself easily, but the plants are easily pulled out it they are not required.
Potentilla cuneata
Potentilla cuneata is an excellent rock garden or raised bed plant, which just keeps on flowering from summer through to autumn. It has bright yellow, upward-facing flowers scattered over the low mat of leaves on very short stems.
Rhodiola pachyclados
Rhodiola pachyclados forms dense hummocks of really neat rosettes, each with many small blue-grey leaves. It has starry white flowers with yellow anthers, but it is the foliage that is the main attraction.
Dianthus 'Blue Hills'
The alpine dianthus are amongst the staples of the rock garden, providing lots of reliable color after the first flush of spring flowers has passed. They form neat cushions of thin, pointed leaves. Dianthus 'Blue Hills' can make wide mats of broad (for a dianthus) glaucous foliage, which can be covered with mid-pink flowers. It looks great over the edge of a rock.
Saxifraga paniculata ex. Austria
Saxifraga paniculata ex. Austria makes tight clumps of rosettes. The leaves are short, rounded and encrusted with lime. The clusters of white flowers are on dark red stems. This is a selection originating in Austria.
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