Lamium maculatum 'Beacon Silver'
dead nettle
- Position: full sun or partial shade
- Soil: moist, well-drained garden soil
- Rate of growth: average to fast
- Flowering period: May to July
- Hardiness: fully hardy
Delicate silver leaves, narrowly edged in green give this lamium an ethereal quality. It quickly forms a silvery carpet of foliage with whorls of long-lasting, nettle-like, magenta flowers in late spring and early summer. A beautiful evergreen groundcover plant that will light up the base of deciduous or even evergreen shrubs and trees. It prefers partial shade, and once established, will even flourish in difficult areas of dry shade. - Garden care: If you are growing this in dry shade, keep it well watered until it is established. After it has finished flowering, remove the faded flower heads to encourage fresh new foliage. Lift and divide large clumps in late autumn or early spring.
Pulmonaria 'Sissinghurst White'
lungwort
Pure white flowers green leaves with white spots
£7.99
2 litre pot
within 2-3 days excludes weekends
Ajuga reptans 'Atropurpurea'
bugle
Excellent groundcover for shade
£6.99
2 litre pot
within 2-3 days excludes weekends
Aquilegia vulgaris var.stellata 'Blue Barlow' (Barlow Series)
granny's bonnet
Stunning violet-blue double flowers
£7.49
2 litre pot
within 2-3 days excludes weekends
Heuchera villosa 'Palace Purple'
coral bells
Striking, shiny, burgundy leaves
£7.99
2 litre pot
within 2-3 weeks
How to get more flowers
Many flowering plants can be encouraged to produce better and longer-lasting displays with the minimum of effort. A plant produces flowers in order to reproduce and ensure the survival of the species. Once a plant has flowered and fertilisation has...
Read full articleChelsea Chop and other methods of extending the flowering season
Many gardeners who are happy, even gung-ho, with the secateurs when pruning shrubs and climbers are surprisingly reluctant to take the shears to herbaceous perennials. Maybe this is because it just doesn’t seem quite right to be cutting back all...
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The purple-pink flowers are nothing, but the mound of crisp silver leaves margined in green in winter make this highly desirable - trim back in autumn for maximum effect
Val Bourne - Garden Writer