Milan Havlis - gardening

Golden rain comes from mountainous parts of southern Europe. The natural habitat of this one is even closer to our border: central- and south-European Alps. The flowers are slender racemes, composed of pea-like, bright yellow flowers with a deep red blotch in the centre. They are 15-40 cm ...

The most popular form of flowers are racemes. Golden rain is a perfect example with its long racemes of deep yellow pea-like flowers. This species makes very dense, 10-30 cm long racemes of yellow flowers. Clover-like leaves are bright to mid green, 3-palmate. This medimum sized shrub slowly grows a ...

The most popular flower forms are racemes. Golden rain is a perfect example with its long racemes of deep yellow, pea-like flowers. Vossii variety makes up to 60 cm long racemes of bright yellow flowers. Clover-like leaves are bright to mid green, 3-palmate. This medium size ...

Mardi Gras is a miniature crape myrtle. It bears rich panicles of violet to pink flowers from mid summer until frost. The upright branches tend to weep with age making an oval-weeping appearance. Deciduous leaves are ovate to oval, bright green and glossy. Leaves of lagerstro ...

Natchez is another hardy hybrid of crape myrtle. It has profusion of white flowers from mid summer. Deciduous leaves are 3-4 cm long, elliptic to obovate, very glossy, mid green in summer, turning red and orange in autumn. Older plants reveal cinnamon red flaking-off bark. Natch ...

Pink Velour® is a very attractive crape myrtle with upright panicles of pink-red to purple red flowers with crepe margins and rich yellow stamens in the centre. It starts flowering earlier than the species which makes it suitable for colder regions where the summer begins a ...

Tonto is one of four successful varieties of lagerstroemia which are end results of Dr.Donald Egolf’s breeding programme which started in 1959. The plants show great colours and manifest better cold hardiness than the species. Tonto bears deep fuchsia red flowers opening f ...

Diana is one of the most eye-catching trees in our garden that customers fall in love with at the first sight. It is a Japanese larch with slightly contorted branches that reveal their orange bark especially in winter months. The deciduous needles are fresh green and soft to tou ...

Weeping form of deciduous larch Stiff Weeping is one of the most sought-after conifers in our country. It has strictly pendent branches with no horizontal growth. The crown looks like a head of a long-haired girl. The needles are about 4 cm long, bright green with a silvery blue shade, ...

Blue Scent is a compact, clump-forming variety with violet-blue flowers on 20-40 cm long stalks. They come out in June and continue blooming until August. Evergreen leaves are narrow, silvery blue-green. You can remove the stalks with spent flowers after flowering to make the clump loo ...

Hidcote is a very popular variety of lavender with the brightest violet-blue flowers. It forms a compact and dense clump, ideal for beds where tall and leggy perennial is not required. Evergreen leaves are narrow, silvery blue-green. You can remove the stalks with spent flowers ...

Broadway Lights™ is a new variety of Shasta daisy. Such an elegant perennial is so easy to combine with almost any other flowering perennials that it should find its place in every garden. This variety has large flowers of three colours – it opens rich yellow and ch ...

Sometimes labeled Dwarf Snow Lady this shasta daisy is a compact and robust perennial which remains small = dwarf. Its flowers are large, about 6 cm wide, pure white with fat yellow centres. The plant is covered with blooms from mid June until mid summer. Deadheading may prolong ...

Curly Red® variety comes from Dutch town Boskoop where it was found as a naturally occurring mutation among plants of another variety named SCARLETTA®. It was fits introduced in 2003 and received the award of “most stri ...

Rainbow is a multicoloured variety of leucothoe. It has mid green leaves with rich, creamy white variegation / marbling. New leaves emerge bright pink and in autumn they gain burgundy red shades. Rainbow flowers quite reliably with 5-7 cm long racemes of pieris-like flowers. It ...

Scarletta® is probably the top variety of leucothoe with lance-shaped, glossy leaves that emerge bronze or red, change to mid green in summer, and turn red in autumn and deep burgundy red in winter. It dislikes direct sunlight. However, if grown in full sun, it has to be wel ...

Royal Ruby is a leucothoe variety that can be used as an attractive groundcover with larger leaves. They are elongated, glossy, and green in summer, gaining burgundy red shades at the leaf margins, and from colder days of autumn completely changing to deep burgundy red for the w ...

