If you would like a copy of the 2023 list please send your email address to wmattingley@btinternet.com It will be easier to download a copy via email rather than from the website. We still have plenty of most seed available.
CLUNY HOUSE GARDENS SEEDLIST 2023
Cluny House is a wooded garden that faces north-east, gets very little mid-day sun and tends to keep the moisture in the soil for a longer time than normal. None of our plants are protected during the winter and no herbicides or insecticides are used. Have fun choosing which seeds you want and remember that it is always worth trying something new. H = height, S = spread. Please note that MANY plants are poisonous and we would advise that all plant parts resulting from the seed on this list are treated with caution.
Please feel free to pass this seed list to other interested parties. THANK YOU.
ACONITUM
HEMSLEYANUM A: Herbaceous climber; good for scrambling and twining through shrubs, making more stems each year. Light purple flowers, of typical monkshood shape, are borne in hanging clusters in summer to early autumn. Good foliage all season. Sun/partial shade; well-drained soil. H: 3m S: 50cm
HEMSLEYANUM B: as above but with pink flowers.
ACTAEA
RUBRA: From mid spring to early summer, bears oval racemes of small white flowers, 3 - 5cm long, followed by spikes of shiny red, spherical berries, on slender green stalks. Berries are loved by bullfinches. H: up to 45cm S: 30cm.
RUBRA f. NEGLECTA: The white berried form of the above.
ANEMONOPSIS MACROPHYLLA: A beautiful delicate Japanese woodland perennial with waxy white-centred flowers of a rich lavender blue. Enjoys shade and well-drained soil. H:to 90cm.
AQUILEGIA Graceful, clump-forming perennials, grown for their mainly bell-shaped, spurred flowers in spring/summer. Great for bees! Most prefer well-drained soil in open, sunny site.
MIX: A mix of various Cluny Aquilegia seed.
WHITE: Pure white lovely tall Aquilegia H: 45cm.
ARISAEMA Spring or summer-flowering, rhizomatous or tuberous perennials, cultivated for their attractive, sometimes unusually shaped spathes, the simple, lobed/palmate leaves and slender, sometimes striking spadices. Dense clusters of spherical to oblong red berries in autumn, before plant dies down. They are best grown outdoors in partial shade. Hardy.
AMURENSE: Emerald green spathe, very hardy. H: 30-40cm
ELEPHAS: Dark mahogany coloured stripes on a white spathe emerging from which is an angled spadix that looks like an elephant raising its trunk! H: 30-40cm.
JACQUEMONTII: Pale jade-green spathe, faintly striped white. H: 70cm.
PROPINQUUM: Spathe 10-15cm, dark purple or green, with white or purple stripes.
WARDII: POSSIBLY. Green and white spathe. Identified from leaf and description in The Genus Arisaema G & L Gusman.
ASTER HIMALAICUS: Perennial lilac flowered Aster with a yellow centre. It is found throughout the Himalayas and China growing on open slopes at altitudes of 3600- 4500m.Flowers July -August. H: 8-15cm.
ASTRANTIA MAJOR [Masterwort]
PINK: Long flowering clusters of pink clump forming plants. Suitable for pots or borders.
WHITE: As above but with white flowers, again long flowering.
CAMPANULA:
ALLIARIIFOLIA: [Cornish Bellflower] Nodding bell-shaped white flowers in July & August in full sun or partial shade. Herbaceous clump forming H: 45-60cm. Hardy.
CARDIOCRINUM
GIGANTEUM var. YUNNANENSE: Giant Himalayan lily with yellow-white flowers and reddish-brown stems. H: up to 3.5m
CATHCARTIA VILLOSA (Meconopsis villosa): Clump forming Himalayan perennial woodland poppy with soft yellow flowers and rounded palmately lobbed leaves. H: 50- 60cm
CENTAUREA MONTANA (PERENNIAL CORNFLOWER): Erect, stoloniferous, clump forming perennial with rich blue 5cm wide flowers during late spring. Prefers full sun or light shade. H: 30-60cm.
CLEMATIS MACROPETALA: A deciduous climber with single nodding pale blue to violet blue flowers with four lance shaped petals and many shorter blue or cream petal-like stamens. Spring flowering followed by numerous fluffy seed heads.
DECAISNEA FARGESII: [Blue sausage fruit or Dead Man’s Fingers!]
Deciduous, upright, semi-arching shrub with attractive blue-green leaves. Bears drooping panicles of yellow-green flowers in early summer, followed by striking blue fruits in autumn. Its open, airy habit allows under planting. Sheltered position, full sun to part shade in moist, fertile soil. H: to 4.5m
DIGITALIS
GRANDIFLORA [Yellow Foxglove]: Evergreen perennial. Creamy-yellow, trumpet in part shade. Will grow in gravel or open woodland. Hardy. H: 75cm.
