An important grass in Beth Chatto's Gravel Garden, Calamagrostis ‘Overdam’ makes a lovely tussock of creamy white striped leaves. The stiffly vertical flower spikes, mauve pink aging to gold, are produced in summer. more... about Calamagrostis x acutiflora ‘Overdam’
Caryopteris are tough drought tolerant deciduous shrubs which, happily for us, flower for a long time during late summer and autumn. ‘Lisaura’ is the best of the gold leaf forms. more... about Caryopteris x clandonensis ‘Lisaura’
A new import this is a rare deciduous shrub from the dry Mongolian steppe and adjacent parts of China. It is very useful in the garden as it produces its silver blue flowers during autumn. more... about Caryopteris mongholica
A tall fast growing, drought tolerant plant which can be trained into a small tree as it was thirty odd years ago when I first saw it at Pirianda, the Dandenong’s garden established by the late Mr and Mrs Harvey Ansell. more... about Ceanothus arboreus ‘Trewithen Blue’
Arguably the most beautiful of all the Ceanothus varieties making an evergreen shrub up to 3 metres in height and as much across. The vibrant dark blue flowers are produced from magenta buds early in spring. Can be pruned to keep it small enough to suit smaller gardens. more... about Ceanothus ‘Concha’
One of the best of the ground covering Ceanothus making arching mounds of dark green, relatively large, evergreen leaves. During early spring “Dusty white buds develop into 2 inch long panicles of China-blue flowers”. more... about Ceanothus ‘Yankee Point’
This is a selected cutting grown form of Dusty Miller with finely cut very silver leaves on a much tidier plant than the type. During spring it has a good display of soft lilac-mauve flowers with contrasting purple anthers. It repeat flowers at odd times throughout the year. more... about Centaurea ‘Silver Fountain’
A Caucasian endemic, with beautiful pinnate greyish leaves, which is widely used as a groundcover in the dry Mediterranean gardens of the French Riviera. Once established, it is happy in any soil that isn’t bog-like. A definite weed suppressor. more... about Centaurea bella
Cistus are amongst the toughest of all evergreen shrubs. I’ve seen C. ‘Alan Fradd’ thriving in a planting alongside a freeway leading into Melbourne where the only water it gets falls from the sky. more... about Cistus x purpureus ‘Alan Fradd’
This tough climber has been cultivated in England for 400 years. Vigorous, long lived and easy to grow some plants in our garden are 20 years old. We grow it both on a trellis and climbing through a Rubus ‘Benenden’. more... about Clematis viticella
There can hardly be a better carpeting plant than this dark flowered form of Convolvulus sabatius. In our dry climate garden it makes dense yard wide mats of evergreen foliage thickly studded with sky gazing round deep blue moons. more... about Convolvulus sabatius ‘Dark Blue’
There can hardly be a better carpeting plant than this north African plant. Convolvulus ‘L.A. Form’ is an especially large flowered variety imported from California. The silvery-blue, moon shaped, upward facing flowers cover the trailing stems from spring until late autumn. more... about Convolvulus sabatius ‘L.A. Form’
A new strain of globe artichoke bred in California which will produce good crops within four or five months if given reasonable conditions. I grow it in a hot sunny spot in the vegetable garden where it is watered regularly and produces abundant heads. more... about Cynara scolymus ‘Imperial Star’
An attractive little shrub small enough to grow in the rock garden and showy enough to be given pride of place in our dry climate shrub borders. Its dark green leaves and stems are smothered in spring with dark yellow pea-like flowers. more... about Cytisus x beanii
