Buxus sempervirens
common box - cone
- Position: partial shade
- Soil: fertile, well-drained soil
- Rate of growth: slow-growing
- Other features: contact with the sap may cause skin irritation
- Hardiness: fully hardy
These evergreen box cones are ideal for a formal garden or courtyard. Best planted in fertile, well-drained soil in a partially shady site, they're perfect for punctuating the end of a dwarf hedge or for use in pairs for flanking a set of steps, a doorway or path.
Box are happy growing in a sunny spot but the combination of dry soil and full sun may encourage poor growth and leaf scorching. If you have sandy soil it is best to keep them in a partially shady spot in the garden. - Garden care: Ensure that the soil or compost is never allowed to dry out. Carefully cut back plants grown as hedges or topiary in mid- or late summer. Carry out rejuvenative pruning in late spring. After pruning apply a top-dressing of a balanced slow-release fertiliser such as blood, fish and bone (organic) or Osmacote (inorganic) around the base of the plant, ensuring that none touches the leaves or stems.
Asarum europaeum
wild ginger
Lustrous foliage for a shady corner
Hakonechloa macra 'Alboaurea'
golden hakonechloa
Striped foliage and cascading habit. Ideal for containers
Erysimum 'Bowles's Mauve'
wallflower
Stunning mauve flowers
Geranium 'Brookside'
cranesbill
Deep blue flowers and long flowering seasons
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Slow-growing box for topiary and hedges and the best small, wintergreen structure plant of all - and only a once-a-year June trim!
Val Bourne - Garden Writer