Grab your Raincoat and head for the Beeches!

What to do on a rainy day!??

Meconopsis paniculata

It was only on my last blog post I mentioned that we have barely had time to undertake any nursery visits recently so it is with irony that I'm writing this post on our recent visit to Beeches Nursery last Monday. We were intending on spending the day mainly gardening on Monday but it was raining non stop, and perhaps we were feeling a little bit lazy too, so we decided on an impromptu visit to this wonderful nursery in Essex.

Neither rare or unusual but I do love the pink flush of this Yucca gloriosa 'Variegata'

Any old excuse to have a day out! I'm sure there were plenty of other things we could have done if we had really wanted to stay at home but we were due for a spring visit anyway so we just opted to grab our raincoats and head for the Beeches!

My blog post about this nursery last year was a visit on a very sunny day, this time it's the opposite of that as it was a very rainy day instead but the treasures to be had there remains the same, if not a bit more than last year.

A dazzling selection and not a weed in sight!

We have been several times but still it never fails to amaze what sort of new surprises we find there every time we visit. And as always the place remains pristine and immaculate.

Beeches is great for rare and unusual trees, shrubs, and climbers. So many to choose from and so many varieties. 

Even they stock these now - Schefflera rhododendrifolia

Magnolia laevifolia

Sophora x molloyi 'Dragon's Gold'

New growth on the Himalayan plant Euonymus lucidus

But for me, the best attraction is their outstanding selection of herbaceous perennials and shade loving woodland plants. The section for these types of plants are right at the top of the nursery and it always gives me a sense of excitement every time I approach this part, thinking and anticipating the rare gems to be had there. On our visit that day we spent an hour and a half browsing on this section alone.

Now this is what we mainly came here for!

Cardiocrinum giganteum

Lobelia tupa

Spot the difference! This group of Alchemillas (Lady's Mantle) was an instant reminder that even with familiar plants that always seem to look the same there are lots of varieties out there...

The colour of the new growth on these Paeonies is fantastic! Almost worth growing them for the early spring colour of the foliage alone.

Pretty and invasive Petasites japonicus var. giganteus 'Nishiki-buki'

Eremurus selection

The nursery has a large selection of Eremurus or more commonly known as Foxtail Lilies. Eremurus are one of those cross over plants that look good in different styles of garden as long as you provide their cultural requirements of full sun and a well drained site, preferably on a nutrient poor soil too. Although admittedly I tend to see this plant more in cottage style gardens or courtyard gardens of heritage properties rather than more contemporary ones. With their preference for full sun and drainage, as well as having an attractive foliage and habit I think they would also associate well with alpine and xerophytic plants in rockeries and gravel beds. Their flowers are certainly lovely but like other plants I'm drawn to them mainly for their foliage and I'm intending on planting a few in our raised bed, should look good with the green slate mulch!

So what did we bring home in the end? Here's some of them:

After a few hours browsing we came back with a relatively small but well chosen haul. Some of them we have already (for you can't just have a few of a good thing, you have to have several!) but most were new ones for this year like the Eremurus, Jeffersonia, and Iris.

Glaucous leaves and sun loving, this lot are destined to go in our first raised bed with slate mulch.

Are they butterflies or a plant? The delicate foliage of Jeffersonia diphylla. This shade loving perennial appears in the spring and goes dormant again by summer.

Inspired by our recent acquisitions we still managed to do  some gardening when we arrived home even if it was still drizzling. Spending time away from the garden sometimes gives you even more urge to do a bit more given the chance despite less than favourable conditions.

Nevermind, I'm actually glad of the rain and would actually prefer if it carries on being rainy here for a few more days. The garden needs it and there is something endearing about April showers.

Mark :-)