Dracaena draco, Dragon tree

Dracaena draco
 Dragon Tree

This tree from the Canary Islands has become a popular landscape plant in recent years because of its dramatic shape and form as well as its qualities of drought tolerance and general hardiness. Mature specimens are able to be dug up and moved to provide instant impact in the gardens of new building projects. Usually they grow to about 10-15 metres in height and have a flat topped umbrella shaped crown.Some specimens grow with a strange lean to one side and look as if they are about to topple over. The lanceolate foliage tends to be blue grey in colour, and curved and fountain like when young becoming more upright with age.The leaf bases have a distinctive orange colour as well. Bronze coloured fruit are produced in great abundance and these are attractive to birds . As a result, seedling trees often appear unexpectedly in gardens a great distance from the parent plant. The common name of Dragon Blood Tree was given to it because of its bright orange-red sap . This has a most distinguished use however as a varnish for Stradivarius violins giving the instrument its magnificent amber glow.
2017 update: I have limited stock available in 200mm pots.

Philodendron 'Xanadu'

Philodendron 'Xanadu'

One of the parents of this beautiful hardy plant is Philodendron selloum which is indigenous to southern Brazil and adjacent Paraguay. P selloum was a popular garden plant in the late 20th century especially for tropical style gardens and landscapes. It is less popular now because it was found to grow into a garden 'monster' with a massive root system . 'Xanadu' grows to about 1 metre in height and the same across. The decorative leaves have a nice gloss to them. It will grow in full sun or deep shade and retains a compact shape, making it one of those perfect low maintenance landscaping plants. It will even tolerate a light to moderate frost.

Lemon Grass, Cymbopogon citratus

Cymbopogon citratus
 Lemon Grass

Lemon Grass is now a familiar plant across Australia ,with the distinctive lemon fragrance of the leaf stems being an essential ingredient in Asian cooking. It forms a well sized clump to about a metre in height and is decorative enough to be included in an ornamental garden. Planting it in groups of say 5 plants together, makes a dramatic impact in any landscape.
The clumps make a nice rustling sound in the breeze and release their lemon fragrance on a hot summer day. In cooler climates it needs to be planted in a sunny warm position with well drained soil. Over winter, some leaves may turn brown and it will look straggly but with the return of warm weather it comes back to life. It forms a lush green clump if given plenty of summer water.Lemon Grass is most associated with Thailand where it is called ta krai and in Vietnam where it is known as xa.... a short and sweet name. Some other species of Cymbopogon worth mentioning are the following. Malabar lemongrass C. flexuosus is used to produce the essential oil known as East Indian lemongrass oil. C martini called palma-rosa grass is used to produce a sweet scented geranium type oil. C. nardus is used to produce citronella oil in Sri Lanka and C winterianus is used to produce citronella oil in Java, Indonesia. 'Citronella' is the Italian word for lemongrass. "Sontol" in Spanish.
2017 update: I have plants of Palma-Rosa grass available.

Euphorbia xylophylloides

Euphorbia xylophylloides

This is another shrub which has no leaves but only a framework of flattened stems. Flowers produced are insignificant . This Euphorbia grows to be quite a large shrub or even small tree in its native habitat on the Island of Madagascar.It will not tolerate frost and likes a hot dry spot in the garden.It is an attractive specimen to grow in a decorative pot.
2017 update: I am currently out of stock.

Homalocladium platycladium

Homalocladium platycladium,Tapeworm Plant

This is another strange shrub like the previously mentioned Ruscus which has stems rather than leaves. The jointed flat stems of this plant form tiny leaves for a very short time which drop off after a week or so. The flowers are insignificant tiny greenish yellow ones as pictured above.It is native to the Solomon Islands but is adaptable to a range of climates and has some frost tolerance. In warm climates it forms a large untidy shrub to about 2 metres and will grow in sun or deep shade.
2017 update: i am currently out of stock.

Ruscus aculeatus, Butcher's Broom

Ruscus aculeatus

This strange shrub is native from Europe to Iran and is found in forests and rock crevices especially in limestone soils.In France it is known as Fragon and in Spain Brusco Rusco or Butcher's Broom. It is a grown as a garden shrub throughout the world and is hardy across a range of climates from warm temperate to cold. It does not have true leaves but flattened stems called cladodes which resemble leaves .In the middle of the 'leaf' is a small spine and this is where small greenish flowers occur as well as bright red berries in female plants. It is a very hardy garden shrub, usually growing to a metre and is good for difficult sites in shade.
2017 update: I am currently not growing it.

Wallflower, Cheiranthus cheri

Cheiranthus cheiri     
Russet coloured Wallflower

The sweetly scented Wallflower starts to flower in mid-winter and continues right through spring. The most common form is the russet shaded variety above, though there are pure yellow, gold and blood red forms as well. It has a long history of garden cultivation and here is usually treated as an annual but with some care it can be grown for a couple of years particularly in temperate climates. It is native to southern Europe and can be found clinging to limestone cliffs in places such as on the Balearic Island of Minorca. In Spain it is known as Almeri Amarillo and in Portugal , Goiveiro Amerlo.