Stone House Cottage

[MartinNicklin]

This place I stumbled across whist watching an online presentation about Indigofera Reginald Cory by our esteemed local plantsman John Massey of Ashwoods. He mentioned this other fairly local garden kept by a very knowledgeable plantswoman. I had a look at her site and she was offering some real gems in her attached nursery.

So, we went there today and what a treat. It’s not massive at about 3/4 acre but my goodness is it packed with rare plants. The whole garden is walled and so enjoys a very favourable microclimate and her wall shrubs and climbers are particularly lovely. If anyone looks at the plant list, this is only an indication of what she has. I wanted to try the Mitraria coccinea ‘Lago Puyehue’ which she successfully grows outdoors up a wall. I thought it worth a punt under my virtually frost free “courtyard” area. There wasn’t one in the sales area so I mentioned it to her and she promptly disappeared and fetched me a big plant for £12! I didn’t take many photos because I’ve literally got thousands to sort out on my phone and it’s reached a point where I’m losing the will.

The wisterias were divine and the scent heavenly:









It was so sunny and hot today that the photos are a bit bleached but I have never seen a salvia grown as a climber up a wall before:



This giant fennel was so blue but it hasn’t come out particularly so on my photo. I did ask if she had one for sale but she said the last one had gone “10 minutes ago.”



I’ve grown them but never really appreciated Calycanthus but I have to say hers were stunning:





She has lovely collections of shade loving plants like Disporum, Polygonatum, Trillium and Podophyllum. This Disporum Night Heron was a beauty as was this Podophyllum I’d never seen before:





There were of course plants I’d never heard of. Here’s one for you to ID Chad:




A few general shots around the place:












If anyone is in the area I can certainly recommend a visit, especially if it could be combined with a visit to John Massey’s private garden and Ashwoods nursery. I certainly intend to go back.

[Chad]

Thanks for the pictures Martin, it is a garden I've not been to, even though her 'list' keeps cropping up as the only supplier for things. At 250 miles and 4 hour drive away it would be a long day trip.

That Podophyllum gives variegation a bad name. It really does look as if it has been weedkiller sprayed.

The variegated Lamiaceae that you ask for an ID on is a problem.  The cultivar is, I think, 'October Moon'.  The species is probably a variation on stellipilum, with the ending adjusted to match the genus which could be Leucosceptrum stellipilum.  Or, Comanthosphace stellipila.

I think Comanthosphace stellipila 'October Moon' is probably right.  At the moment.  Neither is on Stone Cottage's list though. And in the RHS on line PlantFinder I can't find either.

Chad

[MartinNicklin]

You are indeed correct Chad. You are a truly knowledgeable plantsman.
It’s strange isn’t it the things which appeal to some and not to others! I thought the Podophyllum was amazing! No doubt Paul will be cursing my very name!
Ignore the plant list! I think it is well out of date! She literally has hundreds of things including ‘stuff round the back’ in an area signed “Private” where she disappeared to to get my Mitraria.

Turn away now Chad:

[Chad]

But I like that one Martin.

Another nomenclature headache though.

In cultivation as Podophyllum chengii 'Hunan', I think it has settled into being a form of Podophyllum pleianthum.

What is the name of the distorted, variegated one?

Chad

[MartinNicklin]

Sorry Chad there was no label with that one. It was the Hunan I originally meant to post but doing it from the tiny thumbnail images on my phone I chose the wrong one. I like both but yes, chengii Hunan I would love to own.

Whilst I’m at it Chad, she had loads of these throughout the garden, some with very large corrugated leaves and I liked the foliage very much. No idea if they produce a worthwhile flower. I’ve not grown these before and her labels were often very hard to read or, because there were so many rare plants cheek by jowl, it was sometimes hard to tell which label was for which plant. The semi legible label might help???



I can’t see anything on her plant list that this could be. I thought they were Veratrum when I saw them but every label began with Gal…

[Chad]

I agree that looks like a Veratrum, underplanted with Galanthus 'Silverwells'.

Chad

[MartinNicklin]

Ah good. I’m not going mad then. You have good eyes to read those labels. It was an astonishing collection of plants. My only criticism would be a lack of labels or labels where the name had rubbed off or were illegible and in places so many plants were crammed together that the labels became confusing.

[charlie]

Liz and I are great fans of Louisa and her garden , I only have a few photos as we are normally either on our way to or from plant sales but we see Louisa at some of these plant sales! It was Roy Lancaster that told me we had to go! it certainly inspired me to be more adventurous with planting on walls - although in our case we had to first build the walls!

This is from a few years back https://www.pushingtheborders.com/phpBB ... 5301#p5928

[MartinNicklin]

Yes Charlie, this garden really spoke to me and my wife Alix. I said to her as we were walking around “This would be my ideal garden. It’s just the right size, not too big, not too small, beautifully located with great views and crammed with choice plants.” We are definitely going back in the summer. I can’t believe it has always gone under my radar.
I’ve developed a bit of a soft spot for Indigofera and apparently she’s the expert. I almost came away with Claret Cascade but I’d bought last week Reginal Cory and, as space is limited in my garden, I couldn’t tell whether it was distinct enough from this to merit buying it. As usual, I came away regretting not buying it. There aren’t many places you can get hold of Claret Cascade. Having said that, I’ve had a real job getting hold of pendula. I’ve now got one from your neck of the woods: Cross Common.
I did come away with the Mitraria, Alstroemeria Cally Star and Fuchsia Lady Boothby but could have added so much more.