Blazing star is a popular perennial in European gardens. It makes 45-70 cm long spikes of pink button-like flowerheads which open from the top of the inflorescence downwards and last for a long time. Linear leaves are mid green leaves are arranged in basal tufts and are very attractive even w ...

Blazing star is a popular perennial in European gardens. Floristan White makes spikes of pure white button-like flowerheads which open from the top of the inflorescence downwards and last for a long time. Linear leaves are mid green leaves are arranged in basal tufts and are ver ...

Blazing star is a popular perennial in European gardens. It makes spikes of button-like flowerheads which open from the top of the inflorescence downwards and last for a long time. Kobold is a variety with the deepest purple flowers and shorter stems – upto 50 cm. Linear l ...

Privet is the number one popular hedging plant. Golden privet obviously brings extra features: it is evergreen or semi-evergreen, multicoloured and has larger leaves. They are glossy, ovate, 2-3 times bigger than the species (up to 6 cm long), bright golden-yellow margined at the edges grading to de ...

“African Queen” bears large, trumpet-shaped flowers that keep its shape even when fully opened. The colour is rich apricot orange to golden yellow inside with brown stripes with light green shades outside. It is derived from Asiatic species. It can get quite tall – ...

“Aphrodite” is a very unusual and plays with colour as well as your senses. It main colour is pale pink but shows shades of beige, cream or even yellow towards the centre of the flower. Flowers are double and appear on 70 cm long stalks in June. It belongs to Asiatic specie ...

“Fata Morgana” is a double-flowering Asiatic lily with lemon yellow flowers. There are upto 7 blooms on each, about 1m long stalk in June/July. It is pollen-free so won’t leave a mess on your table if cut for a vase. Petals have a few burgundy dots near the throat. ...

First Crown is a popular lily with large flowers combining two colour shades: golden-orange and orange red in the centre. It often has a few extra petals inside the flower. It is derived from Asiatic species. It grows about 1m when mature. Lilies are easy, maintenance-free t ...

“Kissproof” has a challenging name, doesn’t it? You just want to try whether it really is kiss-proof. Well, I suggest you’d rather smell it than kiss it. It has a lovely perfume. The colour is rich reddish-purple with elegant, white margins. Each flower is a lit ...

Recent hybridizing of some lilies from Latvia resulted in very attractive Asian-type lilies called Tango lilies. Their speckles and dots that are usually present in the middle third of the flower petals are merged into a nearly solid bend around the flower centre. Netty´s Pride

Orange Art brings extraordinary, large flowers of deep orange colour with black-ish spots all over the throat. This variety is very strong with about 80 cm tall, sturdy stems which do not get damaged in the wind. Lilies are easy, maintenance-free tuberous perennials that do best whe ...

Dwarf lilies are perfect for even the smallest gardens, or for containers on patios or balconies. Orange Pixie has large flowers of deep, pure orange colour with a few burgundy red dots. Lilies are easy, maintenance-free tuberous perennials that do best when left grown withou ...

Recent hybridizing of some lilies from Latvia resulted in very attractive Asian-type lilies called Tango lilies. Their speckles and dots that are usually present in the middle third of the flower petals are merged into a nearly solid bend around the flower centre. Pup Art bears ...

Red Alert is a hybrid lily between longiflorum and Asiatic. The flowers are large, deep red, and unlike other LA hybrids they have a light sweet perfume. It has strong stems and flowers profusely. Grows about 1m tall. Lilies are easy, maintenance-free tuberous perennials that ...

“Siberia” really looks like fresh, white snow. Pristine flowers are large and sweetly scented. It flowers in July on about 80 cm long stems. Superb cut flower – just remove pollen sacks to prevent staining clothes or table linen. Lilies are easy, maintenance-free ...

Recent hybridizing of some lilies from Latvia resulted in very attractive Asian-type lilies called Tango lilies. Their speckles and dots that are usually present in the middle third of the flower petals are merged into a nearly solid bend around the flower centre. Tiger Play®

“Willeke Alberti” was named after a female Dutch singer. It is watermelon-pink with almost white centre. Fully opened, this oriental lily looks like a star. The colour varies with growing conditions but the best results are in full sun. It flowers in mid summer on about 1m ...

