Fiona’s favourite plants for spring/summer
I
am really excited for spring and summer to get fully underway. The seasons are
great for brilliantly coloured plants and attractive shrubs, so I’ve put
together a list of my top five:
1.
Prunus incisa 'Kojo-no-mai'
This
is a form of Fuji Cherry. It is a slow growing shrub from Japan with attractive
zig-zag shoots and pale pink flowers.
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2.
Erysimum (Bowles Mauve)
This
is a great perennial wallflower that products some fantastically coloured mauve
flowers from April until the autumn. It’s hardy and evergreen, so very simple
to maintain.
3.
Tiarella (spring symphony)
I
really enjoy the clouds of pretty pink spring flowers on this one as well as
the hand-shaped semi evergreen foliage, which has interesting dark, central
markings.
4.
Leucothoe Axillaris (curly red)
This
small evergreen shrub is another favourite of mine due to its attractive
curved leaves and dense glossy foliage that opens as bright red, matures as
dark green and then becomes flushed maroon red during the cooler winter months.
I really love the clusters of pitcher shaped white flowers, which appear in
spring too.
5.
Genista Porlock
This
large semi evergreen shrub has great bright green leaves. It has racemes of
bright butter yellow and very fragrant pea-like flowers that are produced in spring.
ENDS
I have some other exciting plants to consider but for now will just give the first one: Monarda "Pardon My Purple" should be available to UK growers for the first time this year. In the USA, they have been keeping this one to themselves for about 5 yrs but some SW nursery suppliers are growing from plugs and the plants should be available very soon. Monarda, Bergamot or Bee Balm is a great plant for the wildlife but "Pardon My Purple" is dwarf form (12 inches tall), a magnificent colour and has the highest degree of powdery mildew resistance. Are you going to stock this great plant because I have many friends who want to buy it?
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