This wonderful plant is called Fox and Cubs because of the dual appearance of bronzy-orange open flowers (the fox) alongside red-brown flower buds (the cubs). Tall stems hold the flowers above neat rosettes of dark green foliage from June to Septembe...

Really enjoying the cornflowers at the moment. Here we have the blue Centaurea montana, plus the less common 'Purple Heart', 'Black Sprite' and my favourite, the wonderful creamy yellow 'Sulphurea'.

Yarrow (Achillea millefolium) was collected by children during the First World War and sent to the front line to be used as a herb to stop bleeding and heal wounds. It has long been used as an antiseptic, even before people understood what that was. ...

Thank you to all our customers who are keeping us busy! Parcels from this batch are heading as far north as Inverness and as far south as the Isle of White. Our courier observes social distancing rules at all times and it is very helpful if you note ...

We are very grateful to all our customers for their continued support during a time that is difficult for everyone. We are continuing to process orders and we have increased the number of days we dispatch orders each week from one to four to keep up ...

Viola sororia 'Freckles' has just started flowering so I've taken a photo to update the details on the website. I just love these flowers. The sororia violas are great because they start flowering just as the odorata type (our native violas) are tail...

This beauty is Erysimum 'Pastel Patchwork' and we are currently propagating it in order to add it to our range later in the year. We have a growing range of perennial wallflowers, including a number of very rare cultivars. These wonderful plants last...

Non-stop rain today (for a change!), so it was a good day to build a new heated propagating bench under glass. As we grow everything we sell ourselves, we take a lot of cuttings and sow a lot of seeds and this is our third heated bench. They use soil...

I potted up these primroses (Primula vulgaris) late in the autumn and they are just beginning to flower now. Although you can buy hybrid primulas of every colour under the sun these days, these true British primroses have a simple beauty that have de...

I don't tend to think of Euphorbia as a winter plant, but this evergreen Euphorbia amagdaloides 'Purpurea' is looking spectacular right now. It's even more striking as most of the plants around it have died back and are looking gloomy. Lovely green a...

This is Viola odorata 'Dick o' the Hills', a sweet violet which has just started flowering and should be flowering strongly through to late spring. I like to think it was named after a wizened old shepherd, who wandered remote hills, tending his shee...

I find the 'common' names of plants fascinating. Some of our wildflowers have been loved (or sometimes hated!) for centuries and the wide range of different local names for the same plant always interests me. Take the newest addition to our range, La...

First proper frost of autumn today. I love the way the ice gives the plants a whole new dimension, really changing the appearance of the flower beds.

The 29th September, is Michaelmas, a Christian festival also known as the Feast of Saint Michael. St Michael is one of the principal angelic warriors, protector against the dark of the night and the Archangel who fought against Satan and his evil ang...

The Michaelmas Daisies are starting to come into their own and brightening up tired borders. This is one of my favourites - Aster 'Little Carlow' (https://shireplants.co.uk/aster-cordifolius-little-carlow/).The perennial Asters, which include Michael...

This is Stevia rebaudiana, otherwise known as The Sugar Plant or Candy Leaf. It is said that the leaf has 300 times the sweetness of sugar and it is now used in the food industry in some areas of the world, as a sugar substitute.It is a native o...

This unusual monkey flower, Mimulus naianadanus, is not often offered in the UK which is a shame as it's most striking. Large white, cream and purple flowers, with purple spotted tongues adorn the plants from late spring to early summer. This hardy p...

This is Dianthus 'Messines Pink', one of the Mule Pinks, dating from before 1933. There is a story told of this 'pink' which is that a soldier, wounded in the Messines Ridge area, was found holding a piece of a plant in his hand. When he was returned...

Dianthus 'Brympton Red' is a beautiful pink and one that we can trace back to its humble origins, growing in a workhouse garden. It was spotted in the Beaminster workhouse garden by Lady Lilian Digby of Lewcombe and she passed cuttings to Mrs Clive o...

This is Dianthus 'Hope' - an Old Fashioned Pink dating from 1946 and its name probably reflected the feelings of hope following the end of the war. Now very rare, like a lot of the old pinks, but we're doing our best to preserve them. 'Hope' has...