New Arrivals

Days and days of rain and we are beginning to squelch around a little at the nursery but at least we have had a rest from the relentless hand watering we are forced to carry out when the weather is hot and dry. Plants certainly are enjoying the rain but would probably welcome a little more sun and warmth – wouldn’t we all. We have a Yucca rostrata in flower (a first for us) and are eagerly awaiting its development. We will show a weekly photo.

New Arrivals
We have received plants from America and New Zealand. The American plants are mainly Colocasias and Alocasias –
Colocasia ‘Illustris’ ‘Black Marble’, fontenesii ‘Black Stem’ and ‘Tea cup’
Alocasia calidora, gigantean, macrorrhiza, odora, robusta ‘Sarian’ wentii and wentii variegated. These will be available in 2 litre pots in approximately 3 weeks.

The New Zealand plants include some ferns –
Blechnum discolor, Blechnum fluviatale, Cyathea medularis and Cyathea dealbata. These are available immediately.
We also have received several Pseudopanax, Cordyline and Pittosporum varieties as baby plants – these should be ready for sale late summer/autumn.


We have a single mother enjoying bed and board in one of our greenhouses. Whilst watering we were startled by a bird flapping up from a huge pot of Brunnera ‘Jack Frost’. On closer inspection we found her nest with five lovely blue eggs. Unfortunately she doesn’t seem to have a mate but because she was sensible in laying her eggs in the warmth of a greenhouse she seems able to leave the nest for longer periods for gathering food. We have to sneak in and water the plant while she is out gathering – not so much for the sake of the plant but because without water the plant flops, leaving her dangerously exposed. She will certainly have her work cut out with five mouths to feed but we intend to give her a helping hand with a few worms etc. She is incredibly tolerant of us working around her and I think we are forming quite a bond– ahh.
……..update all 5 have hatched. The wet weather means a bountiful supply of worms but if the weather turns warm and dry we will supply some meal worms to give mum a helping hand.

Nursery has expanded

The nursery has expanded over the last few months and I hope we will be forgiven a little own trumpet blowing but it does look gorgeous – if you haven’t paid us a visit yet this year I think you will be in for a treat. We have such an amazing variety of plants now and a much better balance of hard stuff (hardy, sharp, evergreens) and soft stuff (hardy and tender, luscious, deciduous) and big stuff (huge palms, yuccas) and small stuff (ferns, perennials etc) than in previous years. We have already had a couple of containers of plants from Spain this spring- Yuccas, Olives, Palms, Callistemons and some interesting and beautiful exotic trees and shrubs. Of course we still have a huge range of Cannas, Gingers and Aroids. We are now the largest specialist nursery in East Anglia and you would have to be a very hard person to please if you didn’t find plenty here to drool over.
We are working on a modest hospitality area so during your visit you will be able to fuel up on tea and coffee. This should be completed by mid June.
Look out for the review of Urban Jungle, written by Will Giles in the Eastern Daily Press on Saturday 26th May. Will Giles is one of the pioneers of the new wave of exoticism and has his garden open to the public during the summer months. This is an extraordinary and inspirational garden and we highly recommend a visit. http://www.exoticgarden.com/ If you haven’t been to Urban Jungle recently then please do so soon. You will be staggered by the diversity of our stock but don’t be daunted - we are here to offer assistance.