This delightful mound of feathery green foliage and cheerful golden yellow flowers will decorate your greenhouse or conservatory and has without doubt one of the most misleading names in geo-horticulture. Palm Springs is in Southern California and not so named until the middle of the 19th century. The infamous eponymous resort was not founded until […]

Lotus tetragonolobus is delightful, easy and looks unusual, making a good ‘talking point’ to engage children’s attention. The foliage is attractive, almost geometrical in a curious way and has the rare habit of closing each evening (presumably to avoid cold night skies or browsing by night time critters such as molluscs). The flowers are recognisably […]

You might be thought mad to grow peas in your greenhouse, it’s often too hot and dry. Which is odd as most of our peas originated in Egypt before Biblical times. Indeed many are not hardy and could benefit being under cover during the colder part of the year. Just there’s the usual handicap of […]

A once much loved conservatory and cool greenhouse plant this is long overdue for a comeback. Though the Latin name has always been a hindrance as near comical and an unwelcome challenge in any spelling contest- Antirrhinum. This Snapdragon, A. majus, is surprisingly a native and one of our most gorgeous though seldom seen in […]

Purple Passion is a striking greenhouse soft shrub, the reddish violet colour alone makes it stand out. As you look more closely you notice amazing furriness on every part. As soft and hairy as Lamb’s Quarters (Stachys) in the open garden, similarly gentle under the fingers. Indeed a tactile plant you are driven to touch […]

This’s more a curious, architectural greenhouse foliage plant than a spectacular floral display. Although these cute flowers last for many weeks they’re not impressive compared to their sister bulbs, the rose red Blood Lilies, Haemanthus coccineus for this is H. albiflos, a white flowered species. Hailing from South Africa these members of the Amaryllis family […]

There are two new greenhouse herbs that are often confused, both relatively unknown a few decades ago now becoming popular. Their confusion is quite understandable as both are from the New World, both in the Apiaceae family, both much used in West Indian, Mexican, Puerto Rican, Costa Rican and South American dishes with almost similar […]

Dress your greenhouse with lush foliage usable for salad or spinach, for little effort, and get a small tuber crop for free. Sound too good to be true? Yet Oca, Oxalis tuberosa, is very popular all over its native South America and Mexico. True it really does like more sunshine than available in the UK, […]

You can grow a most beautiful plant in your greenhouse or conservatory that’s so valuable just a tiny dried piece was said to be worth more than its weight in Gold. This, The Saffron Crocus, has from Ancient times been revered as flavouring, colouring and medicine. (With astronomic rises in Gold prices this no longer […]

An intriguing greenhouse plant I’d long vaguely known of just never got round to growing is this curiously named Mexican Cigar flower, Cuphea ignea. Obviously it could not really grow cigars, and seeing it was neither scented nor edible this ranked low on my list to try. Well what a pleasant surprise, not difficult to […]

Strawberries have long been greenhouse crops, always welcome, valuable fruits for the home or commercially.  But few ever go “Oooh that’s pretty” rather than “they look fantastic, can I have one?” Truly a tub of verdant strawberry foliage with fat red fruits cascading all round can be a beautiful, though not very long lived, display, […]