IN THE GARDEN
There is so much choice at this time of year for colour and interest, it’s hard to pick just a few plants. The double cultivar of the marsh marigold provides a real splash of colour in a wet damp area of the garden. It produces an abundance of many-layered flowers in bright buttercup yellow over round leaves early in the season. It will tolerate wet to waterlogged soil, and sun or shade, much like its single, native cousin. H 30cm.
The wood anemone is a native woodland dweller making carpets of white starry flowers once established. Deeply cut leaves and pretty white flowers, sometimes flushed pink on the reverse, appear in spring. There are many cultivars of anemone but I love this native, especially when you see them spreading over a woodland floor on a spring walk. H 20cm, S 60cm.
My favourite daffodil. I know it’s white but it’s understated, strong, long-lived, with up to three beautiful flowers on each stem in April and May. This lovely Victorian variety of the wild Narcissus triandrus produces gently reflexing pure white petals with an open cup. ‘Thalia’ has a sweet fragrance and naturalises well, enhancing the garden as it increases in number year after year. H 30cm, S 10cm.
A stunning, non-spreading Euphorbia with upright stems and lime-green foliage with a white vein which turns yellow in autumn. Long-lasting flowers are surrounded by deep-yellow bracts in glorious limey-yellow before they fade to green in summer. The show isn’t over however, once the bracts fade. In autumn when the leaves fall, the stems turn red, perfect for some winter colour before cutting them down in spring. It likes waterlogged ground and sun or shade, ideal for our clay soil here in the nursery. H 90cm, S 9cm.
Originating in North America, this giant camassia will bear rich blue blooms from May onwards. Left undisturbed, it will naturalise well. They also make a great talking point as part of a cut flower display. We grow ours here in the nursery on a wild flower bank in poor soil and they do very well. They flower at the same time as their neighbours the cowslips, and the blue and yellow contrast of flowers is glorious. H 75-90cm.
If you want children to take an interest in plants, then get them this plant. Commonly known as the mouse plant, this delightful wee arum will grow happily in shade under shrubs in humus rich soil.
Tiny tubers increase, sending up dense clusters of small, shiny, green leaves. In May, hidden among the leaves are tiny flowers, white inside with brown backs, with spathe tips which extend into long thin tails which poke out among the leaves as though tiny mice have dived in headfirst to hide. Best planted in shade, near the edge of a path where you can search for the mice. H 10 cm, S 45cm.
Plants at Quercus Garden Plants are propagated and grown peat-free at 850 feet (259m) and stay outdoors all year, so are tough and acclimatised to Scottish growing conditions. Most of them can be seen growing in wildlife and environmentally friendly, inspiring demonstration gardens.
Quercus Garden Plants is open Wednesday to Sunday from 10am-5pm from 8th March until the end of October at Whitmuir Farm, Lamancha, EH46 7BB.
Hear more from Rona on how she grows her hardy plants below.