DENTARIA PENTAPHYLLA [CARDAMINE PENTAPHYLLOS]: Clump forming European perennial with lilac-pink flowers. One of the first plants to flower in early spring. Good for queen bumblebees after winter.
ECHIUM VULGARE. [Viper’s Bugloss]: Sun loving biennial with pink then blue flowers. Flowers May to September. Brilliant for insects especially bumblebees H:0.5 to 1m.
ERYNGIUM BOURGATII [Sea Holly]: Great spikey blue flowered plant for the gravel garden and for dried flower arrangements. Long flowering during July and August. H: 0.5m
ERYTHRONIUM
CALIFORNICUM: (White): Clump-forming, flowering tuber produces semi-erect, mottled basal leaves. Slender stalks bear up to three creamy-white flowers with reflexed petals and yellow eyes. Needs moist, well-drained soil. Will slowly multiply if left alone in light woodland, semi shade or deciduous-shade type bed. Packet may also include some E. revolutum. H: 15-35cm.
REVOLUTUM: Bulbous perennial with wavy-margined, deep green leaves (15-20cm), strongly mottled dark brown. In spring, slender upright stems produce pendent, purple-pink flowers (4-7cm). H: 20-30cm. Ideal for shady position.
MIX: Mix of both species above.
EUONYMUS
QUINQUECORNUTUS: Open, deciduous shrub with lanceolate leaves. In autumn has spherical 5-winged pink fruit, to 1.5cm across, split to reveal seeds with bright orange coatings. H: 1 to 2m.
SACHALINENSIS: [Flat-stalked spindle] Lovely deciduous shrub with spectacular autumn colour with its red leaves and red fruit with orange seed H: to 3m
FRITILLARIA MELEAGRIS: Bulbous herbaceous perennial with white or purple nodding bell-shaped flowers in Spring. Will naturalise in grass in sun or partial shade. Prefers damp soil H: 80cm
FUCHSIA MAGELLANICA: The Hardy Fuchsia, also called the hummingbird fuchsia, is a lovely shrub with dainty pink and purple pendant-shaped flowers on long, elegant stems attracting bees in the summer. Grow in a sheltered spot in partial shade. H:3m
GENTIANA
LUTEA: Erect, unbranched perennial. In summer has whorls of yellow flowers in axils of greenish bracts. H: 1 - 1.2m. S: 60cm
GEUM RIVALE: [Water Avens] A herbaceous perennial native wildflower with peach drooping flowers for stream and pond edges during spring and early summer. Good for smaller species of bees.H:30cm
GLAUCIDIUM PALMATUM: Spring-flowering perennial with large, lobed leaves, bears large, delicate lilac, cup-shaped flowers. Excellent in woodland garden or sheltered, semi shade with humus-rich soil. H & S: 50cm.
HYPERICUM ANDROSAEMUM [Tutsan]: Bushy deciduous shrub with aromatic leaves and bright yellow cupped flowers followed by long-lasting berry-like fruits which mature from red to black. H:75cm
IRIS CHRYSOGRAPHES ‘BLACK KNIGHT’: A clump forming rhizomatous elegant and eye catching dark purple iris. Likes damp but well drained soil and full sun or partial shade. H:0.5m
LIGULARIA DENTATA ‘DESDEMONA’: Vivid orange flowered clump forming perennial suitable for partial shade and damp areas from China. Good companion plant with Rodgersia. Flowers July-August. H:1m
LILIUM
MARTAGON: A purplish red or white Turk’s cap lily, 1m tall. Good for naturalising.
MARTAGON ALBUM: As above but with white flowers. (Both lovely together.)
PYRENIACUM: Yellow Turk’s cap lily up to 1.2m tall.
PYRENIACUM ORANGE: As above but with bigger orange Turk’s cap flowers.
SZOVITSIANUM: Scented, nodding, sulphur yellow large Turk’s cap. H: to 1.2m
MAGNOLIA WILSONII: Superb deciduous tree or shrub. Fragrant, nodding, cup-shaped, white flowers (10cm) with crimson stamens in late spring/early summer. Hardy.
MECONOPSIS.
ACULEATA: Monocarpic poppy similar to M. horridula but has dissected leaves. Flower from pinkish to purply blue. H:50 to 60cm.
BAILEYI [Himalayan blue poppy]: Deciduous perennial. In early summer, saucer-shaped, sky blue to rose-lavender flowers, 8 – 10cm across, with yellow stamens, are borne singly on bristly stalks, sometimes clustered towards the tops of the stems. H: up to 1.2m. S: 45cm.
