The garden is full of blossom at this time of year. Looking fresh and lovely at the moment are the White Thimbleberries.
White Thimbleberries 26/5/08
The Thimbleberries are vigorous members of the rubus family, which include Raspberries and Brambles but the strong canes have no spines and don't need as much support, being more shrubby than their cousins.
Pink Thimbleberries
Pink Thimbleberries flower later than the White but over a more prolonged period. Both plants produce a fruit which is a rich dark red when fully ripe, sweet and juicy, and when carefully removed from the hull, reminiscent of a it's namesake the thimble. See 'Large Shrub' list for more details
New for this season we have small numbers of two evergreen shrubs from South America. Macqui, which is a large lush shrub with Bilberry like fruits (see 'Large Shrubs') and the Feijoa, ('Tender') related to the Guava and possibly the most exotic fruit you can grow happily in this country with no artificial heat.
We now have new stocks of Lingonberries, a few Japanese Wineberries with more along later in the summer and a small number of Bilberries and Oregon Grapes. Details in main plant lists under 'The Plants'
There are many things still out of stock at the moment sad to say, though more should become available as the spring progresses... Watch this space.
There are special offers still on the Barberries and Cranberries this season. Please see main plant lists for details.
Please keep an eye on the website for details of new stock as it becomes available.
The following list of plants is still currently only available in rather small numbers. Please email or phone before ordering to check stock.
In no particular order:
Lowbush Blueberry £6.00 (Vaccinium angustifolium); This plant is the parent of some of the cultivated Blueberries we know well but is lower growing so easier to grow in a pot. Very hardy, prolific and sweet.
Palm Lily £6.00 (cordyline indivisa); From New Zealand with handsome sword like leaves. Said to be fairly hardy in milder parts, it has sweet fruit and makes a good pot plant.
Sand Cherry £5.00 (prunus besseyi); small shrubby member of the prunus family from central USA producing round black sweet cherry like fruits of about 10mm.
Fragrant Sumach £5.00 (rhus aromatica); a low growing hardy Sumach with scented leaves.
Smooth Sumach £5.00 (rhus glabra); from N. USA, medium shrub of about 2m, sun or shade, tough.
Chilean Currant £6.00 (ribes gayanum); small shrub, sun or shade, nice fruit, bit tender.
Date Plum £5.50 (Diospyros lotus); from E. Asia, tree to about 15m, reasonably hardy, full sun.
Silver Berry £5.50 (Elaeagnus commutata); good nitrogen fixer from N. USA, tough large shrub, dry silver berries.
Eve’s Date £6.00 (yucca baccata); lovely yucca from S. USA, drought tolerant, needs protection from wet in winter, hand pollinate.
Those edible flowers we still have left are also on offer at £3.00 each
See below.
Canadian Meadow Garlic (allium canadensis) This member of the onion tribe will thrive in sun or part shade, provide leaves for most of the year and tasty white flowers for the early summer.
Cowslip ( primula veris) Everyone knows the cowslip once so common in our meadows. Given the chance it will naturalise in your lawn giving you a good excuse not to mow and the flowers, apart from making a traditional country wine, are great in a spring salad.
Ladies Leek (allium cernuum) This is one for a dry sunny border where it will thrive and spread. It has fair sized bulbs, provides leaves and has bright pink bell like flowers through most of the summer that are delicious.
Ramson (allium ursinum) Our native wild garlic is at home in a woodland, it loves the shade where it grows naturally often in large drifts. It provides lots of large green leaves with a mild garlic flavour from early spring and lovely white flowers in May.
Three Cornered Leek (allium triquetrum) Great for shade, lots of white flowers in spring. All parts are edible, leaves available late winter early spring, flowers are delicious with a mild garlic flavour.