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LIME LOVING

Postage : Seeds only $4 / Plants $20

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  • Acanthus
    • mollis ‘Hollard's Gold’   CAG01102

      (Golden bear's breeches)
      Height1mWidth1.5mFlowering SeasonSpringWaterL - MLightSun - L. Sh.
      Acanthus mollis ‘Hollard's Gold’
      $12.00earn 60 points

      One of the most beautiful chartreuse leaved plants you could ever grow.

      Large, 60cm plus, sharply scalloped, red stemmed leaves form spectacular rosettes over Winter, from the centre of which emerge each Spring, sturdy, 1m tall stalks topped with large hooded pink and white flowers, enclosed in sharp leafy bracts.

      Both the leaves and flowers are excellent for cutting and the flowers remain interesting even when dried.

      Will happily go dormant over Summer if grown dry, my prefered option as it can then be grown in full sun for best colour and the curled golden leaves erupting from the bare earth each Autumn are a breath taking sight.

  • Agave
    • potatorum   CAG02362
      Height50cmWidth45cmFlowering SeasonSu - AuWaterLLightSun
      Agave potatorum
      $12.00earn 60 points

      A mid sized species forming a sphere of stiff, very blue, glaucous leaves, short and broad with prominent, red-black, sharks teeth around the margin and a wavy terminal spine.

      Its globular form is a stunning counterpoint to modern architecture and coupled with an ironclad constitution and impressive armament it is an ideal candidate for municipal and commercial gardens, rooftops or in a pot on the deck. Otherwise plant a few in a sea of gravel with Freesia in your choice of colours for a cheap and stunning, irrigation free, permanent lawn substitute.
      Doesn't run, pups are borne clustered around the base and if left attached form attractive clumps. I would expect it to be cold hardy in 99% of Australian gardens.

      Flowers are limey green and in clusters on a giant asparagus like stalk, more graceful than some of the larger species but less grand.

  • Dracunculus
    • canariensis   CAG02357

      (Canary Island Dragon Arum)
      Height80cmWidth30cmFlowering SeasonSpringWaterLLightLight Shade
      Dracunculus canariensis
      $12.00earn 60 points

      A more subtle Dragon Arum from the Canary Islands with a tapering white spathe that ensorcells a stiff creamy spadix atop a fleshy stalk of palmate foliage. Elegant, lush and not stinky, it forms loose colonies in shaded sites, perhaps at its best emerging from a sea of suitable woodland groundcover, Pelargonium tomentosum, Cyclamen hederifolium, Parochetus africanus, Cosmos diversifolius or Viola banksii are some suggestions. Or have it peeking out between bold shrubs, like Echium candicans and Aeonium, which can offer it protection.

      Easily grown in any soil, summer deciduous and then no water is necessary.

      As with many drought loving geophytes these are decidedly unsuited to life in a pot, plants sold are two years old and need to get in the ground ASAP.

  • Origanum
    • dictamnus   CAG01473

      (Dittany of Crete)
      Height30cmWidth60cmFlowering SeasonSummerWaterLLightSun
      Origanum dictamnus
      $12.00earn 60 points

      Highly pettable, rounded, stem hugging, grey leaves are covered in soft cobwebby fur, more like a friendly garden pet than a plant. All summer long, stiff stems of gracefully pendant, tawny pink bracts disclose small, tubular, soft pink flowers above the low mounds of foliage.

      If I was going to be stranded on a desert island this would be the oregano I would take, it would also probably be the most likely to succeed.

      Summer drought, exposure and well drained alkaline soil preferred but will grow happily, if somewhat more slowly, in clay soils that aren't too wet.

      Slow growing and hence almost maintenance free with removal of spent stems all that is necessary.

      Can be used in the kitchen but the flavour is very similar to other much faster growing and less attractive oreganos. It otherwise has been used historically for healing, enhancing astral projection and as an aphrodisiac.

      The Dittany of both Aristotle and Harry Potter.

  • Acanthus
    • mollis   CAG00063

      (Oyster plant, Bear's breeches)
      Height1mWidth2mFlowering SeasonSpringWaterLLightSun - Shade
      Acanthus mollis
      CURRENTLY UNAVAILABLE

      Rosettes of huge, glossy, dark green, sharply serrated leaves thrust from the soil with the onset of autumn rain. In spring sceptres of mauve and white shell like flowers stand sentry over the brooding mounds of foliage.
      Found throughout the Meditteranean it's at its best with no summer water but plenty of winter moisture and is tolerant of any soil that isn't waterlogged.

