Ophiopogon - Phlox

Ophiopogon - all £3 / £3.50
There's more to this genus than black leaves! Here are two very different variegated varieties. O. planiscapus 'Little Tabby' has the broad leaves of the black thing, but heavily striped lengthwise in dark green and cream. Easy, and much in demand.
O.japonicus 'Nanus Variegatus' is dwarfer, with very narrow leaves heavily striped white, with short spikes of lilac flowers. Very unusual, for well drained soil in the rock garden, sink or pots. Then without variegation, with dense clumps of dark green leaves and attractive, downturned purple flowers is an Unidentified Species ( a knowledgeable customer told us why it isn't japonicus, but wasn't certain what it is). And if you did want the black leaved O.p. 'Nigrescens', I'm sure we could find you one.

Ornithogalum pyramidale £3 / £3.50
A taller (50cm+) version of O. nutans, with nodding white bells in early summer.
Very pretty. Few.

Ornithogalum reverchonii £3 / £3.75
This distinctive species has lots of small flowers in tight, cylindrical inflorescences to 60cm. Winter growing, flowering in spring. Sun, drainage; pretty hardy as they go.

Orthrosanthus
Horticulturally, there's little to choose between these beautiful blue flowered irids. Both have a succession of sky blue flowers on stems to 50cm in summer, and clump up well. Both need well-drained, sunny positions outside in favoured spots, or in the cool conservatory. Either is lovely; only a serious collector would want both.
O. chimboracenis (£3 / £4) is from the Andes; O. multiflorus (£3 / £4) is Australian, and for years attracted admiration in the rill garden at Coleton Fishacre.

Oxalis oregana £3 / £3.50
No dangerous pinging seeds or ineradicable bulbils here. It's a quietly spreading American woodlander with softly hairy leaves and (in this form) dusky pink flowers. Useful for moister shade even on heavy soils.

Paeonia mlokosewitschii AGM £5
Divisions of the classic pale yellow herbaceous paeony.

Paesia scaberula  £3.25 / £3.75
Creepy little fern with finely divided leaves. For a woodsy bed. A good clump of newly expanded fronds looks fantastic. Hardy except in really cold districts.

Panicum virgatum 'Dallas Blues' £3 / £4.50
A fine bold blue leaved selection of this North American grass. Broader in leaf than 'Praire Sky', taller too, up to 2m in the right conditions. Big purplish panicles. Full sun. We could also offer P. v. 'Warrior', green leaved, red tinted inflorescences, to 1.8m.

Papaver orientale 'Beauty of Livermere' £3.25 / £4.50
Tall, with bright red flowers backed by leaf-like bracts. Terribly impressive.
Other Papaver orientale cultivars in brief - all £3 / £4

'Fatima' - pink and white, rather frilly flowers. 'Leuchtfeuer' AGM - glowing orange with a hint of pink, compact. 'Karine' AGM - very compact, shallow bowl-shaped light salmon pink. 'Patty's Plum' - bulky, floriferous, indescribable purple/brown/red colour - now it's no longer the in thing you can plant it only when you have the perfect place for it... 'Pinnacle' - white fringed orange. 'Raspberry Queen' - Bob Brown summed it up as 'Barbara Cartland with running mascara'.

Papaver Super Poppy series £3.25 / £4.50
American hybrids of, supposedly, complex parentage. In horticultural terms I'd sum them up as oriental poppies with thicker, tougher, glossy petals which means the flowers last quite a lot longer. This is a very good feature. We can offer you:  'Jacinth'  (glossy red-pink), 'Medallion' (purple pink, rather Patty's Plum-ish - for pics see 'The Hardy Plant', Spring 06, p36-7) and 'Tequila Sunrise' (rather frilly pinky orange - pic p1 of the same).

Papaver paucifoliatum £3 / £4
One of the 'oriental' species which is widely ignored. A nice red, from a wild collection in Turkey years ago.

Paradisea lusitanica £3 / £4
Fine upstanding spikes of good sized, pure white, flared trumpet shaped flowers in early summer. Good fertile garden soil in sun or part shade. Height approaches 1m.

Patrinia scabiosifolia £3 / £4
Tall species for the border, with nice pinnate leaves and bright yellow flowers. Usefully late flowering.

Pelargonium alpinum £3.25
Pelargoniums are not our thing, so in cussed fashion we offer you a few of our favourites, all small species or close hybrids, not much like the big 'geraniums' and mostly best given a little winter protection. This one is low growing, has quite deep green leaves with a purple stained ring near, but not at, the margin, flowers pink, blotched maroon on upper petals. Oddly, this has never been in the Plant Finder, tho' it's the right name, and it came from the National Collection, at Fibrex Nurseries.

