Chaenomeles speciosa 'Geisha Girl'
flowering quince
- Position: full sun or partial shade
- Soil: moderately fertile, well-drained soil
- Rate of growth: fast-growing
- Flowering period: March to May
- Hardiness: fully hardy
Ornamental quinces bring a welcome flush of colour to the garden in spring, when their bare twigs are smothered in flowers before the glossy, dark green leaves appear. 'Geisha Girl' is later flowering than other varieties and has double, deep apricot-pink flowers from March to May, followed by aromatic, greenish-yellow fruit. This deciduous shrub looks lovely in the middle of a mixed border, or trained as a specimen against a wall. More compact than other varieties, it flowers best in moderately fertile, well-drained soil in full sun. The fruit can be eaten when cooked. - Garden care: After flowering, prune side-shoots to five or six leaves and remove crossing stems. Once established, take out excess growth in late spring or summer and cut back all side-shoots to two or three leaves.
Geranium phaeum
dusky cranesbill
Small, deep maroon flowers. Good for groundcover
Erysimum 'Bowles's Mauve'
wallflower
Stunning mauve flowers
Epimedium × rubrum
bishops hat
Wonderful bronze foliage and crimson red flowers
Lamprocapnos spectabilis
bleeding heart (syn. Dicentra spectabilis)
Arching sprays of pink, heart-shaped flowers
Fritillaria meleagris
snake's head fritillary bulbs
Nodding multi-coloured flowers
Hyacinthoides non-scripta
bluebell
English Bluebells from genuinely cultivated resources.
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A reliable, attractive wall shrub shown to best effect against a wall at the back of a border
Lucy Summers - Greenfingers Guides