36 KEY PLANTS FROM AVON BULBS
1 Allium ‘Purple Rain’
Probably the best allium in a recent RHS trial, Increases quickly with long-lasting flowers of a particularly good purple-pink colour. 90cm. AGM*. RHS H5, USDA 4a-9b†. 2 Gladiolus tristis
Forms clumps of fine foliage atop which night-scented, creamy yellow-throated flowers are produced. Good when grown in a pot. 80cm. RHS H4, USDA 4a-8b.
3 Scilla peruviana
A plant that favours a sunny, sheltered site with free-draining soil. During the winter it makes whirls of fleshy leaves from which squat, conical racemes of flowers are produced. 30cm. RHS H4, USDA 4a-8b.
4 Allium siculum subsp. dioscoridis x A. tripedale
Known as Sicilian honey garlic, this robust perennial produces loose clusters of flesh-pink bells atop sturdy stems. 1m. RHS H5, USDA 4a-9b. 5 Cypripedium Gisela gx
A hardy, hybrid Lady’s-slipper orchid with claret-stained cream lip, backed by three dark-claret petals. Best in humus-rich, but not soggy, soil. 45cm. RHS H5, USDA 4a-7b. 6 Narcissus fernandesii var. cordubensis With flowers similar to N. jonquilla, but slightly larger, this is a robust garden perennial that will naturalise in damp meadows. 25cm. RHS H6, USDA 4a-8b.
7 Camassia ‘Blue Heaven’
A very good perennial bulb that will clump up even in meadow conditions. Thin stems are topped with racemes of pale-blue, starry flowers. 80cm. RHS H4, USDA 3a-8b. 8 Narcissus ‘Hawera’
A pretty, scented narcissus with nodding flowers in a shade of cool, primrose yellow, and rush-like foliage. Excellent for naturalising. 20cm. AGM. RHS H6, USDA 4a-8b. 9 Cerinthe major ‘Purpurascens’
A delightful annual borage that forms mounds of silvery-grey foliage and petrol-purple cymes from which tubular, purple flowers are produced. 50cm. RHS H3.
10 Narcissus poeticus var. recurvus
Pure-white flowers with shallow yellow, red-rimmed cups. It is strongly scented and an excellent cut flower. Doesn’t mind heavy, wet soils. 40cm. RHS H6, USDA 3a-7b.
11 Muscari aucheri ‘Ocean Magic’
A well-behaved grape hyacinth that is good for naturalising in dry, sunny sites. It makes small spikes of globular, scented, pale-blue flowers. 20cm. RHS H6, USDA 4a-8b. 12 Hyacinthoides non-scripta ‘Alba’
The white form of the English bluebell and very good for naturalising. The scented, tubular bell flowers are carried on one-sided, arching racemes. 30cm. RHS H6, USDA 5a-8b. *Holds an Award of Garden Merit from the Royal Horticultural Society. † Hardiness ratings given where available.
13 Polygonatum x hybridum ‘Betberg’
A wonderful smoky form of Solomon’s seal with arching stems and foliage held in ranks. Slim, pendent white flowers are produced from the leaf axils. 80cm. RHS H7. 14 Camassia leichtlinii Avon’s Stellar Group (pink selection)
Selected from a batch of seed-grown camassias for its good pink flowers. Plant in moist soils, not too dry, in either border or meadow conditions. 90cm. RHS H4, USDA 5a-9b. 15 Maianthemum racemosum
This early flowering woodland perennial makes dense clumps of arching, divaricating stems with pleated foliage that terminate in sprays of tiny, scented, white flowers. 50cm. AGM. RHS H6, USDA 3a-8b.
16 Anemone apennina
One of the nicest of the perennial anemones. It makes drifts of dainty, blue anemone flowers atop fine foliage. Prefers rich soils and semi-shade. 20cm. AGM. RHS H6, USDA 5a-8b.
17 Erythronium revolutum
One of the very best trout lilies in the garden, and once established will build large colonies of marbled foliage and pink Turk’s cap flowers. 30cm. RHS H5. 18 Mathiasella bupleuroides ‘Green Dream’
A dramatic member of the carrot family from Mexico, with rangy, glaucous-pink stems topped with long-lasting green flowers that turn pink with age. 1m. RHS H5.
