Despite its name this old favourite is a female holly which can get to 16' tall and 10' wide. It can be clipped to shape if your space is restricted. Thrives in a wide range of soils.

This extremely prickly and handsome holly would make a good deterrent for Bill the Burglar! It not only has spines on the leaf edge but also on leaf surfaces. The green leaves have a lovely creamy margin and while it makes a good hedge, it's also a very handsome evergreen plant which makes a good focal point. 2l pot

This evergreen has shoots which are purple when young and dark green spiny leaves with broad white margins. It produces small white flowers in summer and bright red berries in autumn. Needs a male nearby for pollination. The stem is purple. Tolerates most soils and likes it to be moist, free draining and humus rich in full sun to part shade. Hardy. H. 30' S. 25' when mature.

This Chinese bamboo has the largest of all bamboo leaves, some growing to 1.5' or more. It's a dwarf bamboo which is excellent for ground cover, getting to just over 3' tall. A root barrier is recommended.

Aptly known as the Beauty Bush, this lovely deciduous shrub has arching branches which are covered with flowers in June. These are tubular and rose pink on the outside with paler pink interior. Plant in full sun in free draining soil - tolerant of most types of soil. Prune only to remove old branches or to keep the shrub compact and in shape. H&S around 7' 4l pot

As lovely in a pot as it is in a border, this Lavatera is covered in large flowers, white with a pink tinge and a deeper rose-pink 'eye'. Moist, well drained soil in full sun or well drained soil based compost.

A good, late flowering shrub with purple, pea-like flowers borne in graceful arching, sprays. Goes to around 6' and is deciduous and hardy. Likes full sun, tolerant of all soils. This is a very useful addition to the garden because of its late flowering. 2l pot

This handsome false nutmeg seeds itself all over the place which we rather like but it seems to do best in sunny spots in most soils including chalk and clay. Very fast growing so good for screening. V. hardy. H. 5' to 9'.

New golden privet, evergreen with attractive gold leaf maturing to gold with green centre. Good coastal plant. Great for topiary & pot culture. Any soil, sun or shade.

Fast growing & compact this makes a colourful low growing hedge, evergreen.Can be tightly clipped for hedging or topiary. Full sun, most soils. Very hardy, drought tolerant.

This hardy shrubby honeysuckle grows up to anything between 6' to 10' and has tubular flowers, followed by 2 black berries in showy red bracts, hence its common name of 'Twinberry'. Because it flowers over a long period you get flowers, berries and calyxes all on the same plant at the same time. The berries are much loved by birds. It will take full sun or dappled shade and is found on river banks in its native California where this pic was taken by Philip van Soelen of California Flora Nursery.
Available autumn and spring.
2l pot

Apple blossom pink buds adorn this lovely shrubby honeysuckle which grows to about 15' tall and 8' spread with us. Ours faces west and gets quite a lot of sun from about mid day onwards. It's one of the prettiest and the flowers open to cream, still flushed with pink and turn yellow as they age. Many years ago we sent this to Kew for identification and as they didn't have it, we ended up giving them a plant! Sun or partial shade, moist, well-drained soil. Stunningly lovely. 2l pot

A bushy, thick, fast-growing evergreen shrub, this makes a good low hedging plant or ground cover. The flowers borne in spring are cream and the leaves are small and a glossy, dark green. Likes most soil types if they're moist, but well drained, acid, alkaline or neutral. Part shade or full sun. Hardy. H. 3' S 8'. 2 litre pot

Sweetly scented white flowers on bare stems during winter. This can grow into a large shrub and looks best if allowed to reach its full potential. Only cut out straggling, unwanted stems. Full sun or partial shade. Not very interesting once the flowers are over and the leaves appear, so plant it behind something that will take over from it later. Hardy, 2l pot

The person who gave us this grows it trained against a wall in Swansea where we think it must show to best advantage. Here we grow it as an arching shrub of rather lax habit. It starts flowering in early spring when it has a mass of small, pink tubular flowers and then it continues to produce smaller flushes of flowers throughout the summer, followed by red berries. Hardy. 2l pot in spring.

This is a very compact evergreen with deep purple textured leaves. White fluffy flowers are borne all over the plant in June. Good on dry soils in full sun. Plant in moist, well drained soil and will be happy on soil that is sandy, loamy or clay. Hardy. 2 litre pot H 3' S 1'

An unusual woody, evergreen scrambling shrub that is frost hardy but only just, so it needs a warm and sheltered garden, away from cold, drying winds. Otherwise, it's a lovely conservatory plant. It has deep green, toothed oval leaves and tubular scarlet flowers from late spring to early autumn. Needs partial shade and moist but well drained acid soil. H. 7' after 10 years. 2l pot

This is a native of the Mediterranean and as such likes a sunny spot in well drained soil. It's half hardy. The dark green leaves set off the pretty, scented white flowers with their long stamens and the trunk goes a beautiful deep, rich brown as the plant ages. With us, it seeds itself around and always seems to choose the perfect spot to place itself. We find it to be quite fast growing. The wood and leaves added to a barbecue give an extra spice to grilled meats. The fresh flowers can be eaten in salads. 2l pot in spring

aka Heavenly Bamboo, this hardy plant makes an interesting 'dot' plant or a good informal hedge if you want to break up areas of your garden. It can grow to 6' and in a good summer has white flowers followed by red berries. The leaves turn a reddish purple in autumn/winter and remain on the plant. Likes well drained light, moist soil and although hardy is best in a sheltered spot as new growth can be damaged by cold winds. 2l pot

A dwarf form of Heavenly Bamboo with tremendous leaf tints of red and gold in autumn, followed by scarlet fruits. It has small white starry flowers in summer. Plant in full sun or partial shade and give winter protection in colder places as it is frost hardy. Slow growing, finally reaching about 3'. 2l pot

A very attractive shrubby member of the tobacco plant family. It's unusual and looks good going up a trellis with its glaucous blue foliage and greeny yellow trumpet shaped flowers. It can be grown as a standard with some support and we've done that here. Will go to -5 here but don't let it stand in wet soil, keep it in a well-drained spot. Half-hardy.2l pot