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Vinca minor 'Atropurpurea' (Lesser Periwinkle)
Vinca minor ‘Atropupurea’ is a creeping, evergreen perennial that spreads in low mounds to form extensive mats up to around six inches high, with the stems rooting as they go. It has dark green, glossy foliage, but its main attraction is the large number of delicate, deep plum-coloured and star-shaped blooms it produces from spring right through to autumn.
It provides excellent ground cover, and can be used to provide lush beds, dense edging, or to cover banks or the bare ground under trees. Unlike most vines, it neither climbs nor twines around other plants. Extremely low-maintenance and hardy, it thrives in shady places - but will produce more flowers in a sunny spot. It even tolerates an occasional drought, although a good soaking afterwards will always help.
It thrives in a rich soil with good drainage, but be warned that if left unchecked, it will spread in an invasive manner. The upside of this is that it competes with weeds to eliminate them, but if you want to keep it in check, you should cut back the shoots in early spring.
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Choisya ternata 'Sundance' (Mexican Orange Blossom)
Choisya ternata ‘Sundance’ is an evergreen shrub, regarded by some gardening experts as a contender for the title of the ideal garden shrub. It grows to around six feet high and about the same width. Choisya ternata is native to Mexico, but this cultivar was produced in the late 20th century in Britain.
Its foliage when young is a bright golden yellow that really stands out in any garden. The leaves become slightly greener as the plant matures. Both the foliage and the flowers are fragrant. It produces flurries of white flowers of about three-quarters of an inch across in late spring to early summer; usually there’s a bonus second flush of blooms in late summer or early autumn.
Best in a sunny position, it also tolerates partial shade but produces more flowers in direct sun. It’s hardy to about -12 degrees C, below which it might lose its leaves. It likes moist but well-drained soil of any type. Mildly sensitive to frost, it’s best planted against a wall in more northerly areas.
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Camellia japonica 'Ballet Dancer'
Camellia japonica 'Ballet Dancer' is a compact, evergreen shrub that grows to around six feet in height. It’s one of the scores of varieties of Camellia japonica, which between them provide a wide assortment of colours for your garden, ranging from pale cream to bright pink and vivid red.
This particular variety produces medium to large sized (around three to four inches across), elegant cream flowers with double layers of petals that that darken and intensify to coral pink at the edges. It provides lustrous, dark green and glossy foliage all year round and the showy blooms appear from March until May.
It’s reasonably hardy and easy to grow, but cold winds and frost can damage its flower buds, so it should be grown in the shelter of other shrubs, or close to a wall. Generally, the warmer the climate, the less direct sun is needed. It’s an ideal plant for growing in a container. No pruning is necessary, but you should cut back thin or unwanted branches in May. It prefers moist, well-drained, crumbly soil that has been enhanced with organic matter (such as dried cow manure or bone meal) and is slightly acidic
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