Eucomis - Geum (excluding Galanthus and Geranium)

Eucomis
The Pineapple Lilies are summer growing bulbs, suited to sun or dappled shade in borders which don't become excessively cold, and to pots. When pot grown, repot in February, before the roots grow.
For a superb gallery of Eucomis pics, go to www.theafricangarden.com.

Eucomis autumnalis £4
Ultimately a stout, broad leaved plant with clean white flowers of real substance, but well shorter than pole-evansii. Hannah, the budding plantswoman among our kids, when asked which of our many Eucomis was her favourite, immediately selected this.
Eucomis comosa 'First Red' £4
No implication of earliness here, it's first as in foremost, although it isn't. Lost? Not as deep a colour as 'S.B.' but the leaves are a pretty light carmine, paler near the midrib.
Eucomis comosa var. striata £4
The red spots on the undersides of the leaves, and leaf sheaths join up to make pin stripes. Attractive all the time it's in growth
Eucomis 'Frank Lawley' £4
Short, white flowered, with crinkly edged pale green leaves. Not flashy, but highly satisfactory.
Eucomis pole-evansii £4
Pale green leaves with crinkled edges, hefty inflorescences with pineappley tuft of leaves on top, which can exceed 1m. Like the others, for a reasonably large pot (repot each February, before the roots get going) or a warm sunny border.
Eucomis vandermerwei £4.50
One of the smallest pineapple lilies, but rather exciting. Flat rosettes of pointed, crinkly edged leaves heavily speckled with maroon on the upper surfaces. 20cm spikes of dark red flowers, even on quite small bulbs. Perhaps less hardy, and best in a pot.
Eupatorium arnottianum RCB/Arg - L2 £4.50
A wiry stemmed Argentinian, distinctive for its amazing Ageratum-like powdery lavender-blue flower heads. 1m tall. New in cultivation, perhaps not very hardy.
Euphorbia amygdaloides 'Craigieburn' £5
An even darker version of the classic 'Purpurea', apparently less prone to mildew. The contrast between the yellow-green of the flowers and the rich purple of the bracts is a delight when caught by spring sunshine.
Euphorbia 'Blue Haze' £5
A short (to 40cm), very blue leaved hybrid (seguieriana niciciana x nicaeensis - the two classic glaucous spp) selected by Robin & Sue 'Blackthorn' White. 'Prune hard in August for compact blue foliage all winter' - I'd do what Robin tells you if I were you.
Euphorbia deflexa £4
Low growing, clumping but not invasive, good yellow green flowers in spring over fine, stiff leaves. Excellent, although I'm not 100% sure of the identification.
Filipendula palmata dwarf form £4
Short and neat, only 15cm high, with frothy pink flowers over a long season. Summer moisture is important.
Filipendula ulmaria 'Rosea' £4
The scarce pink flowered form of our native meadowsweet. Most reds/pinks belong to other, taller species.
Freesia lactea (=alba) £4
Winter growing corm with plenty of white flowers marked yellow and purple. What a powerful fragrance! It's the right fragrance too, the sweet delicious one, not the peppery scent of some cut freesias you buy. Dry summer dormancy; sun, shelter - perfect for a pot.
Freesia (Anomatheca) laxa / grandiflora hybrids, pink £4
Larger flowered than the familiar laxa, taller too, in a deep pink. Best in a pot almost frost free. At its best, a real attention grabber.
Freesia (Anomatheca) viridis £3.50
The green flowers, like little skeletal hands grasping at you, would suit a horror film. Winter growing, tenderish small corm for a pot.

Galanthus - click here

Galega 'His Majesty' £5
Spreads to make a splendid mound of glaucous pea foliage, topped by long spikes of strongly bicoloured violet flowers in early summer. Height to 1m at end of flowering. Extremely satisfactory.
Galega orientalis £5
Very distinct from the usual officinalis/hartlandii varieties in its upright spikes of indigo blue pea flowers. Pale green foliage, loosely spreading habit. Height to 1.2m. Sunny site.
Galtonia princeps £4
Creamy-green bells in summer on a 60cm plant. Winter dormant.

Geranium - click here

Geum
Geum coccineum 'Eos' £4
Kevin Marsh's eyeboggling selection of the true violently orange flowered coccineum. This one has bright yellow leaves. Has to be seen to be believed, but not nearly as tasteless as you might imagine. A real hot dog.
Geum hybrids: classic border plants for any normal soil in sun or part shade. All these are summer flowering, and 30-40cm tall in flower.
Geum 'Abendsonne' £4
Soft orange flashed burnt orange. Effective.
Geum 'Bell Bank' £4
Very pretty semi-double pink.
Geum 'Diane' £4
Big upward facing bright yellow flowers on a very short plant. Excellent.
Geum 'Farmer John Cross' £4
Lovely nodding lemon yellow flowers on red stems.
Geum 'Fire Opal' AGM £4
Fiery orange-red, large open flowers.
Geum 'Herterton Primrose' £4
Nice nodding flowers with yellow petals (brighter than 'Lemon Drops') contrasting very well with the red sepals and flower stems.
Geum 'Kathryn' £4
A seedling from capense: single, very pale yellow flowers fringed pink, giving a peachy effect. Previously sold as 'unnamed hybrid', now (thankfully) named by Kevin Marsh for his Mrs.
Geum 'Karlskaer' £4
Apricotty orange semidouble.
Geum 'Mandarin' £4
Tall (50cm) with very big coppery orange flowers late in the season. Excellent but slow to propagate. A Cally special.
Geum 'Mrs W. Moore' £4
Nodding flowers in pastel red.
Geum 'Sigiswang' £4
Small but plentiful, somewhat nodding, flowers the colour of ripe oranges.