Langthorns Plantery

03/10/2026

Plant of the weekend is Aster novae-angliae Autumn Snow. Which with its bright golden- yellow centre and pure white petals looks absolutely stunning on a sunny day in autumn. They get to about 1.2m in height and make a smart clump especially if planted in a sunny position.
Plus they’re high attractive to bees, butterflies, and other pollinators late in the season.

02/10/2026

Flower Friday at Langthorns Plantery 🌻

26/09/2026

To round off national conifer week we’ve chosen Pinus Sylvestris Watereri as plant of the weekend.

This is a dwarf form of Scot’s pine and these have been grafted onto 50cm stems making them great for pots or a show stopping centre piece planted out in the garden.
A mature plant can reach about 2m but responds well to being clipped back into shape. It will produce brown fir cones which look fabulous amongst the blue- green needles, or used as Christmas decorations. Again once established it’s drought tolerant but needs looking after for the first 2-3 years especially if it’s very hot!

25/09/2026

To celebrate conifers this week we’ve changed Flower Fridays to Conifer Friday 🌲

24/09/2026

22/09/2026

21/09/2026

In honour of national conifer week we have chosen Picea orientalis ‘Golden Start’ as our plant of the week.
In spring the new needles covering the whole tree emerge a bright golden- yellow colour which over summer will fade to deep green. A mature specimen (after about 10 years) can reach about 5ft hight and 3ft wide, so is suitable for almost any size garden. Whilst newly planted it will need regular watering for 2-3 years but once’s its root system is fully established it’s a very hardy variety which thrives in full sun without its golden tips getting scorched. A really brilliant specimen tree!

19/09/2026

Plant of the weekend is Sedum ‘Autumn Joy’ or Hylotelephuim ‘Herbstfeude’. They have sailed through our scorching hot summer and look fantastic now they’re covered in pink star shaped flowers. The flowers are also very attractive to bees and other pollinators.
It thrives in a full sun and well drained position in the garden and definitely dislikes wet or boggy conditions, but once it gets established it’s highly drought-tolerant.

18/09/2026

Flower Friday at Langthorns Plantery 🌻

15/09/2026

Plant of the week is the lovely houseplant Haemanthus albiflos also known as the paintbrush plant. So called because the flower heads resemble a paintbrush with their long stamens tipped with bright yellow or orange anthers.
The tongue-shaped dark green leaves which grow in opposite pairs are evergreen so give all year round interest. They like a bright, indirect sunny windowsill so their leaves don’t get scorched and should be potted into a gritty well draining compost mix to avoid root-rot.