A beautiful shrubby perennial Echium commonly called the 'Pride of Madeira' for obvious reasons! Multiple spires of electric blue flowers cover this perennial Echium in early summer and they are loved by pollinators . Best kept dry during the winter months to help it survive cooler weather. This Echium will re-bloon year after year unlike Echium pinanana.
Homegrown by us here in the UK, peat free using organic methods
Current size: Sold in a 9cm pot.
These beautiful evergreen variegated leaves really brighten up dark spots in a garden and look very exotic. A relatively fast growing shrub that can reach heights of 2m+, but tolerates hard pruning well. Fatsia japonica 'Spiders Web' has survived -6°C in the Grow Paradise garden and continues to thrive. In autumn white ivy-like flowers are produced and are followed by dark berries, providing food for pollinators and bird life.
Current size: 40cm tall, including pot.
A rarer variegated form of this reliable tropical style evergreen shrub. Large palmate glossy green leaves are adorned with a really attractive variegation, making Fatsia japonica 'Variegata' a great addition for shaded areas of any garden. A relatively fast growing shrub that can reach heights of 2m+, but tolerates hard pruning well. Fatsia japonica 'Variegata' has survived -6°C in the Grow Paradise garden and continues to thrive. In autumn white ivy-like flowers are produced and are followed by dark berries, providing food for pollinators and bird life.
Current size: 40cm tall, including pot.
Dramatic deeply divided palmate leaves and a bushy exotic evergreen habit. Fatsia polycarpa ‘Green Fingers’ is a relatively new introduction to gardeners here in the U.K. Fatsia polycarpa originates from the shady hillsides of Taiwan where it was once a rare plant to find. Fatsia polycarpa ‘Green Fingers’ is a tough exotic shrub and should be hardy in most UK gardens, but it will benefit from a bit of shelter from the most severe cold. Well worth growing for it’s amazing deeply lobed foliage, giving this Fatsia a much more tropical look than the regular Fatsia japonica.
Fatsia polycarpa ‘Green Fingers’ is best grown in partial shade where it can reach heights of up to 2m. In late autumn and winter it produces Ivy-like flowers that provide valuable nectar for pollinating insects.
Current size: 60cm tall, including pot.
A show stopping exotic plant unlike anything else! This plant spends its first year producing masses of exotic looking pinnate green leaves on thick burgundy red stems. As the stems mature they fold down to the ground and form a support framework that looks like something from a mangrove forest. In year two, Geranium maderense produces an enormous dome made up of hundreds of intense magenta pink blooms held up high above the plant. When in bloom, this plant will inevitably be the star of your garden and the talking point of your neighbours. Try planting Geranium maderense in a tall pot so that you can enjoy the exotic mangrove style stem as well as those stunning blooms.
Homegrown by us here in the UK, peat free using organic methods
Supplied in a 9cm pot
A compact, clump-forming grass-like perennial with glossy evergreen leaves. Liriope mascari 'Purple Explosion' is an incredibly useful plant in UK gardens, providing a lush evergreen edge to your borders or pathways throughout the year. We use Liriope mascari 'Purple Explosion' as an evergreen foil for deciduous shrubs in the Grow Paradise garden. From late summer into autumn these resilient evergreen plants produce spikes of small deep purple flowers followed by very ornamental spherical black fruit that is loved by birds.
Current Size: 2ocm, including pot.
A beautiful frost hardy evergreen ground covering plant, with tiny white flowers on tender upright stems that dance on a gentle breeze. The unassuming Saxifraga stolonifera is a delightful plant with intriguing silvery veined olive toned leaves with a reddish-purple underside. It is commonly known as the strawberry begonia. Saxifraga stolonifera is semi-hardy and is not often seen growing outside. Although dainty this plant has survived -5ºc in the Grow Paradise Nursery Garden. Take inspiration from its use as a house plant and place on the edge of pots and hanging baskets, for an abundance of foliage at eye level. Saxifraga stolonifera is a perennial that would be a perfect addition to a wide variety of planting schemes with its array of complimentary tones.