BAILEYI ALBA: White form of the above.
BAILEYI PURPLE: Purple form of the above.
BAILEYI x GRANDIS: Various big blue fertile poppies. Please specify choice clearly.
A: Good pinky blue flower.
B: With spiky leaves.
C: 6 headed flower.
D: Baileyi hybrid mix.
CAMBRICA: Classic yellow Welsh Poppy growing in sun or shade from May to September. Good for naturalising.
COMPLEXA: Monocarpic poppy with long lasting flowers on a 2 to 3m stem. Flowers later in the season. Mix of yellow, pink and red.
GRANDIS: Erect, herbaceous perennial has rosette of toothed, hairy, mid-green leaves at base of stout stem and bears slightly nodding, cup-shaped, deep blue flowers in early summer. H: 1 – 1.5m. S: 30cm.
HORRIDULA: The prickly poppy! Monocarpic poppy with tissue paper cobalt blue flowers with prickly stems. Suitable for the rock garden. H: 20 to 30cm.
INTEGRIFOLIA: Beautiful sulphur yellow saucer shaped flowers usually 2 to 3 on a stalk up to 40-50cm.
STAINTONII: Monocarpic poppy in various colours on a 2 to 3m stem. Flowers later in the season. The long-lasting flower may be pink, white or red.
ZHONGDIANENSIS: A spiny, monocarpic species producing hairy lanceolate leaves and upright stems and blue flowers. From Yunnan and China. H: 30cm.
NOTHOLIRION BULBULIFERUM: Bulbous perennial. A member of the lily family which in summer, bears 10 – 30 funnel-shaped, pale lilac flowers, to 4cm long, with green tips. H: to 1.5m. S: 15cm.
ORCHIS SP: A selection of common self-seeding native purple orchids found at Cluny.
PAEONIA
DELAVAYI: Upright, sparsely branched, deciduous shrub (tree peony) with dark green leaves, blue-green beneath; bears horizontal to nodding, single, cup-shaped, rich dark maroon flowers, 10cm across. H: 2m. S: 1.2m
VEITCHII: Herbaceous perennial 45cm tall with pink to pale magenta flowers.
VEITCHII VAR WOODWARDII: as above with single deep-rose pink flowers in spring.
PELTOBOYKINIA WATANABEI: Hardy, interesting Japanese woodland perennial with deeply cut green leaves tinted red when emerging. Flowers creamy yellow in summer. H: 60-70cm. Semi-shade and moist soil.
PODOPHYLLUM HEXANDRUM syn. EMODII [Himalayan May Apple]: Perennial with pairs of lobed, brown-mottled leaves bears white or pink flowers in spring, followed by fleshy, red fruits in summer. Prefers semi-shade and moist, humus-rich soil. H: 30– 45 cm. S: 30 cm.
POLEMONIUM
CAERULEUM SUBSP. CAERULEUM f. ‘ALBUM’: Perennial white Jacob’s Ladder clump forming to 60cm. Grows happily in most soils in sun or partial shade.
PAUCIFLORUM var HINCKLEYI: Short lived perennial with delicate pale-yellow trumpets in early summer and musky scented leaves. Suitable for a pot or gravel garden. H: 30 to 45cm.
POTENTILLA ATROSANGUINEA: Striking plant with silvery-green foliage and deep red flowers. Suitable for a sunny border. H: 0.5m
PRIMULA
ALPICOLA (White): Compact, deciduous perennial. Produces two or three whorls of scented, pendent, funnel-shaped flowers on slender stems in early summer. Shade or part shade in humus-rich soil. Hardy. H: 15 - 50cm. S: 15 - 30cm.
ALPICOLA (Pink): As above but in pink.
ALPICOLA (Cream): As above but in cream.
ALPICOLA var violacea: As above in a rich purple.
ALPICOLA (Mix): A mix of all the above.
BULLEYANA: Deep orange flowers held on 60cm stalks. A candelabra primula.
CANDELABRA MIX: A mix of orange P. bulleyana and purple P. beesiana.
CHIONANTHA: Violet-purple or white flowers in early May. Prefers deep humus-rich soil. H: up to 40 cm
CHUNGENSIS: Vigorous candelabra. Fragrant, pale yellow/orange flowers, H: to 80cm.
COCKBURNIANA: Small candelabra with coppery-red flowers in late spring. H: 45cm
ELATIOR: (Oxlip) Umbels of small, fragrant, tubular yellow flowers in spring. Good for wildlife and naturalising. H: 30cm.
FLORINDAE MAINLY RED & ORANGE MIX: Late summer bog primula with large heads of bell-shaped red or orange or yellow flowers.
