Category Archives: Plants & Seeds
Corylus avellana ‘Butler’
This American Hazelnut is a strong grower which has become a major commercial variety. Corylus avellana ‘Butler’ produces heavy crops of large nuts that can be used in cookery or eaten straight from the tree. The nuts have a good texture and strong flavour.
Corylus maxima ‘Gunslebert’
An excellent choice for beginner nut-growers producing good crops, much sooner than other varieties. Corylus maxima ‘Gunslebert’ is a new variety of Hazelnut. The nuts are larger than traditional varieties and yields are much heavier, even from a very young age.
Corylus maxima ‘Kentish Cob’
Hazelnut ‘Kentish Cob’ is probably the best-known UK variety and easiest to grow in the garden. This attractive, bushy tree produces a mass of yellow-green catkins in the early spring followed a heavy crop of cobnuts in from September.
Holly ‘Alaska’
A traditional female variety that looks much like the species with glossy green, spiny foliage and spherical, shiny red berries. In time, this handsome variety forms a narrowly upright, dense evergreen tree that offers useful cover and a valuable source of food for winter birdlife.
Holly ‘Golden King’
Despite its name, Holly ?Golden King? is a female variety, so you can be sure of a fabulous display of scarlet winter berries that are always popular with birds. The glossy evergreen foliage makes an attractive year round display, enhanced by tiny white flowers in summer.
Black Walnut
A majestic and fast growing tree that is often grown for its timber. Black Walnuts make excellent specimen trees, best suited to very large gardens, parklands and open spaces. Their grey, deeply furrowed bark and large pinnate leaves are extremely attractive, particularly in autumn when the foliage turns to buttery gold.
Ginkgo biloba ‘Menhir’
If you have always admired the ancient Maidenhair Tree, but never had the space then this new variety is certain to appeal. Ginkgo biloba ‘Menhir’ is a compact, columnar variety reaching just 5m (16?) tall. The foliage has the same fan shape as the rest of its species but this variety has darker, blue-green foliage.
Cornus florida
A showy Flowering Dogwood, producing a fine, long lasting display in spring. The small green flowers are surrounded by gleaming white, or pink tinged bracts, giving the appearance of large, open petals. In autumn the green, wavy-edged foliage turns to a rich tapestry of purple-red shades.
Corylus avellana ‘Red Majestic’
This compact, deciduous shrub provides structure and colour throughout the year. Deep plum-purple foliage cloaks its twisted stems in early summer, becoming green- tinted as the leaves mature. Autumn sees the foliage return to bright purple, before falling to the ground
Crataegus orientalis
An extremely attractive Hawthorn bearing clusters of small, creamy-white flowers in late spring. The large, orange-red fruits that follow make an eye-catching feature, attracting birds to its spreading branches. The deeply lobed foliage is glossy green with downy, silvery grey undersides, creating a dense canopy.
Euonymus hamiltonianus ‘Koi Boy’
Named for its creamy white seed capsules which split apart to reveal scarlet red seeds – a colour combination that brings Koi Carp to mind! Euonymus hamiltonianus ‘Koi Boy’ forms a large shrub or small, multi-stemmed tree with green foliage that turns to pale gold in autumn.
Euonymus planipes
Euonymus planipes sits quietly in the background throughout spring and summer, but steps into the spotlight in as autumn approaches. Scarlet fruits dangle from the branches like jewels, cracking open as they mature to reveal eye-catching orange seeds.
Corylus maxima ‘Red Filbert’
Corylus maxima ‘Red Filbert’ is both ornamental and edible. The young foliage emerges an attractive burgundy, colouring to green in summer. In late winter, purple catkins dangle from the stems making an attractive display. The nuts which replace them later in the year are reddish in colour, with an excellent flavour.
Aesculus hippocastanum
An iconic feature of the British countryside and a childhood favourite! The common Horse Chestnut is instantly recognisable for its distinctive, lobed leaves and large, white candelabra blooms in late spring. The spiky seedcases that follow, enclose the mahogany coloured conkers which are prized by schoolchildren (and some grown-ups too).
Aesculus x carnea ‘Briotii’
Somewhat smaller in stature than the traditional Horse Chestnut but no less impressive. This round-headed deciduous tree has the same palmate foliage with distinctive leaflets, but tends to be darker green in colour. The upright candelabra blooms are a beautiful rosy-red colour, giving rise to its common name of Red Horse Chestnut.
Apricot ‘Tomcot’
This modern Apricot is more reliable than others, and better suited to the UK climate than many traditional varieties. The spring blossom is produced in abundance, followed by large, sweet and juicy, orange fruits with a fabulous red blush.
Catalpa bignonioides ‘Aurea’
Catalpa bignonioides ‘Aurea’ is a spreading, deciduous tree for a warm, sheltered position. This eye-catching variety is predominantly grown for its colourful heart-shaped foliage, which emerges bronze and matures to bright gold before fading to green in late summer.
