Search results

Tetrapanax papyrifer 'Rex', commonly known as rice paper plant, is an evergreen to semi-evergreen shrub grown primarily for its dramatic architectural foliage. The large, deeply lobed leaves can reach up to 60cm across, giving the plant a bold, tropical appearance that suits exotic-style planting schemes. Leaves emerge covered in a pale, felted down which wears away as they mature, revealing a rich green upper surface. The shrub forms an upright, suckering structure with a somewhat open habit, often spreading via underground rhizomes to form colonies over time. This suckering tendency can be useful for creating naturalistic drifts but may require management in smaller gardens. Foliage remains the main point of interest through spring and summer, providing strong textural contrast against finer-leaved planting. In favourable conditions, mature plants may produce sprays of small, star-shaped cream flowers in autumn, followed by black berries, though flowering is less reliable in cooler climates. Rice paper plant is well suited to sheltered, warm spots and benefits from protection against harsh winds, which can damage the large leaves. It performs best in moisture-retentive, fertile soil and is tolerant of partial shade, making it a useful choice for creating a jungle-effect planting scheme in temperate gardens.

Crataegus persimilis 'Prunifolia', commonly known as Broad-leaved Cockspur Thorn, is a deciduous tree with a well-balanced, feathered shape, retaining its lower branches down to the ground for a dense, rounded habit. The glossy dark green foliage is a notable feature, turning striking shades of orange, red and purple in autumn before falling. In late spring, the tree produces clusters of white blossom, providing an attractive display and an early nectar source for bees and other pollinating insects. Following the flowers, large glossy red haws develop and persist into winter, offering a valuable food source for birds and other wildlife. These fruits also add ornamental interest during the autumn and winter months, complementing the rich autumn leaf colour. This tree supports local biodiversity by providing both forage and shelter for birds and insects throughout the year. It is a hardy and adaptable tree, tolerant of a wide range of soil types including clay, and copes well with exposed or urban conditions. Its dense branching structure and thorny stems also make it useful as a screening tree or for creating a wildlife-friendly boundary within a garden setting.

Cercis siliquastrum, commonly known as the Judas tree or love tree, is a deciduous tree native to the Mediterranean region, including parts of Southern Europe and Western Asia. It is a member of the bean family (Fabaceae) and is known for its vibrant, pink-purple flowers and heart-shaped leaves. The Judas tree can grow up to 10 meters tall and has a spreading, umbrella-shaped crown. Its bark is smooth and gray-brown, and its branches are often twisted and gnarled, adding to its aesthetic appeal. The tree typically blooms in early spring, before its leaves appear, producing an abundance of small, pink-purple flowers that grow in clusters on the branches and trunk. These flowers are a valuable source of nectar for bees and other pollinators. After flowering, the tree produces flattened, brown seed pods that hang from the branches throughout the summer. These pods can be several centimeters long and contain numerous small seeds. The Judas tree is a popular ornamental tree in gardens and parks, where it is valued for its attractive appearance and early spring flowering. It prefers full sun or partial shade and well-drained soil, and is generally hardy and easy to grow.

Acer ‘Kogane Nishiki’ is a striking and rare cultivar of the Acer palmatum (Japanese maple), celebrated for its unique golden-yellow foliage and elegant structure. The name ‘Kogane Nishiki’ translates from Japanese as ‘Golden Brocade’ or ‘Golden Embroidery’, reflecting its luminous, textured leaves. 

This deciduous tree features deeply lobed leaves that emerge in spring with a bright yellow-green hue, often with hints of soft orange or pink at the edges. As the seasons progress, the foliage transitions to a richer golden tone before taking on warm amber and orange hues in autumn. This continuous colour evolution makes it a highly sought-after ornamental tree for gardens, particularly in Japanese-style landscapes and small garden spaces.

