a l t e r n a t i v e s
Plant
List 2002
C
# denotes name of plant which, to the best of our knowledge, is new to cultivation in the period 2001/2002 or which has not been offered before commercially under any other valid name.
*
means that seed may be available.
+
denotes species beneficial to butterflies and/or moths.
Please note double-flowered forms are of little or no benefit as they
lack nectar.
A
large number of the plants listed are of native provenance and many are local.
CARDAMINE BITTERCRESSES
C..
pratensis. Cuckooflower. Ladies Smock.
(+ leaves may be beneficial, but not the flowers in the following form:)
C. pratensis ‘Flore Pleno' -
Charming form of this spring wildflower with sprays of double mauve flowers.
Leaves like bittercress. For moist
positions. £2.50
C.
pendula.
Pendulous Sedge. Largest
and most majestic of the native sedges.
C. pendula ‘Cool Jazz’#- The
deep green leaves have an effective (but not brazen) cream-striped variegation
all year round, particularly good in winter.
Few. £7.50. New from us last year.
C. vulgare.
Spear Thistle. +
Biennial, extremely spiny thistle with greyish foliage and heads of
reddish-purple or mauve flowers that are rich in nectar and pollen, attracting
bees, butterflies, hoverflies and other insects. Architectural when well grown.
The seventeenth century herbalist, Parkinson, favoured thistles in the
garden, so here’s a selection.
THE
FOLLOWING MAY BE AVAILABLE EITHER AS SEED (£1.50/pack) OR YOUNG PLANTS.
C. vulgare, clear pink – An attractive flower colour coming at least partially true from seed. £2.50
C. vulgare ‘Silk Cushion’ -
A
pretty combination of white florets with purple anther tubes.
Found locally. £2.50
C. vulgare,
variegated - variable from seed but on good examples the leaves,
stems and involucres are finely streaked with cream and are very decorative.
Usual purplish flowers. £3.50
C. muralis,
white-flowered – Pretty form of ivy-leaved toadflax with pure
white flowers with an orangey mark on the lower lip and pale green leaves. Is
this the same as the cultivar ‘Pallidior’ (formerly ‘Albiflora’?).
Wall culture. Noticed during a chaotic round of putting in Worthing. True
from seed. £2.50