Linsey Evans' Top Plant Recommendations

Favorite Shrubs for South East England 

• Fatsia japonica
  I know it’s a very common plant, but I absolutely love it.  Its shade tolerant, but will also grow in the sun and is really easy to grow.  It has beautiful, large, dark green glossy leaves, amd  adds great texture and drama to the garden.
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• Viburnum plicatum var. 'Mariesii'
  This shrub has a wonderful layered habit.  It also has loads of pretty, white lace-cap flowers in late Spring/early Summer.  It will take shade and makes a great specimen shrub in a mixed border.
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• Cotinus coggygria 'Royal Purple'
  Gorgeous dark purple foliage makes a great foil for silver and gold leaved plants and it's fluffy flower heads add interest and texture later on in the summer.
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• Osmanthus heterophyllus 'Goshiki Tricolor'
  A lovely evergreen with scented winter flowers and interesting green and gold variegated, holly like leaves.  You can prune it to keep its size down and it has a nice rounded shape. Its great for adding mounded shapes to a border and can also be grown as a hedge. Great colour, texture and winter interest.
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• Hebe pinguifolia 'Sutherlandii'
  A low, mound forming, silver leaved Hebe which holds its shape with no pruning. I use it to punctuate herbaceous schemes when I don't want to use something more formal like clipped Box balls. Looks good with purple leaved plants like Heuchera.
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• Physocarpus opulifolius 'Diablo'
  An upright, deciduous shrub with some of the deepest purple leaves of any plant in the garden.  Although it has clusters of pinkish flowers I grow it for it's foliage.  It will tolerate some shade, and is a fantastic foil to gold foliage plants.  It's stems are also attactive in winter for their peeling bark that gives it it's common name of Ninebark.
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