‘Kogane Nishiki’ typically reaches a compact height of around 2–4 metres, making it ideal for container planting, patios, and sheltered spots. Its graceful branching structure adds year-round interest, even when bare in winter. The bark is smooth and provides an elegant contrast to the vibrant leaves.

Like most Japanese maples, it prefers a partially shaded location with protection from intense afternoon sun, which can scorch its delicate foliage. Well-drained, slightly acidic soil is best, and regular watering is essential, particularly during hot, dry spells.

This cultivar is favoured for its delicate beauty, striking seasonal colour shifts, and suitability for small gardens. Its radiant golden leaves add contrast to darker green plants, making it a standout feature in any planting scheme. Whether as a specimen tree or part of a larger design, Acer ‘Kogane Nishiki’ offers a stunning visual display throughout the year.

Acer palmatum 'Phoenix' is a stunning deciduous tree that belongs to the Aceraceae family. This particular cultivar of the Japanese maple is a popular ornamental plant and is prized for its vibrant, fiery foliage. 'Phoenix' has a unique combination of shades of red, orange, and yellow that make it stand out in any landscape. Its leaves are deeply lobed and have a delicate, lacy appearance that adds an elegant touch to any garden.

At maturity, Acer palmatum 'Phoenix' typically reaches a height of around 3 meters (10 feet) and a spread of approximately 2.5 meters (8 feet). Its growth rate is relatively slow, so it is perfect for small to medium-sized gardens. This compact size makes it an ideal choice for container planting, and it can also be grown as a stunning focal point in a mixed border. When placed in a prominent location in a garden, the brilliant fall colors of 'Phoenix' are sure to attract attention and provide a visual feast for the eyes.

Cercis canadensis 'Ruby Falls', also known as the Ruby Falls Redbud, is an eye-catching, weeping variety of the Eastern Redbud tree. This cultivar stands out with its unique, cascading growth habit and striking foliage. The heart-shaped leaves emerge in a vibrant shade of ruby-red in spring, gradually maturing to deep purple as the season progresses. In early spring, before the foliage unfurls, the bare branches are adorned with a profusion of small, rosy-pink flowers, creating a breath taking display. 'Ruby Falls' features a clear stem or trunk, which elevates the weeping canopy, making it an excellent focal point in landscape designs. It's a compact, deciduous tree, perfect for small gardens and spaces where a dramatic vertical element is desired. Its resilience and relatively low maintenance make it a favoured choice among gardeners seeking a tree with year-round visual interest.

Acer palmatum is a species with rich variety of deciduous trees or shrubs with elegant habits, palmate, lacy, hand-like leaves, and beautiful colourful foliage, especially in autumn. The colours vary from rich shades of yellow and golden-yellow, then red, purple, and bronze, to bright and dark green. Most Japanese maples belong to Acer palmatum species. It’s a slow-grower with an upright, bushy, compact habit, rounded to broad-rounded with layered branching structure. Acer palmatum is very adaptable and easy to grow. It prefers moist, well-drained, slightly acidic soils, but it can grow in almost any kind of soil. Leaf colour is best in partial shade, but the plant tolerates full sun very well. It needs to be protected from harsh winds. Lack of soil moisture and excessive exposure can cause leaf scorch. Acer palmatum is highly decorative and ornamental. Perfect as specimen plant, great for small, urban, cottage or rock gardens. Very suitable for growing in containers and pots.

Kolkwitzia amabillis Pink Cloud is a beautiful, medium-sized, vigorous, suckering, deciduous shrub with a vase-shaped habit, exfoliating bark when mature, arching stems, and ovate, dark green foliage, yellow in autumn. Clusters of lovely, bell-shaped, pale pink to clear pink flowers with yellow markings on the inner throat, blooming in spring and summer. Flowers are followed by capsule-like fruits.

'Pink Cloud' prefers average, medium moisture, well-drained soils, but is adaptable to various types of soils as long as they are well-drained. Its foliage is best in partial shade but it tolerates full sun. Generally, pest-free and disease-free. It may need occasional hard pruning if it becomes too dense or overgrown.

