A couple of weekends ago we paid Cotswold Garden Flowers a visit to see what treasures they have for sale in their nursery. It is owned by well known plantsman Bob Brown and although the nursery itself is leaning more towards cottage style of gardening they have an extensive catalog of plants which includes many new, rare and unusual ones, most coming from exotic locations. Fortunately the nursery owner is an extensive collector of plants, enterprising, and always on the lookout for the newly sourced and introduced hence a nursery that has a treasure trove of botanical gems.
The stocks and what's on offer in this nursery are ever changing and you're bound to find something new each time you visit. If only it was much nearer to us! We try to visit at least once a year and catch them in some of the plant fairs they attend. Our visit was certainly rewarded and we saw so many gorgeous plants
First things first, a glimpse of their arid trial beds to the left just before you enter their polytunnel sales area.
Nolina sp. 'La Siberica' to the left and Yucca recurvifolia 'Gold Stream' right
The strip of land to the side of their sales area has been planted too, mostly with plants that they actually stock (so customers can have an idea what these plants look like in a border/garden setting and give an indication to their hardiness).
Then you enter the sales area and immediately you are greeted by a beautiful selection of plants. Be prepared to look very thoroughly, to spot the gems among the gems...
They have several sales polytunnels, located at the top and at the bottom of a section of their property that is open to the public. In the middle of these polytunnels are more demonstration beds that are looking so good that the entire area looks more like a proper garden rather than something functional. Again the plants growing here give a clue to how most of the plants they sell perform when planted out.
Nice isn't it? That seat looks so inviting!
Ohh and they have demonstration shade poytunnel too..
Okay, enough of the outside, so what's inside and what did they have for sale when we visited??
Oops! This one wasn't for sale
They have a selection of small Yuccas, some of them were...Yucca rupicola
Yucca carnerosana
Yucca rostrata 'Sapphire Skies'
A very lovely variegated Agave - Agave cornelius
Scilla peruviana which I just found out recently that they are actually from Spain and not Peru
Beschorneria selection
Triffids! Polypodium aureum 'Derry's Medium'
Podophyllum 'Kaleidoscope'
These look more like succulents - Eremurus lactiflorus
Kniphofias and Agapanthus
Aeonium 'Voodoo' at the back
You wouldn't want to fall on to these! Acanthus spinosissimus
Agaves galore!I've noted since 2011 that their stocks of Ochagaveas, Puyas, Dyckias, and Hechtias have been increasing and my observations were right. I don't collect these bromeliads anymore but it was nice to see they have so many and this nursery is a must to visit if you're into this type of plants.
Manfredas
Acanthus eminens
Asarum maximum 'Silver Panda'
I almost bought one for the foliage - Lilium 'Sulphur King'
So what did we buy? Typically we have unloaded and distributed the plants all over the garden before I realised that I haven't taken a group photo of our haul yet. Some of the ones we bought were (I say some as I can't remember them all now, oops!)..Variegated Beschorneria septentrionalis - one for collectors and reminds me more of a variegated Furcraea
Podophyllum 'Kaleidoscope' - we keep losing this for some reason so I'm trying againYucca carnerosana - one of the ones in the photo above
Beschorneria rigida - supposedly even hardier than B. septentrionalis
Beschoneria septentrionalis (variegated) - one for collectors!
Aspidistra elatior 'Asahi' - to add to my Aspidistra collection
Aspidistra lurida 'Ginga' - ditto
Quercus dentata 'Pinnatifida' - a replacement for the one we lost in the fire last year
Asarum maximum 'Silver Panda' - understory plant in the jungle area
Syneilesis aconitifolia - to introduce to another part of the garden
Mark :-)