There are hundreds of hebe varieties being sold all over Britain, and their versatility makes them valuable garden plants, but some have a rather coarse foliage. Hebe 'Great Orme' is a lovely plant with elegant lance shaped, glossy, mid-green leaves and charming bright pink, slender flower spikes up to four inches long. The flowers fade to white as they age, which makes a pretty picture as the shrub flowers from mid-summer through to mid-autumn, so both pink and white blooms are present together. It is ideal for a mixed border as it grows to four foot by four foot and will thrive in sun or partial shade. Grow it in poor to moderately fertile, moist but well drained soil that is neutral or slightly alkaline.
Propagation: Root semi-ripe cuttings with bottom heat in late summer or autumn. |
There are some cotoneasters that it is easy to overlook, but this deciduous variegated one has especially attractive variegated foliage and a compact growth with arching branches resembling those of its close relative, Cotoneaster horizontalis. However, its mid-green, half inch leaves, with wavy white margins that turn pink and red in autumn, make it a more choice plant. In summer, it is covered in solitary red flowers followed by small, orange red fruits. As the branches develop horizontally, it makes an excellent ground cover at eighteen inches with a three foot spread. Grow it in moderately fertile, well drained soil in full sun. It is perfect as ground cover in problematical dry areas.
Propagation: Root greenwood cuttings in early summer. |
This bushy, evergreen Chinese cornus is classified as a shrub, but as it can grow as large as a medium sized tree (40ft by 40ft), it should perhaps only be planted by those with plenty of space. This is a pity, as it has something to contribute to the garden all year. Firstly, its leaves are lustrous grey green and turn a good bronze colour in winter. Secondly, its cream or yellowish two inch bracts, surrounding the tiny hemispherical green flower heads, appear in June or July and give it a festive air. However, autumn is, perhaps, its best season, when luscious, pendant strawberry-like fruits cover the shrub and give it an exotic air. For best results it should be grown in fertile, humus rich well drained neutral or acid soil.
Propagation: Sow seed in seedbed in autumn or stratify and sow in the spring. |
