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Firethorn Seed
Pyracantha coccinea£5.00 inc. VATFirethorn or Pyracantha is a large evergreen shrub that is valued for its outstanding display of red autumn berries. These are produced from the white flowers that appear in spring. Its dark green leaves are augmented by sharp thorns which when used as a boundary plant provide an effective security barrier.
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Franchet’s Cotoneaster Seed
Cotoneaster franchetii£7.00 inc. VATFranchet’s Cotoneaster is a popular semi-evergreen shrub that is graceful and medium sized with sage green foliage. The white flowers blushed with pink give rise to ovoid scarlet-orange fruits. Soft relaxed growth can be pruned in to shape.
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French Lavender Seed
Lavandula stoechasPrice range: £5.00 through £10.00 inc. VATFrench Lavender is an intensely aromatic shrublet with narrow grey leaves. The dark purple flowers are borne in dense terminal heads which are topped by prominent purple bracts, very attractive to bees. Plants require a warm sunny position and are often used as a low, informal hedge which needs to be lightly trimmed after flowering. It has a more acid scent than English Lavender
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Gorse Seed
Ulex europaeusPrice range: £5.00 through £10.00 inc. VATGorse is a dense fiercely spiny shrub. In mild areas the yellow, pea-like flowers, smelling of coconut, are produced throughout the year but more usually they flower from March through to May. Brilliant for insects. The shrubs thrive on, and prefer, very poor light or stony soils. They can act as good pioneers, nursing other less tough plants until they’re big enough to survive. No maintenance necessary, but can be pruned quite hard (using armoured gloves!)
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Grey Alder Seed
Alnus incanaPrice range: £5.00 through £10.00 inc. VATGrey Alder is an ideal small tree or bush for cold and wet situations. This very hardy tree has grey undersides to its leaves with yellowish brown catkins which are borne in late winter. The leaves are pointed at the end which makes it easier to distinguish between this and A. glutinosa. It has root nodules, as with other Alders, that fix nitrogen from the air and therefore helps with soil fertility – good for sites that need pioneers.
Not for forestry purposes.
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Guelder / Guilder Rose Seed
Viburnum opulus£5.00 inc. VATGuelder Rose is a large vigorous shrub with 5 lobed maple like leaves which colour well in autumn. It produces flattened clusters of white flowers, (a bit like hydrangea flowers), in summer followed by red translucent fruits in the autumn, beloved of winter migrant birds. Can be pruned/trimmed in winter, quite hard. This is one of the prettiest seeds around – they are heart-shaped and various shades of pink!
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Hawthorn Seed
Crataegus monogyna£5.00 inc. VATHawthorn is a British native hedging plant. It produces a spectacular profusion of flowers in late spring which are visited by all sorts of different insects. There are red-brown fruits (haws) in the autumn. Hawthorn can make a large shrub or a small tree. It is also known as May or Quickthorn and is surrounded by superstition and folklaw. It is associated with May-Day and other spring festivals. Even in Anglo-Saxon times it was used to mark boundaries and it is one of the most common hedgerow trees, being amenable to chopping, laying, flail mowing etc
The 2nd small picture shows unusual hawthorn topiary at Bryan’s Ground Garden in Hereford and 3rd pic is seed being stratified in our fridges, mixed with damp peat.
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Hazel / European Hazel / Cobnut
Corylus avellana£7.00 inc. VATHazel is a large shrub or small multiple stemmed tree that produces delicate, yellow, long female catkins called lambs tails in late winter. Visited by very early insects It is used in large gardens as a shrub for screening. It produces the edible hazelnut. Every 8-10 years the long stems that have grown can be chopped down to very near ground level and the crown will start to grow again. This is Coppicing(pic is a mature coppice in Ireland)and is great for wildlife, since it provides dappled shade and open spaces. The resultant timber can be used for baskets, chairs, burning, turning and weaving into fences. Commercially selected varieties are grown for nuts in Kent, but also in Turkey for chocolate and chocolate spread manufacture (no names mentioned, ambassador!)
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Herringbone Cotoneaster Seed
Cotoneaster horizontalisPrice range: £5.00 through £11.50 inc. VATHerringbone Cotoneaster is low growing deciduous shrub with branches arranged like fish bones. It can be pruned quite hard without suffering. It bears bright red fruits in autumn together with a richly coloured foliage, and the branch arrangement in winter if grown against a wall is most attractive. The bees really enjoy the pink flowers, but the birds are slow to eat the berries.
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Himalyan cotoneaster seed
Cotoneaster simonsiiPrice range: £5.00 through £15.00 inc. VATCotoneaster simonsii is a large upright semi-evergreen with small white/pink flowers in June, bee friendly, followed by persistent red berries. Good as an informal hedge but can also be clipped quite hard into shape. Often known as Himalayan Cotoneaster, but this leads to confusion with other Cotoneasters.
