The hardy perennial geranium is a good ground cover plant with many varieties to choose from. Many varieties are derivatives of Geranium sanguineum or Geranium cinereum. They all have seed heads that look hooked like a Crane’s bill hence the common name.
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Stinkers are not the sort of plants you want to grow in a normal garden. So here are a few to avoid unless your adenoids stop you getting even the faintest whiff.
All this without farmyard smells, rotting vegetation, over wet sour compost, garlic breath in the wrong place, animal waste, the list of pet hates is endless. Thankfully there are even more good smelling plants than bad so just watch how you sniff
These acid green flowers provide a strong compliment to the bright greens of spring. This E. cyparissias will spread by root and through seed dispersal
With over 2000 species in the genera there are many types of Euphorbia from which to build an interesting collection. There are succulents, cacti and spurges from all continents. Try the tall woody thick leaved E. characias to the orange flowered E. griffithii ‘Fireglow’ or ‘Dixter’. That is not to ignore the most popular houseplant Euphorbia pulcherrima the Poinsettias but save those for Christmas.
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It has been difficult to finalise a list of the top 10 fragrant plants. So I have elected to chose my ten favourite flowers with a selected variety. I have cheated by including two roses but could easily have 10 or 100 roses in a list.
Your personal choice will vary based on your own appreciation of scent. The result from flowers will depend on the location, culture and selections you make.
Small fresh vegetables taste nice and often have a superior texture. The supermarket versions are expensive and often have lots of food miles attached to them so try growing your own.
Mini Veg Tips
These are more than your Irish Dahlias. At 12″ high they are not just for the little people.
There was a young man from Australia
On his bottom he painted a Dahlia
The heat of it all
Caused the petals to fall
And the scent was a terrible failure
Star Wars a 12″ high and wide bush.
Pretty Woman Pink petals around a pink discette
Braveheart with bronze foliage.
See also Bishops Children
Buy AGM plants & varieties they have been tested by the RHS!
The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) is the UK’s leading gardening charity. It conducts a lot of testing and trials of plants. It has key gardens open to the public (free to members) at Harlow Carr, Wisley, Hyde Hall and Rosemore. Plants that pass the trials are awarded AGM (Award of Garden Merit) status and you often see the Trophy Cup mark on plant labels to recognise this.
The purpose of the award is to highlight the best plants available to the gardener.
Dianthus Haytor White AGM
‘Plant finder’ is published by the RHS. This book contains over 73,000 plants and where to buy them. Whatever plant you are looking for you should find it in here.
Handy contact details with maps for over 750 nurseries help you locate your plants and buy them. Plus, having the correct botanical names ensures you find the right one every time.
There are over 6000 plants with the Award of Garden Merit and they all get recognition in this book.
At your garden centre or plant retailer look out for the agm symbol on the label.
Credit
Whorled Tickseed (Coreopsis verticillata) ‘Zagreb’ RHS/AGM by cliff1066â„¢ CC BY 2.0
Lupin flower at their best in May and June. A second flush can be encouraged by not allowing the first flowers to set seed and cut them as son as they have flowered. The tall 2’6″ spikes can be very striking in colours from white, deep purple through reds and yellows to various bi-coloured varieties. The old railway cuttings used to have blue and pink Lupins growing alongside the tracks after escaping from old station gardens.
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Leucanthemum is one of the RHS perennial plants of the month. The variety I grow are shasta daisy flowers that are a mass of single white blooms with yellow centres appearing from June to September. They seed and spread prolifically and form robust clumps spreading up to 3′ and flowers are on 2-3′ stems that flop if not supported.
Hellebores are sturdy long lived plants that do not need a lot of attention. They flower in dark months of winter and are happy in shade or dappled sunshine.
Hellebore – Christmas Rose or Helleborus Niger
A white flower in the depths of winter from December onward.
Hellebore – Lenten Rose or Helleborus Orientalis
Stinking Hellebore
National Collection of Hellebores
http://www.hadlow.ac.uk/gallery/National-Collection-of-Hellebores
Heleborus hybridus ‘Bradfield Buttercup Yellow’ has fewer of the speckles normally associated with helebores and looks all the better for that.
‘Heronswood Yellow’ is opening its buds from January but looks good in the March sunshine.
O’Byrne’s Mellow Yellow strain is available in USA but many so called Yellow Helebores are cream and off white. Look out for any good colour and try collect seed. If the subsequent plants are not of the right colour be ruthless in weeding them out.
Helleborus orientalis Yellow Lady is not a variety I have seen.
Gardeners Tips
Hellebores can be grown from fresh seed available from Thompson & Morgan
Hellebores are not just for Christmas as in Christmas Rose there are species that are also called Lenten Roses.
Generally they bloom between December and April depending on the type and conditions.
Hellebore Facts
Gardening with Hellebore
Hellebore heaven or hell
Visit Hellebore.org
