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Viburnum
Lantana from Christine Ann
Also known as Wayfaring Tree. The book says that this Viburnum
thrives on chalk and limestone soils - my soil is mainly clay. A very
attractive shrub with individual flowers making up the large white
flower head which appears around May and June, followed by attractive,
vibrantly coloured berries. Expect a height of up to 6m - I keep it
pruned down to about 4 feet and cut it back quite hard in the spring or
after the berries have gone. West Dorset; 1 mile from the sea so
very little frost; sunny position.
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Stipa
tenuissima from Christine Ann
Common name feather grass. A neat, compact, perennial grass, this has
lots of close-packed, stiff, thread-like stems forming a strongly
horizontal shape about 60cm (2ft) tall. In summer, plants are covered
with masses of elegant pale feathery seed-heads which are held a little
above the foliage. These can be cut and dried when first opened for use
in winter arrangements indoors. Alternatively they make a useful winter
food source for finches and other seed-eating birds. Plants like a sunny
well-drained spot. To propagate, divide plants from mid-spring to early
summer.self-seeds profusely in my garden
West Dorset; 1 mile from the sea so very little frost; sunny position.
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Cortaderia
selloana 'Pumila' AGM from Christine Ann
Common name: Pampas grass, Family: Poaceae.
Height and spread: Up to 1.5m (5ft) tall x 1.2m (4ft) wide.
Form: Perennial grass. Soil: Fertile and well drained. Aspect: Full sun.
Hardiness: Hardy throughout the British Isles. |
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Coronilla
valentina from Laura Penstemon
A member of the
Papillionaceae family, this is a Mediterranean shrub. Subsp. glauca has
glaucous blue-green leaves and yellow flowers. The cultivar 'Citrina'
has paler yellow flowers and not such an overpowering scent |
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Euonymus
alatus from Laura Penstemon
Common name -
Compact winged spindle tree. Family: Celastraceae Height and spread: 1m
(3ft) x 3m (10ft). A deciduous shrub that likes well drained soil
in full sun or light shade. Fully hardy.
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Ivy-leaved
Toadflax from Deaw Grow
Cymbalaria muralis (‘cymbal shaped (leaves), grows on walls’) Lovely
little flowers that last from April to December. Has long creeping stems
with dark green leaves that covers walls and rocks. It is pollinated by
bees, and bends the ripe seed pods inwards to push them into crevices in
rock. The stems are delicate and don’t like drying out. It’s easy
enough to pull out if the plant gets too much, but is often considered a
weed. I love the way it drapes over plant pots and rocks. I’ve got
some trying to grow over the front step into the house, and some more in
a pot indoors and growing along the radiator. Leaves are used like cress
in salads. Apparently introduced from Southern Europe in the 1600s, but
now widespread in Britain. |
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Winter
flowering jasmine from Deaw Grow
Jasminum nudiflorum (‘Jasmine, flowers before leaves are out’). Will
apparently grow in most soils and places and grows to about 3 m - I’ve
read ‘magnificent on a sunny wall’, which is where mine is. Mine
looks happy in a large pot, and is just starting to get going (been in
two years). It flowers in winter, then the leaves come out after that.
Apparently is partial to regular feeding with Bonemeal. |
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