Mill Garden Centre Armadale

Shrubs, Acers, Conifers, Trees, Heathers, Bedding Plants, Sundries, Display Gardens

Seasonal ? Plants for Early Summer

As daylight hours increase, many of the ?woodland? plants come into their own at this time of year.

Tending to flower early before leaf canopies become too dense, there is a wide range of species ranging from dwarf to large individual specimens to suit all styles and sizes of garden.

Shrubs

Viburnum ? While there are many different varieties of Viburnum, those that are spring-flowering tend to be heavily scented with delicate tubular flowers in clusters, making them ideal for mixed borders or on their own in a pot etc. Viburnum carlesii ?Aurora? and Viburnum burkwoodii both look particularly good at the moment.

Pieris ? With the more traditional varieties easily identifiable by each year?s new growth, which is pinky-red in colour (turning green as the season progresses), some of the newer varieties are more interesting with deep red/burgundy or burnt orange leaves. The racemes of bell-shaped flowers, which have traditionally been white, can now be found in a range of pinks as well. Pieris japonica ?Katsura? is a good example of the new varieties displaying this very attractive deep red new growth accompanied by white bell-shaped flowers which turn pink at the base. Pieris japonica ?Cupido? is more compact with a mass of white flowers.

Other shrubs which catch the eye at this time of year include Azaleas, with both evergreen and deciduous varieties. The deciduous varieties - eg. Azalea mollis - flower before leaves appear later, providing an early splash of colour on an otherwise bare plant.
While most of us have a very particular image of what a Rhododendron looks like, the truth is there is a huge range of varieties to suit most situations and tastes. Varieties differ in size, leaf shape and colour ? with variegated varieties also available eg. Rhododendron ?Molten Gold?. Flower colour, shape and size also vary dramatically making the Rhododendron an extremely versatile shrub.
A final shrub worth a mention is the Magnolia with beautifully delicate and scented flowers just starting to appear.

Climbers

Clematis ? While the majority tend to flower later in the summer, some varieties are in flower now. These tend to be the alpina types which have smaller, bell-shaped flowers and more finely cut leaves such as Clematis alpina ?Frances Rivis? which is a strong blue in colour and Clematis alpina ?Foxy? which is a lovely soft pink.

Chaenomeles (Japanese Flowering Quince) ? While not strictly a climber, this shrub can be trained against a wall providing an attractive cover. Unusual in a wall shrub, the variety Chaenomeles x superba ?Crimson and Gold? has striking dark red flowers.

Herbaceous

Herbaceous plants come into their own at this time of year, with a huge range of plants available. Some of the most eye-catching examples currently available include?

Pulmonaria (Lungwort) ? An early flowering, low-growing perennial, its leaves often have attractive white or silver spots. Flowers range from white to blue, with a choice of purples and violets in between.

Epimedium (Bishop?s Mitre) ? A good ground cover species, it has delicate cup-shaped flowers often white, pink or yellow held above the russet coloured leaves.
Good varieties include Epimedium x perralchium ?Frohnlieten? which is evergreen and Epimedium x warleyense with orange sepals and yellow flowers.

Dicentra ? With delicate, fern-shaped leaves and racemes of small, heart-shaped flowers, these plants are surprisingly resilient and ideally suited for planting underneath later-flowering shrubs. Particularly good this year is Dicentra ?Baccanal? displaying beautiful crimson flowers.

Other hebaceous plants worth looking at include Hostas, Geraniums, Corydalis and Wood Anenomes to name but a few.

With winter now behind us and plenty to do in the garden as the weather improves (hopefully!), there is no shortage of plants to consider with those mentioned above giving a small taste of what is available.