Pelargonium myrrhifolium var. coriandrifolium £3.25 / £3.75
Again, very low, with very dark leaves so deeply cut they're almost skeletal. Rather large, very pale pink flowers veined deep red pink. Fabbydoo.

Pelargonium 'Renate Parsley' £3 / £3.50
Long-flowering ovale hybrid, with ovate grey leaves and small bicoloured flowers, the upper petals deep red, the lower pale pink. Much easier from cuttings than others of this type, important for us and you, since you'll want to root cuttings as an insurance and to refresh the plant every few years.

Pelargonium rodneyanum  £3.25 / £3.75
Tuberous pelargoniums have a tricksy reputation, but this Aussie is perfectly easy, and hardy with us. Low and a bit spready, with lots of bright purple-pink flowers over a long summer season. Strangely uncommon. FROM SPRING 08.

Peltoboykinia watanabei £3 / £3.50
Deeply lobed, shining green peltate leaves up to 30cm across; creamy flower spikes; height around 40cm. A handsome foliage plant for a cool, moist position. A rare Japanese member of the Saxifragaceae.

Pennisetum orientale 'Robusta' £3 / £4
A notably taller form of this pretty grass, upright pink-tinged bottlebrush flower spikes.

Penstemon smallii £3.25 / £3.75
A smart species with big, toothed leaves, with a brownish tint much of the time, and
lilac flowers. 40cm.

Persicaria amplexicaulis 'Inverleith' £3 / £4
A short (75cm), compact and very well behaved form of this sometimes overbearing species. Short spikes of dark red flowers, handsome dark green foliage.

Persicaria bistorta 'Hohe Tatra' £3 / £3.50
A smart, very bright pink, relatively short form of another variable species; again, it does not seem as thuggish as many.

Persicaria polymorpha £3.25 / £4.50
The best of the tall white species, we reckon. Big panicles of white flowers, ageing pinkish. Can reach 2m when established. It does not run (honest, guv!), and is not picky about soil. Few.

Petasites paradoxus £3 / £3.50
As a rule, never trust a butterbur if you've less than half an acre to plant it in. This is a true exception, and beautiful to boot. Dense clumps of silvery foliage to 40cm. Small heads of gently fragrant flowers in late winter, before new leaves. FROM SPRING 08.

Petasites japonicus f. purpureus £3 / £4
This is NOT an exception, however. The beautiful purple leaved form of this most vigorous of butterburs should only be planted where it cannot overrun your garden, anyone else's garden, or the wider world. It is very beautiful, and most effective in moist, light shade.

Petrocosmea kerrii £3.50 / £5
A growable and desirable rosette forming gesneriad from the Far East. The leaves are light green, plump, almost fleshy, rounded, and densely covered with long soft hairs. The flowers are big and pure white, in late spring. Not terribly hardy, ideal for the shady alpine house or very mild woodland garden. An important Wynn-Jones introduction. The genus is quite close to Saintpaulia.

Peucedanum ostruthium 'Daphnis' £3 / £3.50
If you've ever been tempted by that variegated ground elder, but fear for the safety of your garden, this look-alike is the plant for you. Neat, bright, yellow variegated low growing foliage forms a gently spreading clump. The hogweedy flower heads on 40cm stems are rarely produced, in our experience, which makes it even better…

Phaedranassa carmiolii £3.50 / £5
A Peruvian amaryllid for a pot, summer growing with tubular red / green bicoloured flowers on 50cm stems. Dryish dormancy.

Phlox glaberrima 'Morris Berd' £3 / £3.50
A nice bushy herbaceous thing, with big pink flowers all over, rather than on top of the clump. Horticulturally, it's 'Bill Baker' with bigger flowers. From the USA.

Phlox paniculata cultivars
'Blue Paradise' (£3 / £4) is the bluest we know, a luscious colour in cool, moist weather; around 60cm. 'Mary Christine' (£3.25 / £3.75) is perhaps the scarcest of the variegated cultivars, tricksy to propagate and rarely seen. It has a clean white variegation with good sized pink flowers, much like the colour of the old indestructable passed on from one cottage garden to the next. The variegation varies a little from shoot to shoot, although is far from random; reversions are occasionally seen and should be removed. We gave our original plant to Sarah's Mum quite a few years ago, and she has come to think very highly of it. Thanks to Beeches Nursery and Kevin's turbocharged plantsmanship. 'Monica Lynden-Bell' (£3 / £3.50)  is very pale pink from dark buds, and is shorter than some, around 60cm. 'Rosa Pastell' (£3 / £3.50) has big shell-pink flowers, 60cm again. 'Tenor' (£3 / £3.50) has deep salmon flowers, with leaves flushed purple in spring. 'Utopia'(£3 / £3.50) is really tall - 1.5m and self-supporting in Sarah's mum's garden, with very pale pink flowers again; not often seen. All have the classic summer evening fragrance.