Kolkwitzia amabillis Pink Cloud, with its outstanding pink flowers, is great as a specimen plant, perfect for foundations and shrub borders. Ideal for informal, cottage gardens. It can be used as a screen or hedge in large gardens.

Winged Spindle is a deciduous shrub grown chiefly for its outstanding autumn colour, when the foliage turns vivid shades of crimson and scarlet before falling. The dark green leaves are oval in shape, providing a fresh backdrop through spring and summer that gives little indication of the autumn display to come. A distinctive feature of this shrub is the corky, wing-like ridges that develop along its stems, giving rise to its common name and providing interest even in winter once the leaves have dropped. Small, inconspicuous greenish-yellow flowers appear in late spring, followed in autumn by reddish-purple fruits that split open to reveal bright orange seeds. These fruits persist on the bare branches after leaf fall, adding further seasonal appeal alongside the colouring foliage. The shrub forms a dense, twiggy framework, making it suitable for informal hedging or as a specimen plant where its structure and winter stem interest can be appreciated. Its berries are attractive to birds, which feed on the fruits during the colder months, offering some value for garden wildlife. Winged Spindle tolerates a wide range of soil types, including clay, and adapts well to both sunny and partially shaded positions.

Pink Pagoda is a deciduous tree, grown here in a feathered form with branches retained down to the base, giving it a full, upright and well-furnished habit from ground level. The pinnate foliage is a soft blue-green through the growing season, composed of slender leaflets that give the crown a light, airy texture. In autumn the leaves turn attractive shades of orange, red and purple before falling, providing strong seasonal interest. In late spring, clusters of small white flowers appear in flattened corymbs across the canopy, creating a pleasing display against the foliage. These are followed in autumn by abundant clusters of pink berries, a distinctive feature that sets this cultivar apart from other rowans and provides a long season of colour as the fruit persists alongside the turning leaves. The berries are a valuable food source for birds, particularly thrushes and blackbirds, making this tree a useful addition for gardens aiming to support local wildlife through the autumn and winter months. Its moderate size and feathered shape make it well suited to smaller gardens, specimen planting or mixed borders where a tree with multi-season appeal is wanted. It performs well on most reasonably fertile, well-drained soils and tolerates a range of garden conditions.

Mountain Pine 'La Cabana' is an evergreen conifer with a compact, bushy habit, making it well suited to smaller gardens, rockeries and container planting. It forms a dense, rounded mound of growth, building slowly into a tight, irregular shape with age. The foliage consists of paired, dark green needles that are thick and slightly twisted, giving the plant a sturdy, textured appearance throughout the year. New growth appears as pale green candles in spring, contrasting against the darker older needles before maturing to match the rest of the foliage. As a conifer, this plant retains its needles year-round, providing consistent structure and colour to a planting scheme across all seasons. The dense, bushy growth habit makes it useful for adding year-round textural interest, particularly in winter when herbaceous planting has died back. Small, brown cones may develop on mature specimens, typical of pine species, though these are not a significant ornamental feature. This cultivar tolerates a range of soil types, including poor or rocky ground, and is suited to exposed and coastal positions due to its resilience to wind. It prefers full sun and well-drained soil, making it a reliable choice for rock gardens, gravel gardens or as a specimen plant where a compact, slow-growing conifer is required.

Phormium 'Rainbow Queen' is a vibrant, evergreen perennial that brings bold color and architectural elegance to gardens year-round. Its long, arching, sword-like leaves feature striking bands of bronze, pink, green, and red, making it a standout focal point in borders, gravel gardens, or containers. Reaching around 1.5 to 2 meters in height, it works well as a statement plant or as part of a mixed planting scheme.

This variety thrives in full sun to partial shade and prefers well-drained soil. It is drought-tolerant once established and handles coastal conditions well, including wind and salt spray. ‘Rainbow Queen’ adds a tropical flair to both contemporary and traditional garden designs, offering low-maintenance beauty with minimal pruning required.