      Extremely architectural if given the space or as contrast to other boldly leaved plants such as Melianthus major.

      Representations of the leaves are commonly found in ancient roman architecture and are often still encountered in classical designs of today.

  • Agave
    • vivipara var. marginata   CAG02018
      Height1.2mWidth1.2mFlowering SeasonSpringWaterLLightSun
      Agave vivipara var. marginata
      CURRENTLY UNAVAILABLE

      A quick growing variety, small enough for a large pot but large enough to make a statement, with a stiff almost harsh demeanour, useful for stark architectural style or high contrast with softer forms, especially so in groups.

      Sparse, slightly taller than spherical rosettes of very rigid, long, tapering, glaucous green leaves, generously edged with cream variegation, short, dark, marginal teeth and terminating in a short black spine.

      Spreads moderately by underground stolons and such colonies are particularly attractive but need appropriate space.

      Individual rosettes produce after many (10+) years a spectacular tree like inflorescence, the remains of which are often used in floral art, bearing thousands of erect, yellow green, tubular flowers, in tight clusters, which are much loved by nectar feeding birds and insects, and then rapidly decline and die to be succeeded by younger offsets or bulbils.

  • Anemone
    • x hybrida ‘Honorine Jobert’   CAG01436
      Height1.2mWidth1mFlowering SeasonAutumnWaterMLightLight Shade
      CURRENTLY UNAVAILABLE

      A spreading perennial, evergreen in warm areas, grown for its late summer or autumn display of tall, forked, slender stems bearing pure white, saucer shaped flowers which hang serenely over billowing mounds of large, velvety, rich green leaves composed of 3 lobed leaflets.

      Perhaps at its best, and most rampant, in humid environs with rich, well drained, alkaline soil but even in less than ideal conditions, with leavers crisped from dry heat, it still flowers spectacularly and at a time all the more valued.

      Tall, single and full of grace.

  • Centaurea
    • cineraria   CAG00715

      (Dusty miller)
      Height1.2mWidth1mFlowering SeasonSp - SuWaterLLightFull Sun
      Centaurea cineraria
      CURRENTLY UNAVAILABLE

      A too rarely encountered perennial from coastal Italian cliffs, often confused with the yellow flowered Jacobaea maritima or other species, and still one of the best plants I have ever had the privilege to grow and one whose more common use can only benefit our gardens.

      Tufts of softly pinnate leaves cut from white suede form a shrubby mound, bearing fine, branching, white stems of lilac coloured, thistle like flowers. A florists dream. Used to great effect in mass planting or as common foil for formal or informal gardens, beside driveways or in moon gardens as reflective lighting, or just as an exceptional component amongst other well defined mediterranean type plants.

      If its leggy, flops in the heat or is short lived then conditions are too soft, it has no adaptations to shade. At its best in exposed sites with freely draining, lean, alkaline soil, gardeners on the coastal plain should have no difficulty. Summer irrigation is mostly detrimental. A good test, quick and easy to grow but the standard and longevity of this plant will directly reflect your understanding of gardening for a mediterannean climate.

      A good annual or biannual cut back, when and where strong new shoots are seen, will keep it looking tip top for many years. Don't cut it down to bare stems, without leaves it may starve to death before it can regenerate.

  • Consolida
  • Lilium
    • candidum   CAG02228

      (Madonna lily)
      Height1mWidth25cmFlowering SeasonSpringWaterLLightSun - L. Sh.
      Lilium candidum
      CURRENTLY UNAVAILABLE

      Very much unlike most other other Lilium, L. candidum requires shallow planting, prefers limy soil and grows primarily during winter, forming a basal rosette of glossy, slightly wavy, bluntly lance shaped leaves. With longer days the stem lengthens and by late spring terminates in an elegant bunch of outward facing, 10cm, virgin white, classically shaped Lilium flowers, for which it has been cultivated for millennia.

      The entire plant sensibly retreats to a scaly underground bulb with the onset of summer heat, usually not before shedding it's flat papery seeds which will germinate in unlikely but apparently suitable locations the following winter.

      From Greece, Eastwards into Asia it is ideally suited to our Mediterranean climate, not suffering malaise and early demise as in the East, requiring little if any summer irrigation and is one of the few Lilies that will thrive in the alkaline soil close to the coast.

      For a sunny but sheltered position, possibly amongst low shrubs or other plants, with good drainage, though tolerant of clay if not kept moist in summer.

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