Water lilies are quintessential deep water pond plants Image: Water Lily (White) from Thompson & Morgan
Whether you want to attract wildlife to your garden or create a unique focal point, a pond is a great way to introduce a whole new range of plants to your outdoor space. Here are some of the best independent videos, articles and posts to help you plan a new water feature or spruce up an existing one. Before you start digging, browse our excellent range of native and exotic pond plants for inspiration.
Since the first seed catalogue was published in 1855, Thompson & Morgan has grown to become one of the UK’s largest Mail Order Seed and Plant companies. Through the publication of our catalogues and the operation of our award-winning website, Thompson & Morgan is able to provide home gardeners with the very best quality products money can buy.
Announcing our Plant of the Year nominees for The RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2022
World-renowned, inspirational and quintessentially British, the RHS Chelsea Flower Show is an unforgettable experience for gardening enthusiasts and the jewel in the crown for growers hoping to win the prestigious Plant of the Year 2022 award with their new introductions.
We have submitted four fabulous flower plants as our nominees for the RHS Chelsea 2022 Plant of the Year award – the best varieties for a floriferous display of long-lasting colour, with outstanding performance in the garden.
Four fabulous flowers for a glorious garden!
Azalea ‘Starstyle Pink’
Yes, this really is an Azalea!
This distinctive little Azalea is delightfully different, fun and exciting, making it ideal for modern gardens.
The result of 23 years of breeding, Azalea ‘Starstyle Pink’ is a unique new variety with compact growth, profuse unusual flowers twice a year, plus highly decorative lush evergreen foliage. Height and spread: 50cm.
Fabulous flower power
Enjoy masses of distinctive hot pink, star-shaped flowers blooming profusely in spring and again in autumn, set against long, narrow, pointed evergreen leaves.
Great looks & behaviour
This compact and versatile evergreen is perfect for patio pots, borders, conservatories or even inside the house thanks to its good heat and cold tolerance.
A low maintenance marvel
‘Starstyle Pink’ is low maintenance, fully hardy and perfect for adding a pop of colour wherever it is needed in the garden.
Weigela ‘Magic Carpet’ is the outstanding outcome of a 10-year breeding programme to produce compact plants with vivid foliage, plus an abundance of flowers. It will delight you with its pretty pink flowers and fabulous colour changing foliage. Height: 60cm. Spread: 46cm.
A Weigela with the wow factor
Compact ‘Magic Carpet’ will whisk you away with a profusion of pink, funnel-shaped flowers on arching stems in May and June, bridging the gap between spring and summer and offering early support for pollinators.
First of a kind foliage
The fabulous colour changing foliage of this pretty plant transitions from apricot orange to golden yellow as the seasons change, giving months of interest even as the blooms fade.
A versatile variety for the garden or patio
‘Magic Carpet’ is the perfect choice for containers and will also look amazing as mass landscape planting, brightening beds and borders with a carpet of colour.
Intense by name, intense by nature, its non-fading, vivid pink blooms and extreme flower power will astound you!
This compact hardy perennial has the flower power to stand alongside annual summer bedding, while offering much more versatility and a longer season of interest. Height: 25cm. Spread: 50cm.
Glowing ground cover with neon pink blooms
More vivid than other pink varieties, masses of stunning, neon bright, single blooms sit perched on short stems, attracting butterflies and bees from June to September.
Hardy and versatile
Versatile, vigorous and with a trouble-free growth habit, this hardy geranium is ideal for mass planting as ground cover, borders and all types of containers, so you can enjoy these beautiful blooms wherever you wish in the garden.
Colour changing foliage for added autumnal interest
The fragrant semi-evergreen foliage turns red in autumn as an added bonus.
A seedling selection from a crossing of Salvia nemorosa and Salvia pratensis, the ravishing result is a compact and extremely hardy perennial with big, bold blooms.