In colder regions, some winter protection may be necessary. Overall, it’s an ideal choice for gardeners seeking color, texture, and year-round impact with little effort.

Malus x purpurea 'Crimson Cascade', commonly known as the Crimson Cascade crab apple, is a deciduous feathered tree valued for its ornamental appeal across multiple seasons. The foliage emerges with a purplish-bronze tint before maturing to a deep purple-green through summer, offering consistent colour interest in the garden. As a feathered tree, it retains lateral branches down to ground level, creating a dense, well-furnished structure ideal as a specimen tree or for screening purposes. In spring, the tree produces an abundance of deep crimson-pink blossom, creating a striking display before the foliage fully develops. This is followed in autumn by small, dark red crab apples that persist on the branches, providing continued visual interest as the foliage begins to turn. The blossom provides a valuable source of nectar and pollen for bees and other pollinating insects during spring, while the persistent fruit offers a food source for birds through autumn and into winter. This makes the tree a useful addition for gardens aiming to support local wildlife. Crimson Cascade is adaptable to most well-drained soil types and performs best in a sunny, open position where its flowering and fruiting display can be fully appreciated.

Crataegus laevigata 'Plena', commonly known as Double Flowering Hawthorn, is a deciduous tree with a feathered shape, retaining branches and foliage down to ground level. This habit gives it a dense, bushy appearance, making it useful as a specimen tree or for screening purposes. In spring, the tree produces an abundance of double white flowers that age to a soft pink, creating a changing display over several weeks. The foliage consists of small, lobed green leaves that emerge after the flowers and provide a backdrop through summer before turning yellow in autumn. Following flowering, small red haws may develop, though these are less prominent than in the species form due to the double-flowered nature of the blooms. These fruits, when present, provide a food source for birds during the autumn and winter months. The dense branching structure of the tree also offers nesting opportunities for birds and shelter for other garden wildlife. This hawthorn is tolerant of a range of soil types, including clay, and copes well with exposed and coastal conditions, making it a versatile choice for gardens facing challenging environmental factors.

Hydrangea paniculata ‘Fraise Melba’ is an exceptional variety prized for its dramatic, color-changing flower display. From midsummer through autumn, this hardy shrub produces large, conical panicles that open as pristine white, then gradually blush into soft pink before deepening into rich raspberry-red tones. The multi-stage transformation creates a spectacular, layered effect that brings dynamic beauty to the garden across the seasons. With its upright, well-branched habit, ‘Fraise Melba’ typically reaches around 6 to 8 feet tall, making it ideal for use as a focal point, hedge, or backdrop in mixed borders. Its sturdy stems ensure the heavy blooms remain upright, even after rain, maintaining a tidy, elegant form. Easy to grow and remarkably low maintenance, this hydrangea thrives in full sun to partial shade and adapts well to different soils. A long-lasting performer, ‘Fraise Melba’ delivers both structure and vibrant color, making it a standout addition to any landscape.

Acer palmatum 'Atropurpureum', or red leaf Japanese maple, is a slow-growing, deciduous shrub with delicate, upright branches and beautiful finely-divided, deep red leaves that change colour throughout the year. It is grown for its stunning foliage and interesting growth habit. Deep burgundy red of spring leaves fades to light green in early summer, then turn to golden, orange, and red in autumn. Unnoticeable red-purple flowers are followed by winged purple fruits.

Acer palmatum 'Atropurpureum' thrives in moist, well-drained soil, in a sheltered position. To achieve the best leaf colour, it must be in partial shade, though it tolerates full sun if the soil is moist. It also needs to be sheltered from drying winds. An outstanding ornamental tree, perfect for small yards, urban gardens, or as a front yard accent. Suitable for growing in pots and containers.

