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Category: Shrubs

  • Hurrah for Hydrangeas

    Ideal in both sun and shade, hydrangeas are beautiful and versatile garden additions. This summer, Coolings will be celebrating these wonderful plants in all their forms at our Hydrangea Festival commencing on the 3rd of June 2019 and will run for several weeks to give all our customers an opportunity to see our huge selection of hydrangeas on show in the plant area.

    Lacecap and mophead hydrangeas are perfect for pots or planted in the garden. Remember acid soil (ericaceous) for blue and alkaline or neutral soil for pink. If your soil type limits your colour choice you can always use a colourant like Vitax Hydrangea Colourant 500g, £5.25 which will turn naturally pale pink varieties to blue and the darker pink varieties to mauve/blue. Our Royalty Collection is always very popular.

    Vitax Hydrangea Colourant 500g, £5.25

    Paniculata and arborescens hydrangeas make stunning garden additions. Flowering on this season’s growth they can be hard pruned in early spring. Cone shaped flowers for paniculatas and ball shaped flowers for arborescens varieties.

    Hydrangeas aspera ‘Villosa Group’ and quercifolia hydrangeas are grown for their attractive foliage and flower. They make an elegant statement towards the back of a shady border, particularly when planted with other hydrangeas.

    Climbing hydrangeas such as Hydrangea ‘Silver Lining’ are the ideal solution for covering a shady wall or fence.

    New for 2019! Stem flowering hydrangeas
    The Chelsea Flower Show plant of the year 2018, Hydrangea ‘Runaway Bride’, is an absolute must have.
    This NEW variety will flower all the way along the branches with dainty white blooms. Perfect for pots or in the garden, it also has beautiful golden autumn foliage. Easy to grow and a breeze to
    maintain. Pretty as a picture, this superb pedigree hydrangea will be your match made in heaven and is sure to be a huge hit at Coolings.

    Vitax Hydrangea feed 1kg, £5.99 Give your hydrangeas a boost with some feed to improve their health, quality and vitality.

    Be sure to visit our Hydrangea Fest June 3rd – 15th July 2019.

  • Spoooookyrumpus Plants!

    In a tangle…

    Harry Lauder’s walking stick (Corylus avellana ‘Contorta’) plays the leading role. Its dormant bony form on full display will add a goulish touch. Greenish yellow catkins will soon dangle from the tree’s twisted branches, followed by a covering of bright green leaves in spring and summer. The supporting cast member would have to be our Heuchera ‘Marmalade’ for its large, amber-bronze ruffled foliage.

    Kaleidoscopic color…

    It’s hard to pick a best moment for Berberis thunbergii ‘Orange Rocket’, whose spring foliage starts out coral, ages to green, and then turns red. But the two-toned nature of its autumn habit is something spectacular.

    To create the look indoors try Croton Codiaeum for its nearly limitless leaf forms and beautiful explosion of colour.  Or Calathea crocata ‘Tassmania’.

    It’s in the veins…

    Fill your house with Fittonia ‘Skeleton’. Its blood red veined leaves will complement your Halloween decorations nicely.

    Thriller…

    Redtwig dogwoods (such as Cornus alba ‘Sibirica Variegata’) may be dormant, but bare of their green leaves, the branches almost glow. The bright striking stems of the Cornus would look great surrounded by the spiderlike leaves of black Mondo Grass (Ophiopogon planiscapus ‘Nigrescens’) as it appears to crawl over the edge of a container or pot. Ophiopogan ‘Nigrescens’ also looks fantastic with other grasses (such as Carex comans ‘Bronze’), especially if grouped in tubs or planted into gravel, and it provides a brilliant contrast with silvery plants in sun, or bright green ferns in shade. It’s not just for Halloween either – clusters of pale purplish white flowers appear in Summer followed by dark blue-black fruit – a plant for year-round interest.

    Daggers through the heart…

    Sansevieria (Mother in Law’s Tongue) is not only easy to grow but it’s tough and near indestructable.  Despite its tough nature it’s still stylish, simple and loved by interior designers.  Strong, dagger-like leaves create the perfect look for Halloween!

    Go on, trick or treat yourself……Mwah-ha-ha-ha-ha!

     

  • Top Evergreens for Autumn Colour

    Autumn is far from being a time when things wind down, in fact it can be the most colourful season and one when Shrubs and Conifers excel…if you choose the right ones!  The autumn shrub palette delivers reliable colour and really conjures the mellow, warm and glowing colours of the season. Take your pick from these easy to care for evergreens…

    Leucothoe ‘Scarletta’ and ‘Rainbow’
    Both of these varieties boast colour and interest all year round and are ideal for pots in winter or as groundcover when planted en-mass. The long, glossy leaves of ‘Scarletta’ emerge dark maroon, turning greener as they mature and then take on lovely bronze and wine tints in the autumn. ‘Rainbow’ turns to a bronze-red, mottled with cream and pink in autumn with marbled purple red tints in winter. Springtime brings small cream flowers, creating yet another dimension to this wonderful evergreen.

    Leucothoe ‘Curly Red’
    This splendid recent introduction is an ideal choice for a patio pot and will live happily in a shady spot. The attractive curly evergreen leaves turn purple red as it gets cooler. Needs planting in acid ericaceous compost.

    Pieris ‘Little Heath’
    Pieris are much admired for their whorled evergreen foliage, often edged with cream, with the tips of the foliage turning pink through the year. Bell-shaped, creamy flowers appear during spring to complete the deal. The compact habit of Pieris japonica ‘Little Heath’ makes it the ideal shrub for growing in patio pots. This dwarf variety grows to just 60cm in height and is easy to maintain, requiring minimal pruning. A lovely addition to borders and eye-catching patio containers.

    Skimmia ‘Magic Marlot’
    This handsome evergreen has lots of tricks up its sleeve. As well as its beautiful evergreen leaves with a glittering golden edge, it produces its flower buds in autumn when they sit amongst the leaves as white clusters. Through the winter months they mature to deep pink and open to thick white spikes of starry flowers in spring, wafting their scent around the garden.

    Pittosporum ‘Tom Thumb’
    This tough, little evergreen will offer something a little different to your garden with its bronze-purple flushed leaves. It also makes an unusual low maintenance hedge. Each spring it produces lime green new shoots, which darken over the season, and the following year are deep purple. Looks great planted with the red stems of Cornus.

    Pinus ‘Wintergold’
    Dwarf pines are now very popular with modern garden designers. ‘Wintergold’ is a stunning variety which turns from green to gold as the temperatures fall.

    Podocarpus ‘Red Embers’
    The light green summer foliage of Podocarpus ‘Red Embers’ becomes striking in winter with brick-red tips. An open habit with an irregular shape.

    Chamaecyparis thyoides ‘Rubicon’
    An easy evergreen with compact habit, changing from green to rich purple through the autumn.