Kniphofia - Liriope

Kniphofia
The Pokers, red hot or otherwise, suit a sunny position in soil which stays moist in summer (although excessive winter wet can be a problem for some).

Species:
Kniphofia buchananii £4
Slender, short spikes of little cream flowers on 75cm stems, grassy leaves. For interest, not garden clout. Rare.
Kniphofia ichopensis £4.50
Divisions of a selected seedling with red-brown flowers. One of the species with a
delicate inflorescence of well spaced, long, narrow, rather pendulous flowers. Worthy of, and requiring, a bit of care; a sunny, mild site, neither too dry nor too wet.
Kniphofia typhoides £4.50
Unlike anything else here with narrow reedmace-like spikes of hundreds of tiny brown flowers in October-November. Smart upright, rather twisted glaucous foliage. 1.5m. I really look forward to it flowering each autumn.

Cultivars:
Assume these are around 1m in height, unless we say otherwise.
Kniphofia 'Alcazar' £5
Glowing orange-red. 60cm.
Kniphofia 'Bees' Sunset' AGM £5
Hard to describe the colour, more buff than orange. Vigorous and nice. 75cm.
Kniphofia 'Candlelight' £4
Delicate little pokers, with good sized individual flowers, yellow from bright green buds. Floriferous and will repaet. Narrow leaves. 60cm.
Kniphofia 'Lord Roberts' £5
Slender red flowers in elegant, long dense heads. A large plant we coveted for years after we saw Bob Brown's plant in his stock bed years ago. Makes a large tall plant and sulks if too dry.
Kniphofia 'Star of Baden Baden' £5
A fine old greeny yellow bogbrush, but not the hardiest.
Kniphofia 'Sunningdale Yellow' AGM £5
Slender, pale yellow pokers; much admired. One of the most reliable repeat flowerers; and one of the earliest on the first flush.
Kniphofia 'Toffee Nosed' £5
Tan buds open cream. 1m. A good flowerer.

Lamium orvala 'Silva' £4
Classic early spring deadnettle which bursts out of the ground in bud, flowering as it expands to form its leafy late spring clump. This form is red-pink flowered, with a light silver stripe to the leaf.
Lamium orvala 'Album' £4
This time in white, very faintly tinged pink
Lachenalia aloides var. quadricolor £4
Winter grower, with spikes of long, tubular flowers, each with bands of orange, yellow, green and red to dazzling effect, in winter. It's water, not cold, that is the enemy of these dry-climate western Cape bulbs. They are easy in a cool green house or airy conservatory, given full  light and a very gritty compost, watered modestly in winter and given a very dry summer bake. We grow loads of species, just for enjoyment, and bring them into the house at the peak of flowering for winter interest.
Lachenalia orthopetala £4
White, and one of the last to flower, in April. Narrow leaves and tough as they come - we left the pots outdoors all winter one year and they did just fine.
Lachenalia rubida £4
Dusky red flowers and rather spotty broad leaves - always the first to flower here in October -November.
Lathyrus aureus £4
Heads of golden toffee-brown pea flowers on the tips of 40cm stems. Pale green leaves. Like all the following, a tightly clump forming, hardy herbaceous perennial.
Lathyrus cirrhosus £5
Narrow, blue grey foliage forms a dense, bushy mound to 50cm or more, sort of half climbing by tendrils if given the chance. Pink flowers over a long season. Easy in sun, given reasonable drainage.
Lathyrus davidii £4
A much taller plant than aureus, with groups of light yellowy brown flowers.
Lathyrus laxiflorus £5
A pretty mat-former, rooted at the centre, with violet-blue flowers in summer. Can be trimmed back to tidy up and encourage repeat flowering. Sun. Evergreenish. Thanks to Miss Sylvia Norton, National Collection holder.
Lathyrus vernus pink £4.50
Compact plant, pink flowers (not bicolor).
Ledebouria cooperi £3.50
This tiny Scilla-like bulb has arresting purple and green pinstripe leaves and heads of deep purple flowers like tiny bunches of grapes in summer. Spreads to fill a pan or make a bold patch in the rock garden. Perfectly hardy here, maybe not in the Midlands. It's winter dormant and not succulent, quite unlike L. socialis and its kin.
Leucanthemum x superbum 'Eisstern' £4.50
An interesting double Shasta daisy, with a single ring of full length icy white rays, then a big step down in length to the neat 'anemone' centre. Can reach 1m, usually less. Thanks to Brian 'Avondale' Ellis.
Leucojum autumnale AGM £4
Another rampant little bulb we'd never be without. Ultra fine leaves, with nodding ivory bells on 10cm stems over a long season in summer and early autumn.
Libertia 'Amazing Grace' £5
A hybrid with much of the refined character of L. elegans. Arching stems with many small cream flowers in summer. 75cm. Sun and drainage.
Libertia 'Ballyrogan Blue' £4.50
A hybrid of caerulescens with more branched and substantial inflorescence. Hardy here.
Libertia breunioides £4
A dubious name for an interesting and different plant. Short (30cm) with large upward facing white flowers and fat orangey fruits. Rather broad green leaves tend to age orange. Thanks again to Janice Greening.
Libertia procera £5
Yet another dodgy name. Essentially, this is the biggest, butchest formosa you'll see, reaching 1.5m. Good white flowers.
Libertia tricocca HCM98.089 £4.50
Distinctive, with rather glaucous leaves in dense clumps, and little heads of cream flowers to 75cm. Chilean.
Lilium 'Ariadne' £4
Everyone wants North Lilies these days, bred in Scotland by the late Dr. North. I don't blame them. This is one of his earlier ones, reaching 1m with fragrant dusky pink Turk's Caps. Woodsy conditions.
Lilium canadense £5.50 FROM SPRING 2010
Nodding red flowers, yellowish and spotted inside; not a Turk's Cap type, but with flared tepals, like some sort of a lamp shade. Tall and lovely, needing moister soil than some. I'm no expert on this variable species, and one so seldom sees it in this country, but from its appearance and origin it seems to be the Appalachian var. editorum. Proper rare, this.
Lilium duchartrei £5
Pendulous fragrant white turk's cap flowers spotted with purple. 60cm.
Lilium philippinense £4 FROM SPRING 2010
Large fragrant white flowers at the tops of 50cm stems. Best given frost protection when dormant.
Lilium 'Rosemary North' £5
Dark purple spots on  a peachy ground. One of Dr North's later selections.
Lilium xanthellum var. luteum £5 FROM SPRING 2010
From China: yellow, spotted flowers with recurved tepals on a stout plant. Rather recently described, and rare.
Liriope muscari  gold variegated £5
Unusually, the variegation becomes more striking as the leaves age in summer. Spikes of purple flowers provide a nice contrast in late summer. 30cm. For sun (yes, it really does look best in full sun!)
Liriope muscari white variegated £4
Slightly narrower in the leaf, and shorter, with creamy white inflorescences.