Acer palmatum 'Beni-maiko' is a deciduous Japanese maple with a bushy, compact growth habit, making it well suited to smaller gardens or container planting. The tree produces finely dissected, palmate leaves that emerge a vivid bright red in spring, gradually maturing to a deeper green with red tinges through summer, before turning shades of orange and red again in autumn. This seasonal colour change gives the tree strong visual interest throughout much of the year, particularly in spring and autumn when the foliage is at its most vibrant. The dense, twiggy branching structure creates a neat, rounded form that provides good texture and shape even when the tree is bare in winter. Small, inconspicuous red-purple flowers appear in spring, followed by the characteristic winged seed pods (samaras) typical of maples, though these are not a significant ornamental feature. 'Beni-maiko' performs best in a sheltered position with dappled shade, protected from strong winds and harsh afternoon sun, which can scorch the delicate foliage. It is tolerant of a range of soil types, including loamy and clay soils, provided drainage is adequate. This compact Japanese maple is a popular choice for adding structure and seasonal colour to patios, borders, or Japanese-style gardens.

Guelder Rose is a deciduous shrub with a bushy, spreading habit. The lobed, maple-like leaves emerge fresh green in spring, turning rich shades of red and purple in autumn, providing strong seasonal colour. In late spring and early summer, flat clusters of creamy-white flowers appear, each head composed of small fertile flowers surrounded by larger sterile ones, giving a lacecap effect similar to some hydrangeas. These are followed in autumn by clusters of glossy, translucent red berries, which often persist on the bare branches after leaf fall, adding further interest through the colder months. The flowers are attractive to a range of pollinating insects, including bees and hoverflies, while the berries provide a valuable food source for birds in autumn and winter. The dense branching structure also offers shelter and nesting opportunities for garden birds. Guelder Rose is a useful plant for supporting local biodiversity and works well in wildlife gardens, informal borders or native hedging schemes. It tolerates a wide range of soil types, including heavier clay and damp conditions, making it a versatile choice for areas where other shrubs may struggle.

Hydrangea Magic Pillow is a deciduous shrub with a compact, mound-forming habit, making it well-suited to smaller gardens and borders. The foliage consists of broad, serrated, mid-green leaves that turn attractive shades of red and purple in autumn, providing seasonal interest beyond its flowering period. This shrub produces lacecap-style flowerheads from mid to late summer, typically from July through September. The blooms feature small, fertile florets at the centre surrounded by larger, sterile florets, creating a delicate, layered appearance. Flower colour can vary according to soil pH, ranging from soft pink to blue, with some plants displaying a mix of tones within the same flowerhead. The plant benefits from a sheltered position, as it is more tender than many other hydrangea varieties and can be susceptible to frost damage on young growth. It performs best in partial shade with moist, well-drained soil, and appreciates protection from strong winds and harsh winter conditions. Hydrangea Magic Pillow is a good choice for woodland-edge planting schemes or shaded borders where its compact size and long flowering season can be appreciated at close range.

Cercis canadensis 'Eternal Flame' is a deciduous feathered tree, grown as a multi-stemmed specimen with branching that extends right down to the ground, giving a full, dense silhouette from an early stage. The heart-shaped leaves emerge in shades of orange and red before maturing to green, then develop striking tones of orange, yellow and red in autumn, providing strong seasonal interest across multiple periods of the year. In spring, clusters of small pink-purple pea-like flowers appear directly on the bare branches and trunk before the foliage unfurls, a characteristic known as cauliflory. This creates a dense covering of colour along the stems, making the tree particularly attractive during this period. The flowers are followed by flattened seed pods later in the season. The flowers provide a nectar source for bees and other pollinating insects in spring, supporting local pollinator populations. The feathered form, with its low branching habit, also offers shelter for small garden wildlife. This Eastern Redbud cultivar is well suited to use as a specimen tree in a border or lawn, where its year-round structure and multi-seasonal colour can be appreciated at close range. It performs best in a sheltered position in full sun or partial shade.