Homegrown by us here in the UK, peat free using organic methods
Current size: Sold in a 9cm pot.
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.
Chelsea plant of the year 2022! Deep maroon fleshy leaves remain this colour even in winter, turning almost black under the summer sun. The notably glossy spoon shaped leaves of Semponium 'Destiny' have a slight veiny texture, making this a truly eye-catching cultivar. In time Semponium 'Destiny' will grow into a beautiful branching specimen.
Semponium is a world-first cross between Sempervivum and Aeonium. The stunning rosettes and shrubby habit of Aeoniums are combined with the reliable hardiness of Sempervivum to create a ground-breaking range of vigorous hybrid plants and new colours. Semponiums are hardy down to -4ºC, though young plug plants will need to be grown on in a frost-free spot. Semponiums are incredibly versatile, growing well in pots, gravel gardens and in gaps in exotic borders. A must have plant for any collection!
Current size: Rooted in a 9cm pot.
Satisfyingly geometrically arranged thick green leaves that are edged with orange when grown under intense sun. This ground-breaking hybrid will quickly branch out and form a beautiful specimen plant. Semponium 'Diamond' will quickly branch out to form a striking multi-headed specimen.
Semponium is a world-first cross between Sempervivum and Aeonium. The stunning rosettes and shrubby habit of Aeoniums are combined with the reliable hardiness of Sempervivum to create a ground-breaking range of vigorous hybrid plants and new colours. Semponiums are hardy down to -4ºC, though young plug plants will need to be grown on in a frost-free spot. Semponiums are incredibly versatile, growing well in pots, gravel gardens and in gaps in exotic borders. A must have plant for any collection!
Current size: Rooted in a 9cm pot.
Perfectly geometric pointed leaves that flush bright red in the summer sun. The centre of each rosette remains a beautiful contrasting lime green colour. Semponium 'Sienna' will quickly branch out to form a striking multi-headed specimen.
Semponium is a world-first cross between Sempervivum and Aeonium. The stunning rosettes and shrubby habit of Aeoniums are combined with the reliable hardiness of Sempervivum to create a ground-breaking range of vigorous hybrid plants and new colours. Semponiums are hardy down to -4ºC, though young plug plants will need to be grown on in a frost-free spot. Semponiums are incredibly versatile, growing well in pots, gravel gardens and in gaps in exotic borders. A must have plant for any collection!
Current size: Rooted in a 9cm pot.
One of the best and most fragrant evergreen climbers for UK gardens. Star Jasmine, as this plant is commonly known, will produce masses of highly scented white star-shaped blooms all summer long. Trachelospermum jasminoides 'Star of Toscane' is a perfect plant for growing near seating areas as it will fill the air with its heady fragrance. Trachelospermum jasminoides 'Star of Toscane' grows very happily as a container plant trained to grow up a trellis or garden arch. The thick waxy evergreen leaves of star jasmine can turn fiery red in the cold of winter, elongating its season of interest. This stunner will grow in a warm shaded spot as well as in full sun.
Current size: Established plants in 15cm pots trained up bamboo canes.
An architectural hardy Yucca that has rightly become one of the most desirable drought tolerant plants for UK gardeners. Yucca rostrata is a striking plant species that is known as the 'Beaked Yucca' because its flowers are said to resemble the beak of a bird. Mature plants will produce a thick trunk topped with an almost spherical rosette of narrow blue-green leaves. The smooth leaves are spine-tipped and sway gently even in the slightest breeze. Mature Yucca rostrata plants will produce a 1.5m flowering stalk with creamy-white flowers in autumn. The flowers of this Yucca, as with other species, are adored by pollinating insects. Yucca Rostrata is native to the Chihuahuan desert of Northern Mexico.
Current size: Supplied in a 22cm pot