Herbaceous Plants – this week’s highlights

There’s nothing to beat a wander around a plant centre and many of you are very excited at being able to visit – who knew that this would be so thrilling!!?
Now the weather has broken it is perfect planting weather and we’ve lots of treats for you this week – mainly in our herbaceous range of plants which we grow ourselves.

Herbaceous Plants available this week

We have a great selection of Eryngium (Sea Holly) which thrive in a sunny well drained spot. They flower for weeks from summer through to early autumn, and are a magnet for bees. As the name suggests, they do well in coastal gardens as they have good salt tolerance, as well as performing well elsewhere. Our varieties are: Jos Eijking (probably the very best blue), Blue Lagoon, planum (not as spiky as the others), Magical Blue Falls, Picos Blue and Picos Amethyst.

For dramatic spires of tall flowers we have two Lythrum (Loosestrife) varieties – the bright pink Feuerkerze and the delicate soft pink variety called Blush. Both are easy to grow and are tolerant of a wide range of conditions, but both perform best in a soil which doesn’t get too dry.

Herbaceous Potentillas are another group of plants that do well with us, and we have the following varieties available: Monarch’s Velvet, Monseuir Rouillard, Ron McBeath, atrosanguineum and Miss Wilmott. These all have a sprawling habit and are good for the middle or front of the border, and will soften edges around paths, paving and driveways.

I’m a big fan of Nepeta too – not just the usual catmint varieties, but the upright ones as well. These are also good for pollinating insects, and are very easy to grow, requiring no special care. Our varieties are: sibirica, subsessilis, Neptune, nervosa Blue Moon, and nervosa Pink Cat. The nervosa varieties are good for the middle of the border, whereas the taller sibirica and subsessilis would do well at the back.

Herbaceous Plants for the back of the border

If you need something really large for the back of a border maybe try Helianthus Lemon Queen. This is sometimes known as a perennial sunflower, and can make large clumps of growth around 6ft in height, topped by lovely lemon coloured flowers. Or why not try Veronicastrum virginicum Pink Glow for tall thin spires of flowers. We’ve also got Veronica First Lady, which I’ve not come across before, but is a pure white form. Both Veronica and Veronicastrum are great for bees – I’ve seen them practically drunk with nectar!

For later colour in the garden we have Echinacea magnus, Helenium Moerheim Beauty, Aster Barr’s Purple, (all really good for attracting butterflies) and we still have Penstemons available – Snowstorm, King George V, Heavenly Blue and Garnet.

For all year round colour you can’t beat Heucheras, with their lovely coloured foliage. We have three varieties ready just now – Marmalade, Chocolate Ruffles and Mahogany. These all do well in the garden, and also look great in pots.

Bedding Plants

We still have bedding plants available and received a fresh delivery yesterday of ready made up planters and hanging baskets, so if you haven’t got around to doing yours yet, here’s an easy solution for you! New in this week are New Guinea Impatiens in a variety of bright colours. These are gorgeous bedding plants and even just one plant can make quite an impact. They are just coming into flower now, and will keep going until the first frosts of the autumn. We’ve also got Geranium Attar or Roses which has charming pink flowers and deliciously scented foliage.

Grow Your Own Edibles

Although tomatoes and courgettes have long been sold out, we still have leeks, cucumbers, pepper and lettuce plants, as well as a selection of herbs and fruit bushes. There are also quite a lot of vegetable varieties you can still grow from seed, such as carrot, beetroot, lettuce, radish, kale, winter cabbage, broccoli and much more, so if you haven’t got going yet – don’t despair, there’s still plenty that you can grow. We also stock potted fruit trees which are available as normal trees, and also as wall trained trees. These are pot grown, so they can be planted all year round with now being a perfect time after that rain.

Pots and Containers

We have a good range of pots currently available including the popular Errington Reay range, glazed pots, alpine troughs and planters of all shapes and sizes.

From 6th June we will be back to our normal opening times of 10:00 to 17:00 in the plant centre. Our first week of re-opening was good and busy, and the extended opening times worked well, but now we are back into our usual routine again. Customers are all being very sensible and are observing the rules that we have in place to keep both staff and visitors safe, and your co-operation with this is much appreciated. Woodside remains a lovely friendly place to shop, and with it’s own relaxing atmosphere it’s the perfect place to forget bigger worries  – at least for a while.