These compact, tidy plants boast a long flowering season, a wide range of garden uses and true winter hardiness making Salvia ‘A Little Bit’ the obvious option for gardeners looking to add impact to their planting schemes. Height: 25cm. Spread: 30cm.
Giant deep purple flowers
Salvia ‘A Little Bit’ is a hardy cultivar of Salvia nemorosa but with much larger, showy, deep violet-blue flower spikes of Salvia pratensis.
Colourful and compact
The beautiful blooms are held on a tidy, low and compact plant reaching just 25cm high – perfectly proportioned for smaller borders and a fabulous focal point in a patio planter.
Long flowering and low maintenance
Successive flower spikes are produced below the first main spike, making ‘A Little Bit’ an especially long-flowering perennial. These pretty plants are easy to grow, winter hardy and an important food source for pollinators.
Since the first seed catalogue was published in 1855, Thompson & Morgan has grown to become one of the UK’s largest Mail Order Seed and Plant companies. Through the publication of our catalogues and the operation of our award-winning website, Thompson & Morgan is able to provide home gardeners with the very best quality products money can buy.
Wisteria flowers are highly scented and look fantastic trailing en masse Image: Wisteria floribunda ‘Domino’ from Thompson & Morgan
Find everything you need to grow fabulous wisteria here. From troubleshooting flowering issues to keeping these vigorous climbers under control with correct pruning techniques, these independent articles, videos and Instagram posts are packed with useful tips. And if you’re tempted to plant one of these glorious vines in your own garden, take a look at our full range of wisteria shrubs for inspiration.
Since the first seed catalogue was published in 1855, Thompson & Morgan has grown to become one of the UK’s largest Mail Order Seed and Plant companies. Through the publication of our catalogues and the operation of our award-winning website, Thompson & Morgan is able to provide home gardeners with the very best quality products money can buy.
Ox-eye daisies are easy to grow and very popular with pollinators Image: Ox-Eye Daisy from Thompson & Morgan
Wildflowers are a low-maintenance and long-lasting addition to any garden. Often planted as annual or perennial meadows, they make a wildlife-friendly alternative to lawns or a quick and easy way to fill a border. Not sure which varieties to choose? The easiest way is to use a themed wildflower mixture. You can also choose individual varieties of wildflower seeds if you prefer to concentrate on your favourites. Here are our top ten wildflowers and how to grow them.
1. Cornflower ‘Blue Diadem’
Bees flock to cornflowers during the summer Image: Cornflower ‘Blue Diadem’ from Thompson & Morgan
The intense, azure blue flowers of Cornflower ‘Blue Diadem’ were once a common sight dotted through golden cornfields. This charming annual makes an unforgettable impact in grassy meadows and summer borders. Sow between March and May for flowers in June, July, and August. The bright blue flowers grow up to 75cm tall and also look great in a vase.
2. Cowslip (Primula veris)
Cowslips bring a ray of golden sunshine to any garden Image: Primula veris from Thompson & Morgan
Holding an RHS Award of Garden Merit, the stiff stems of Primula veris carry whorls of pendulous yellow flowers above swathes of lush, mid green foliage. Perfect ground-cover in natural planting schemes, the delicate fragrance of these edible flowers is an added bonus. Reaching a height of 25cm, sow your seeds between March and May for flowers in June, July and August.
3. Meadowland mixture
A wildflower meadowland mixture includes classic grassland varieties Image: Meadowland mixture from Thompson & Morgan
Our meadowland mixture includes over 30 types of pretty wildflowers including lady’s bedstraw, meadow buttercup, corn chamomile, wild clary, cowslip, crane’s-bill, ox-eye daisy and many others. With varied heights of 20-150cm, some flowers emerge the first summer after sowing, while the rest appear in spring, summer or autumn the next year.
4. Lychnis flos-cuculi
Bright pink eye-catching ragged robin petals peak through the grass Image: Garden World Images
A perennial wildflower with delicate bright pink flowers, Lychnis flos-cuculi (Ragged Robin) has attractive raggedy petals that come into bloom from May to August. A good choice for difficult, damp areas of the garden, the stems vary in height from 25cm to 100cm.
