A competitive environment makes us work harder. It can inspire us and push us to do better. Just look at some of the great rivalries of all time: Frazier vs Ali, Jobs vs Gates, Dannii vs Kylie. Well, it just so turns out that the old garden favourite Photinia ‘Red Robin’ has some hot competition…

Chances are you won’t have heard of Lomandra! This mysterious plant has a severe case of mistaken identity, as it’s not in fact a grass AT ALL. Lomandra plants are actually part of the Asparagus family, following a recent classification from the Lily family. However, put all that aside, and be prepared to embrace Lomandra…

Think Holly. Think Danger. No, that’s not the case with ‘Gentle’, the newest and friendly Holly you can grow! It certainly lives up to its name with the same crisped (some might say festive!) look, but with softer, less dominant prickles. This Holly also has the much sought-after purple blue tinge to its foliage during…

Do you dare to grow a conifer in your garden! Your first impression might be that they are invasive/boring/unruly* delete as appropriate here! However, times have changed, and conifers can be handsome, graceful and dare we say, sexy… Conifers could even be part of the next big trend… they’ve got colour, form, longevity, plus they’re…

Lloyd Traven, President of Peace Tree Farm in Pennsylvania, writes for the Mr Plant Geek blog about how my ‘Plant of the Month’, Lavender ‘Phenomenal’, was developed and what makes it different. “We had a large number of cuttings from a field that were literally melting overnight (30,000), but there was a tiny little patch…

Sometimes, it’s not only the appearance of a look that people want to improve. It’s also about how the plant might grow, and how efficient the production is. Space and speed are important elements when it comes to great factories of plants that feed our gardens. Like any other industry, it’s got to be efficient!…

Have we reached peak Heuchera? This is a question I often ask myself, the same as with Hosta. With a mind-boggling amount of those plants available world-wide, I’ve been wondering which multi-coloured plant could be your grabbing our attention next? The answer lies with the baby sister of an english native. And, heck, she’s already…

Box has been our ‘garden luvvie’ for many years, a familiar green-leaved shrub often wheeled out to impress the neighbours. To give that air of horticultural opulence. To containerise borders. To assure all year round display of colour. But, many years ago, Box as we know it, ran into a few problems…   Box blight…

Nepeta ‘Neptune’ is like that guy at the party who moves from group to group, you know the type, a bit of a social butterfly..? Because, what you see before you may look like herbaceous perennial, but that certainly shouldn’t limit where it spends its time in your garden. This brand new selection of Catmint…

Thanks I bet you had never heard of Diervilla until now. I certainly hadn’t! It’s one of those ‘invisible plants’, oft used in landscaping schemes. Verges, kerbs, the type of borders you don’t look twice at. However, it turns out that it’s one of the most bee friendly plants you’ll find. But, it took a…

The world is changing. The way we garden is changing. But, are plants are changing with it? That’s the big question! At the recent RHS Chelsea Flower Show, there was an audible gasp when a SEDUM won the coveted Plant of the Year award. In times gone by, Sedum would be seen as the ugly…