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Holly Seed
Ilex aquifolium£6.00 inc. VATAn evergreen shrub or tree that can be very long lived with leaves that are ovoid, shiny and generally spiky. In winter, bright red holly berries contrast beautifully with the dark green foliage. There are some varieties with yellow berries, and some with non-spikey leaves. Usually a male and a female tree are required to produce berries on the female. Very useful for hedging, it grows quite fast to begin with but slows down as it ages. It can be clipped into shape(carefully!)
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Hollyberry Cotoneaster Seed
Cotoneaster bullatus£6.50 inc. VATHollyberry Cotoneaster is one of the larger cotoneasters. It is deciduous with corrugated leaves that colour richly in the autumn. The white or pink flowers give rise to large red fruits in early autumn which are attractive to birds. It is quite often used in landscaping schemes, roadsides etc and soon spreads, birds taking the berries and spreading the seed. It can be seen a menace but is useful on inhospitable sites.
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Hornbeam Seed
Carpinus betulus£5.00 inc. VATHornbeam grows to be a medium sized tree with a grey fluted trunk and toothed green leaves that are an outstanding yellow colour in the autumn. The green catkins in spring give rise to the small winged nuts in the autumn. Can be clipped with impunity and so is brilliant as a hedge where Beech is not suitable or would struggle.
Not for forestry purposes
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Italian Alder Seed
Alnus cordataPrice range: £5.00 through £10.00 inc. VATA splendid medium sized, deciduous conical tree, with bright green glistening foliage preceded by yellow catkins that appear in the late winter. Like other Alders, it ‘fixes’ nitrogen from the air, so helping soil fertility. Because of this and the fact that it is tough and hardy, it is often used in the planting and reclamation of old industrial sites. The reddish orange timber is not very durable in air but is long-lasting in water. The blackish cones that hold the seed in autumn are larger than the native Alder cones, and quite decorative.
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Japanese Barberry Seed (purple leaved)
Berberis thunbergii atropurpureum£6.00 inc. VATA small deciduous, prickly shrub with a rich reddish purple foliage which grows more intense as the year progresses. It produces an outstandingly impressive low hedge.
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Japanese Berberis Seed
Berberis thunbergii£6.00 inc. VATJapanese Berberis is a small, compact deciduous shrub. It’s autumn colours are outstanding together with its bright red berries. Late in spring it bears pale yellow flowers tinged with red. Insect friendly A useful shrub for creating a low prickly barrier. It can be clipped(carefully!)
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Laurustinus Seed
Viburnum tinus£5.00 inc. VATAn extremely popular evergreen, medium sized shrub with masses of glossy green leaves. The white-pink budded flowers are borne from late autumn to early spring. The egg shaped fruits are initially metallic blue but ripen to black. It makes an attractive hedge.
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Lavender “Hidcote” Seed
Lavandula angustifolia "Hidcote"Price range: £6.00 through £30.00 inc. VATLavender ‘Hidcote’ is a compact lavender growing to just over 0.5m with grey green leaves and stems. It is the classic ‘Old English Lavender’ used in cottage gardens. The highly scented violet flowers are borne in dense spikes in mid summer. Great for bees. After flowering, a light trim over with shears keeps the shrubs neat.
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Lawson Cypress Seed
Chamaecyparis lawsonianaPrice range: £5.00 through £20.00 inc. VATA large conical tree which is a useful ornamental and makes an excellent evergreen hedge or screen even in exposed situations. Looks like Leylandii, but is slightly slower growing.
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Lilac Seed
Syringa vulgarisPrice range: £5.00 through £10.00 inc. VATLilac makes a vigorous, deciduous, suckering shrub. Its scented light purple flowers are borne in dense panicles in late spring with the seeds ripening in August. It makes a pleasant informal hedge or a multi-stemmed tree. Moderately hard pruning after flowering can keep the plant in check.
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Milkflower Cotoneaster Seed
Cotoneaster lacteus£7.00 inc. VATA medium sized evergreen shrub with large oval leathery leaves which are grey-woolly beneath. The flowers in spring and early summer are milky white and followed by large clusters of small red berries which last well into mid winter.
Makes a good informal hedge, and when grown as a single stem, makes a useful evergreen tree for a small garden.
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Monterey Cypress Seed
Cupressus macrocarpa£6.50 inc. VATMonterey Cypress is often cultivated in gardens as a hedging plant, especially in North America, but makes a magnificent specimen tree too. It can tolerate poor soils and hot and dry conditions, being endemic to California. The last remaining trees there are puportedly over 2000 years old. the flattened bract-like leaves are citrus scented when crushed.
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Norway Spruce Seed
Picea abiesPrice range: £5.00 through £17.00 inc. VATNorway Spruce is the traditional and most widely grown Christmas tree and makes a good stand-alone tree. It is used as a prickly security hedge in many alpine villages. It makes a virtually impenetrable barrier and doesn’t need much pruning or trimming once the tops have been taken out.
Not for forestry purposes.
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Oleaster or Russian Olive Seed
Elaeagnus angustifolia£6.50 inc. VATA large spiny deciduous shrub or small tree. It has silvery grey willow-like leaves with sweetly fragrant flowers in the summer which are attractive to bees. The fruits are silvery amber 12mm ovals. Attractive, useful and tough.
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