Thuja plicata ‘Excelsa’ (Western Red Cedar – cultivated variety)

Commonly used as a hedging plant, T.plicata cv ‘Excelsa’ is a fairly fast growing upright evergreen conifer which, if grown as a specimen, will retain its branches to the ground. When crushed the branches give off a slightly sweet aromatic scent. In its native western N America, this tree can reach 200ft at the age of around 100 years.
This plant was selected for the garden to add drama and scale to the waterwheel building. It also forms an effective screen to obscure features adjacent to the garden boundary, providing a dark green background and a perfect foil for more ornamental subjects.

Nothofagus antarctica (Southern Beech)

A native of temperate S. America, this relatively small (50ft) deciduous tree deserves to be more widely planted in gardens. It is fairly tolerant of exposed places and has attractive shiny dark green leaves, closely set on a distinctive and elegant framework of branches.

This plant has been chosen to compliment the Western Red Cedar, providing a more characteristic shape and texture as the boundary extends to the left of the garden. The slightly less dense foliage gives a softer screening effect which is more sympathetic to adjacent structures.

Parthenocissus henryana (Chinese Virginia Creeper)

These deciduous climbers, native to N. America, E. Asia and the Himalaya, have been popular in our gardens since their introduction in the late 1800’s.    P. henryana is a very attractive species from Central China, related to the Virginia creeper but much more handsome; sporting leaves a rich dark velvety purple with a prominent silvery white midrib. P. henryana provides an incredibly vibrant and colourful display in autumn.

The soft velvety texture and deep red colour of the leaves are a superb foil for coarse textures stone work of the building. Excellent for softening hard structural lines, this plant melds the building into the landscape helping to create a secluded feel to this garden.

Geranium sp. (Hardy Geranium)

Hardy Geraniums have been the stalwart of the English cottage garden for many years and continue in popularity, providing a range of colour and texture that compliment most perennial planting schemes. Several species and cultivars have been chosen for our garden principally because both native and cultivated forms blend together beautifully, providing a soft naturalistic texture.

From G. macrorrhizum, with its soft magenta flowers and quite distinctive aromatic leaves, ideal as woodland groundcover, to G. sylvaticum; a taller more upright species with pale pink or white flowers, preferring a damper situation.
We have selected from seven different species, although there are hundreds of hardy geraniums to choose from. G. macrorrhizum, G.pratense, G.ibericum and G. renardii will be selected for the ornamental area, whilst G. sanguineum and G. sylvaticum will be included in the native planting.