HELODOXA: Lovely bright yellow scented candelabra primula. H: 0.5-1m
IOESSA MIX: Small red, pink or yellow umbels of fragrant, pendant flowers. H: 15cm.
JAPONICA (Red): Red-flowered candelabra suitable for damp patch. H: 30-60cm. S: 30cm.
PULVERULENTA: Deep red-purple strong growing candelabra. H: 60 cm-1m.
SECUNDIFLORA: Rosette forming damp loving perennial. 50+cm white mealy stems bear a cluster of lovely bell-shaped reddish-purple flowers
SIKKIMENSIS BRIGHT YELLOW [Sikkim Cowslip]: Pendent clusters of funnel-shaped fragrant flowers in summer. Up to 80cm tall.
VERIS: (Cowslip) Tubular lovely yellow wildflower. Suitable for naturalising in grass and important for wildlife providing an early source of nectar. H:20cm
WALTONII MIX: Pendent, dusky pink to wine red or yellow flowers with a cream-mealy face. H: 50cm.
PROSARTES SMITHII: [Fairy Bells]: Liliacea, closely related to Tricyrtis. A small 20cm stalk with white flowers in spring and orange fruit in early autumn. A woodland plant.
ROSA
MOYESII: Vigorous, arching rose bears faintly scented, single, dusky-scarlet flowers, 5cm across, with yellow stamens in summer. Long, red hips in autumn. H: 4m. Spread: 3m.
SAXIFRAGA PARNASSIFOLIA: Rare perennial lovely yellow Himalayan saxifrage. Can be grown in pots or gravel in full sun. H: 12cm
SMILACINA P COX: Hardy perennial. Arching stems with oval, light green leaves produce terminal sprays of feathery, white flowers from spring to mid-summer, followed by fleshy, red fruits. Semi-shade and moist, humus-rich, soil. H: 75 - 100cm S: 45cm
SWERTIA aff KINGII: A recently introduced interesting and unusual Nepalese perennial of the Gentian family growing up to 60cm. It has terminal clusters of pale green flowers with dark veins. Good for insects in late summer. Can be successfully grown in a large pot. Prefers a sunny spot.
THALICTRUM
AQUILEGIFOLIUM: Erect clump forming perennial. In summer strong stems bear terminal sprays of delicate, fluffy flowers of shades between white and mauve. Cool, moist soil in light shade or sun. Fully hardy. H: 1-1.2m. S: 45cm.
DELAVAYI: Elegant perennial bears large panicles of nodding, blue flowers with obvious petals from mid to late summer. H: 1.5m. S: 60cm.
TRILLIUM Excellent spring-flowering woodland plants-well worth waiting for! As their name implies, they have three of everything: three large leaflets, often beautifully mottled, three sepals and, at the centre of the leaves, the flower with three petals, sometimes long and narrow and sometimes broad and showy. Once established each thick rhizome gradually multiplies, eventually giving fine clumps. Good plants for shade, to part-shade, in leafy soil. This seed has been stored in the ice-box of a fridge since cleaning to help germination. PLEASE SPECIFY CLEARLY WHEN ORDERING
CHLOROPETALUM var. GIGANTEUM: Flowers purplish-pink to white above grey-marbled foliage. H: 30-45cm.
ERECTUM A: Small delicate maroon flowers hang on short stems above the leaves.
ERECTUM B: As above but with large maroon flowers.
ERECTUM C: Large flowered with red sepals.
ERECTUM D: Large flowered with green sepals.
GRANDIFLORUM A: Later flowering white Trillium, very showy. H: 40cm.
OVATUM: Solitary, pure white flowers fade to a deep purplish-rose. H: 25-40cm
RUGELLI A: Large Trillium which hides its white flowers.
RUGELLI B: As above but shows its white flowers.
SULCATUM: Burgundy or rich red with recurved petals. H: to 40cm
TRIOSETUM HIMALAYANUM: Herbaceous perennial for woodland or semi-shade. Flower yellow-green but grown for hairy rounded foliage topped during the summer with red fruit in tight clumps. H: 40-60cm.
VERATRUM VIRIDAE: [Green False Hellebore] Native to North America. A herbaceous clump forming perennial with leaves spirally arranged on a solid green stemH: 0.7-2m with numerous green to yellow green flowers
VERBASCUM: Excellent plants for pollinators enjoying a sunny position in well drained soil.
CHAIXII ALBUM: [Nettle-leaved Mullien] Long flowering perennial (June-October) with spires of purple-eyed white flowers H:to 90cm.
NIGRUM: [Dark Mullien] As above but with yellow flowers and purple stamens.
MIX: a mix of both the above.