Milliways Mail order shop: Advice, tips and tricks.
HOME
This page is being produced to show you how to use large leaved or monster plants to great effect in any garden. We have many more free articles and plans, ideas for you to share and enjoy. See our Japanese Plants page for more ideas.Monster plants and architectural gems.Japanese rhubarb rheum in flower
Gunnera manicata
Huge plant, mammoth, wrinkly, dark green leaves to 9 feet (3 meters) across on stout prickly stems grow from a pink, fuzzy, watermelon-sized crown. Creates a bold, tropical look for sheltered, damp spots. Large cone-shaped flowers, 5 inches (13 cm) across at the base and 2-3 feet (1 m) tall, change from green through red, and brown. Needs a covering of bracken. Magnificent in summer. Ideal for lakes, large ponds, damp ditches, etc. A very conspicuous plant for the pond-side or boggy spot.
in stock click here
Melianthus major (L)
Family: Melianthaceae
Common Names: Giant honey flowerMelianthus major (L)
Family: Melianthaceae
Common Names: Giant honey flower
With its large gray leaves and huge bronze flowers this is a striking shrub. On a sunny day the bird and butterfly feast on the nectar dripping from the flowers.
Melianthus major Actively grows during the spring summer, Melianthus major forms a large shrub suckering and spreading as it goes. The distinctive large, smooth leaves are a light bluish-green, deeply divided and ruffled-edged. The bush has several thick stalks with the leaves placed at intervals up the stem. The long flower-spikes grow out from the top of the stems in spring. The nectar-rich, bird pollinated flowers rise up above the leaves, drawing attention with their unusual rusty red colouring. They are followed by pale green, bladder-like pods containing the shiny black seeds.
Melianthus major is an easy garden plant, grown worldwide for its attractive foliage. It prefers a warm, sunny position with good drainage. Although quite tough and adaptable, it will flourish in deep, rich soil, especially if given plenty of water. Melianthus grows fast and will make a show within a few months. It is particularly attractive in spring when in flower and sporting its new lush leaf growth after the wet Cape winter.
During the dry summers or whenever the plants are untidy, they should be cut back hard to encourage new growth. The plants can survive in cold areas with frost, sending new shoots from the base in spring.
in stock click here
Gardening with grasses, how to use, benefits
Also Gardening with Ferns.
UNDER CONSTRUCTION BETA SITE LIVE IN MARCH
