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Cotinus ‘Grace’ (Smoke Tree)
Cotinus ‘Grace’ is an upright, spreading deciduous shrub that grows to between 10 and 20 feet in height. It was cultivated from Cotinus coggygria, but has much larger leaves. These leaves are very attractive, darkening from wine-red when young to plum-red at maturity, before fading to a rich orangey-red in the autumn.
In late spring and early summer it produces fuzzy clusters of deep pink flowers, which are said to resemble puffs of smoke - hence its common name, the Smoke Tree. Since the heads remain when the flowers die, it provides visual interest in the winter as well. It has a fast growth-rate and prospers in any reasonable garden soil, but loves full sun, growing particularly well in areas with dry summers. If you wish to prune unwanted branches, you should do it in the spring.
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Verbena bonariensis (Purpletop Verbena, or Purpletop Vervain)
Verbena bonariensis is an erect, clump-forming perennial with unusual, widely branched stems that are square in cross-section and grow in an upright pattern. It reaches up to 6 feet in height and has an open, airy spread of 1 to 3 feet. You should pinch the first shoots in spring to encourage branching if you want to make it more shrub-like.
Easily grown from seed or cuttings, it is very keen to self-seed, but its spread is controlled relatively easily. The flowers are purple, about quarter-of-an-inch across, and grow in clusters with the centre flower of each cluster opening first. The plant itself is short-lived, but it displays its flowers from June right through to September.
It tolerates partial shade, but does best in full sun and moist but well-drained soil, so suits a gravel bed. Its airiness means you can see other plants around and through it, and in fact it can seem rather insignificant on its own. It looks its best planted in drifts or columns, woven among other flowers. It’s an excellent choice for herbaceous borders and has the added bonus of being very good at attracting butterflies to your garden.
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Convolvulus cneorum
Convolvulus cneorum is a compact, evergreen and low-growing shrub. As its name suggests, it’s a relative of bindweed. Unlike bindweed, it’s well behaved and grows in a clump, rather than forming tendrils that invade your entire garden. It grows rapidly to between 1 and 2 feet high, and spreads to around 2 feet wide.
It’s a pretty plant with remarkable silky, silvery leaves. Prior to flowering it has small pink buds that contrast well with the leaves. The flowers are white and open and display from early spring right through to the autumn. A nice bonus is that it retains its silvery foliage through the winter. It tolerates partial shade, but grows best in full sun, and prefers light soil with good drainage. It’s particularly suited to hot, dry rockeries and looks great cascading over walls. Easy to care for, it prefers not to be watered in dry periods, but is reasonably hardy. Pruning isn’t really necessary, but a light clip in autumn after the main flowering period can help.
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