19 Allium hyalinum
From the foothills of the Californian Sierra Nevada where it grows in moist soils that dry out during summer. Produces starry, pink-flushed, white flowers in loose umbels. 30cm. RHS H5. 20 Fritillaria acmopetala
Good in the open garden, this Mediterranean fritillary produces pendent, flared bells with a green ground colour and darker brown shading. 35cm. AGM. RHS H4, USDA 5a-8b. 21 Fritillaria meleagris var. unicolor subvar. alba
A white form of our native snake’s head fritillary with large, nodding, bell-shaped flowers. The white form is more conspicuous in meadows than the type.
30cm. RHS H5, USDA 3a-9b. 22 Primula veris
A cowslip with bunched, one-side umbels of yellow flowers. A native of chalk downland. It will naturalise freely in a loose meadow sward. 20cm. RHS H5, USDA 3a-8b. 23 Camassia leichtlinii subsp. suksdorfii ‘Maybelle’
Flowering three weeks later than the type, and with darker flowers, this makes a useful addition to the garden in late spring when colour can be wanting. 60cm. RHS H4, USDA 5a- 9b. 24 Fritillaria meleagris
One of the prettiest of our native wildflowers. It is a bulbous perennial that prefers moist, rich soils where it will self-seed. 30cm. AGM. RHS H5, USDA 3a-8b.
25 Tropaeolum tricolor
An alpine nasturtium from Chile that makes thin, climbing tendril growths in winter, then in spring bears masses of small, tricoloured flowers. 1.3m. AGM. RHS H2, USDA 8a-10b. 26 Fritillaria thunbergii
A tall, rangy plant producing milky-green, often mottled, conical flowers above thin, glaucous-green foliage. The topmost leaves are twining and tendril-like. Be sure to plant bulbs deeply. 80cm. RHS H5, USDA 6a-9b.
27 Fritillaria imperialis ‘ William Rex’
A selection of a garden plant that has been popular for over 400 years. This deep-orange form has stout, dark stems with a notable bushy top. 75cm. RHS H6, USDA 5a-8b. 28 Cardamine heptaphylla
A herbaceous perennial woodlander from Europe that forms low-growing drifts of pinnate foliage with toothed leaflets, above which loose racemes of chalky-white flowers are produced. 30cm. RHS H7.
29 Lunaria annua ‘Chedglow’
A form of the common honesty with dark-purple foliage and sprays of purple flowers. It will self-seed, but seedlings can vary. Faded, greener forms should be weeded out. 50cm. RHS H6. 30 Lathraea clandestina
A harmless, parasitic plant with no chlorophyll. This plant gains all its sustenance from the roots of its host, which could be willow or poplar. 15cm. RHS H6, USDA 4a-8b.
31 Fritillaria raddeana
Similar in appearance to F. imperialis, but generally of smaller stature with very pale primrose flowers. A good garden plant for a sunny site with good drainage. 45cm. RHS H6, USDA 5a-8b.
32 Scilla liliohyacinthus
Mid-blue flowers are produced in loose, delicate racemes above smart glossy green foliage. It thrives in woodland conditions where it will make sheets of colour. 25cm. RHS H6. 33 Ipheion ‘Alberto Castillo’
A very good starflower that creates drifts of short, strap-shaped leaves above which hover upward facing, large white flowers. Prefers a sunny site. 15cm. AGM. RHS H5, USDA 5a-9b. 34 Lunaria annua ‘Corfu Blue’
Normally a biennial species, but this beautiful form behaves as a short-lived, self-seeding perennial. Its violet-coloured flowers are followed by lovely papery seedheads. 50cm. RHS H5.
35 Tulipa ‘Peppermintstick’ A good selection of a beautiful species with slender, elegant, white and pink-backed flowers that open in the sunshine to reveal white, six-petaled stars. 30cm. RHS H5, USDA 3a-8b. 36 Lunaria annua var. albiflora A white form of the common purple honesty. A biennial that will self-seed throughout the garden. Looks good with late tulips and early alliums. 60cm. RHS H6, USDA 5a-9b.
The nursery’s show displays are legendary – so carefully laid out as if plucked fresh from a woodland floor