5. Wild poppy
Create a field of red with wild poppies Image: Wild poppy from Thompson & Morgan
The bright scarlet flowers of wild poppies (Papaver rhoeas) traditionally dot cornfields with bright scarlet flowers. Sow your seeds in thick swathes for a bold carpet of red, or scatter randomly through your borders and wait for the flowers to peep through your perennials. An annual flower that self-seeds happily, you can expect your poppies to return every year in early summer. Sow between March and October.
6. Cornfield mixture
Create a traditional meadow with this cornfield mix Image: Cornfield mixture from Thompson & Morgan
Sow the cornfield mixture along paths or near your vegetable garden where the nectar-rich flowers will attract pollinating insects and beneficial predators. White campion, corn chamomile, field forget-me-not and poppies make up just a portion of this varied mix. Plants vary in height from 15cm to 60cm and flower during the summer.
7. Teasel
Teasel seed heads add interest to the back of beds and borders Image: Teasel from Thompson & Morgan
Teasel is a tall, striking, thistle-like plant with serrated leaves and large spiny flower heads. It’s a valuable source of nectar for bees and butterflies, and attracts seed-eating birds to your garden. This biennial plant self-seeds freely once established, and the lilac flowers appear through July and August.
8. Fritillaria meleagris
Snakeshead fritillary has lovely nodding flowers Image: Fritillaria meleagris from Thompson & Morgan
The captivating, bell-shaped flowers of Fritillaria meleagris are instantly recognizable by their distinctive snake-skin markings. Snake head fritillaries look best planted in drifts, and prefer damp shady areas and informal areas of grass. Sow these rare native flowers between March and May for flowers in the same months the following year.
9. Butterfly mixture
Butterfly mix is colourful and very attractive to pollinators Image: Garden World Images
Excellent for creating bold and varied drifts of colour in your garden, Butterfly mixture has been specifically designed to attract butterflies and other beneficial insects. Turn a section of your garden or allotment into a haven for wildlife by sowing the seeds onto prepared soil in the spring. Your flowers will appear between June and September.
10. Wildflower ‘Woodland shade mix’
Our woodland shade mix comes with vermiculite to aid even dispersal Image: Wildflowers ‘Woodland Shade Mix’ from Thompson & Morgan
To brighten up darker corners of the garden, Woodland shade mix contains native foxgloves, sweet peas, forget-me-nots and more shade-loving woodland species. Scatter the mix straight from the box and rake into the soil wherever you want your colourful wildflower mix to grow. If you sow the seeds in spring and autumn, expect to see some species flower the same year, and some the following year, between April and September.
Share your wildflower patch or containers with us on Instagram or Twitter using the hashtag #YourTMGarden. For even more advice and inspiration, head over to our wildflower hub page.
Since the first seed catalogue was published in 1855, Thompson & Morgan has grown to become one of the UK’s largest Mail Order Seed and Plant companies. Through the publication of our catalogues and the operation of our award-winning website, Thompson & Morgan is able to provide home gardeners with the very best quality products money can buy.
Clematis ‘Elizabeth’ brings colour and scent to your garden Image: Clematis ‘Elizabeth’ from Thompson & Morgan
Find all you need to grow spectacular clematis plants here. Whether you love rambling evergreens or compact types for patio containers, these independent articles, videos and Instagram posts are packed full of helpful advice. Discover new and interesting varieties to grow, learn how to prune the different groups of clematis, and pick up expert planting tips to successfully fill your garden with these special blooms.
Since the first seed catalogue was published in 1855, Thompson & Morgan has grown to become one of the UK’s largest Mail Order Seed and Plant companies. Through the publication of our catalogues and the operation of our award-winning website, Thompson & Morgan is able to provide home gardeners with the very best quality products money can buy.
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