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 Latin name: Stipa tenuissima
Common name: Feather grass
Type of plant: Perennial grass
Soil preference: No soil preference
Hardiness: Fully hardy
Flower colour: Pale green turning to orangey buff
Height and spread: 60cm x 30cm (2ft x 1ft)
Description: Dense frothy 'sheaves' of fine grass that billow beautifully in the breeze
Design tips: It looks good in the front of a border or the edge of a path. |
 Latin name: Allium cristophii
Common name: Ornamental onion
Type of plant: Summer bulb
Soil preference: Well drained
Hardiness: Hardy
Flower colour: Mauve
Height and spread: 60cm x 15cm (2ft x 6in)
Description: Early summer-flowering onion with spiky, round heads of mauve that dry out on the plants to make elegant βskeletonβ shapes that persist until autumn. It also has good foliage.
Design tips: Dot it among evergreen perennials or between shrubs for added interest. |
 Latin name: Cyclamen hederifolium
Common name: Hardy cyclamen
Type of plant: Autumn-flowering tuber
Soil preference: Any reasonable garden soil
Hardiness: Hardy
Flower colour: Pink, although white forms also available
Height and spread: 15cm x 8cm (6in x 3in)
Description: Miniature cyclamen flowers in autumn, ahead of the attractive, marbled ivy-shaped leaves which appear in winter and persist until early spring.
Design tips: Plant in carpets under trees, shrubs or conifers for out of season colour and leaf detail, and leave to spread naturally. |
 Latin name: Festuca glauca
Common name: Blue fescue
Type of plant: Evergreen grass
Soil preference: Well-drained
Hardiness: Fully hardy
Flower colour: Blue/buff
Height and spread: 30cm x 20cm (1ft x 8in)
Description: Tussock-shaped, evergreen grass with intense blue colouring often shared by the small flowerheads
Design tips: Good for low maintenance containers as well as dry, sunny borders; looks good planted in groups for ground cover with conifers. |
 Latin name: Cryptomeria japonica 'Compressa'
Common name: Japanese cedar
Type of plant: Conifer
Soil preference: Well drained but humus rich
Hardiness: Fully hardy
Flower colour: Grown for foliage
Height and spread: 90cm x 90cm (3ft x 3ft)
Description: Elegant feathery foliage forming a roughly dome shaped plant; foliage turns reddish purple in winter
Design tips: Team with hardy cyclamen, dwarf spring bulbs and small grasses or low-spreading, evergreen ground cover plants; superb for winter colour. |
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