An elegant tree known as the 'Persian silk tree'. Albizia julibrissin produces a broad and graceful canopy of fern-like foliage. The foliage will close up at night and open during the day, making it an effective shade tree for hot summer days. In mid-summer mature plants produce a profusion of pink blooms that appear to be made up of silk threads. Albizia julibrissin truly is one of the most beautiful hardy trees we can grow in the UK. It's fairly easy and fast to grow from seed too!
PACKET CONTAINS 10 SEEDSSOWING TIPS:
Soak the seed prior to sowing. Sow the seed to a depth of 3mm. Sow in an unheated greenhouse in early spring to encourage natural germination. Use additional heat (20-24 degrees Celsius) and light to improve germination if sowing out of season.
The 'angel trumpet' plant is a semi-evergreen tender shrub with enormous pink trumpet-like blooms. The impressive pink blooms hang from the branches in a stunning display from summer through to autumn. Brugmansia suaveolens 'Pink' will grow well in a container, but thrives when planted out into the summer garden borders. The flowers of Brugmansia suaveolens 'Pink' are night scented so we recommend planting it close to your favourite spot to spend summer evenings.
Current size: 60cm tall, including pot.
Amazing shade tolerant plant with striking dark maroon and scarlet red foliage. The unique leaves of Coleus 'Black Dragon' are ruffled and corrugated which creates a beautiful texture. A great plant to add drama and contrast to containers, garden borders and any shaded gaps between larger shrubs.
PACKET CONTAINS 10 SEEDSSOWING TIPS:
Surface sow the small seed. Sow in an unheated greenhouse in early spring to encourage natural germination. Use additional heat (18-24 degrees Celsius) and light to improve germination if sowing out of season.
A hardy Colocasia! 'Pink China' is a very popular and tough Colocasia that has proven very hardy all over the UK. Colocasia 'Pink China' will quickly form a thick clump of plants that will grow large heart-shaped lush leaves on pink leaf stems. The large leaves of Colocasias give these plants their common name of ‘Elephant Ears’. This impressive plant will grow up to 1.3m tall with enormous leaves that can over 60cm long.
Try combining Colocasias with Bananas for the ultimate jungle foliage combo.
Current size: Sold as plug plants
A towering tree-like Dahlia that reaches the impressive heights of up to 3m in one growing season! Dahlia imperials is very easy from seed and can produce masses of pink blooms in the same year as it was sown. This beautiful plant will be towering above you by mid-summer.
PACKET CONTAINS 10 SEEDSSOWING TIPS:
Surface sow the small seed. Sow in an unheated greenhouse in early spring to encourage natural germination. Use additional heat (18-24 degrees Celsius) and light to improve germination if sowing out of season.
Thousands of pink blooms adorn enormous flower spikes throughout summer. Commonly called the 'Tower of Jewels', Echium pinanana are truly impressive plants. Growing to form a handsome rosette of silvery green leaves in their first year, Echium pinanana will put on their best show in year two. When blooming, Echiums appear to be on steroids, rapidly shooting higher and higher to produce a gigantic flower spike made up of thousands of tiny pink blooms. Pollinating insects absolutely love Echium flowers!
PACKET CONTAINS 10 SEEDSSOWING TIPS:
Surface sow the small seed. Sow in an unheated greenhouse in early spring to encourage natural germination. Use additional heat (18-24 degrees Celsius) and light to improve germination if sowing out of season.
A reliable climber with intensely purple coloured blooms. Ipomoea 'Grandpa Ott' is a cultivar selected for its particularly deep purple flowers with a eye-catching red star shaped centre. The flowers of this cultivar combine beautifully with the rich green heart shaped leaves. Ipomoea 'Grandpa Ott' can grow to 5m in one season, climbing happily up a trellis or scrambling through larger shrubs. Though half hardy, this plant is best treated as a fast growing annual in UK gardens.
PACKET CONTAINS 10 SEEDSSOWING TIPS:
Sow the large seed to a depth of 5mm. Sow in an unheated greenhouse in early spring to encourage natural germination. Use additional heat (18-24 degrees Celsius) and light to improve germination if sowing out of season.
A beautiful and colourful form of American pokeweed. Phytolacca 'Laka Boom' is a herbaceous shrub that produces green foliage with purple stems and leaf undersides. Striking racemes pink flowers bloom from midsummer to early autumn followed by purple-black fruit in autumn. Phytolacca 'Laka Boom' looks great in garden borders and will also grow well as a specimen plant in containers on your deck or patio.
PACKET CONTAINS 10 SEEDSSOWING TIPS:
Sow the seed to a depth of 3mm. Sow in an unheated greenhouse in early spring to encourage natural germination. Use additional heat (18-24 degrees Celsius) and light to improve germination if sowing out of season.
A fast growing attractive climber that will flower from spring through to the first frosts. Heart shaped rich green leaves up to 8cm across combine beautifully with masses of singular tubular rich purple-black flowers with star cup shaped pink calyces. Rhodochiton atrosanguineus, sometimes called 'Purple Bells' is best grown as a climber against a trellis or as an unusual trailing plant from elevated pots and baskets.
PACKET CONTAINS 10 SEEDSSOWING TIPS:
Surface sow the small seed. Sow in an unheated greenhouse in early spring to encourage natural germination. Use additional heat (18-24 degrees Celsius) and light to improve germination if sowing out of season.
An eye-catching evergreen variegated plant that will produce clouds of orchid-like blooms in summer. Saxifraga stolonifera 'Tricolour' is a spreading perennial that produces masses of rounded hairy leaves with a broad pink to white margin. In mild gardens is will remain evergreen, providing a unique and colourful ground cover throughout the year. It can also be grown in a hanging basket or container, where it's spreading stolons and young offsets will hang down providing visual interest. In summer delicate flower stems are held 30cm high and are covered in flowers that resemble miniature white orchids. We have used Saxifraga stolonifera as ground cover in the Grow Paradise garden for years, with it surviving a dry -6ºC unscathed.
Current height: 10cm, including pot.
Known as the 'Kangaroo Apple'. A half-hardy shrub with exotic looking variable leaves. Purple flowers are produced throughout summer and followed by inedible orange egg-shaped fruits. We love growing Solanum lacinatum in tropical garden borders as it quickly fills out a space with foliage and flowers.
PACKET CONTAINS 10 SEEDSSOWING TIPS:
Surface sow the small seeds and lightly cover. Sow in an unheated greenhouse in early spring to encourage natural germination. Use additional heat (18-24 degrees Celsius) and light to improve germination if sowing out of season.