I have two very good Spirea varieties where I have long since lost the names. This example is a strong flowering mauve and white flowering plain leaved type. The other is a pale yellow leaved variety that has great colour in spring as the leaves start. How hard was it going to be to identify [...]

Osmanthus is an attractive genus of evergreen shrubs. The leaves are holly like with a leathery texture and spikes. The young leaves are red or purple and this is a variegated example. This variety O. hetrophylus is slow growing but can make a dense hedge or small tree. The flowers are sweetly scented in autumn. [...]