Acalycina is a fantastic, unique species of sweet gum with only 3-lobed, deciduous leaves. If you look from up close you will notice further 2 lobes but they are so tiny that do not spoil the effect of large, 3-lobed leaves. The foliage emerges burgundy brown in spring and the ...

This is the species of sweet gum. Its maple-like, star-shaped leaves are medium-deeply or deeply cut and have fresh green colour. As it is reproduced mainly by seeds the plants often vary even if grown from seeds of the same parent. This results in plants having slightly different characteris ...

Albomarginata Manon is a variegated form of sweet gum. It has star-shaped leaves with white margins that may turn pink in autumn. The leaves look very similar to variegated forms of ivy. This tree grows slowly into a narrowly pyramidal form. Highly decorative. Another nice fe ...

Aurea is a variety with varigated leaves showing irregular splashes of yellow. They turn pink and purple in autumn. In gardens with limited space for roots it seldom grows taller than 10m, however, in parks and in southern countries you may encounter much taller and obviously very old spec ...

A collectors’ item not only for collectors is this sweetgum. An interesting novelty called Golden Sun has quite a unique feature never found on any other sweetgum before: golden yellow branches. The colour is present on new twigs as well as up to about 3 year-old branches. ...

If you like sweetgum and you are afraid of its size in maturity try this one. Gum Ball is a great variety with dwarf growth and reduced size. After 10 years it can grow to some 2.5m with a total of 3m in maturity. Its crown is quite regular even without pruning. The leaves are iden ...

“Lane Roberts” is a large-leaved variety of sweetgum. The leaves are mid- to deep green, deeply lobed and look like maple leaves but are not opposite. It is popular for its autumn colours with prevailing red, deep purple, and almost blackish red. The fruits are small, medium-hard spiny s ...

Silver King is another variegated form of sweetgum. Compared to Albomarginata Manon variety this one has slightly larger leaves with more attractive colour play. The leaves are 5-lobed, deep green in the centre grading to light pea-green, finished with conspicuous creamy white m ...

Slender Silhouette is a beautiful sweetgum which could be your perfect choice for a small garden or a miniature front yard. A 5m tall plant seldom exceeds 1m wide. It is a slow growing version of sweetgum with strictly upright and columnar habit. The leaves are mid-sized, conspi ...

Stared is one of the most recent varieties of sweet gum with leaves cut so deep like a too low neck on a frock of a lady who forgot she was going to attend a charitable ball “Help Africa” and not a teenager party “Miss Bikini – Monokini”. Liquidamba ...

Théa is an attractive variety of sweet gum selected for its autumn foliage colour and smaller size. Its leaves are typically 5-lobed, rich green, turning to long lasting shades of bright red and burgundy purple in autumn. The tree grows slowly or moderately into a narrowly pyram ...

“Worplesdon” is a beautiful variety of sweetgum. It has large, deeply lobed leaves which look like maple leaves but are not opposite. Mid to deep green foliage colour begins its incredible colourful display early in the autumn: the leaves turn dark burgundy, then golden yellow and orange ...

Chinese tulip tree is in many aspects similar or identical to its American relative as far as habit, growth rate, or flowering. But the most prominent give-away is its foliage. The deciduous leaves are very large and deeply lobed. The saddle-shaped description of the leaf shape is no longer a ...

Belonging to the same family as magnolia, common name tulip tree may be misleading. This is the tree with huge lyra-like "cut" leaves which do appear to miss a lobe. They are vivid green in summer and change to golden yellow in autumn. The flowers look like small tulips of creamy yellow colour. If p ...

Belonging to the same family as magnolia, common name tulip tree may be misleading. This is the tree with huge lyra-like "cut" leaves which do appear to miss a lobe. This variety has broad creamy-yellow variagtion on them. Leaf colour changes to golden yellow in autumn. The flowers look like small t ...

Fastigiatum is a columnar variety of yellow poplar tree / tulip tree which has two advantages as opposed to the species. First - it is narrower and will fit into a mid-sized garden. And secondly, and for most of us perhaps more importantly, it flowers from very young age. As opp ...

Lily-turf is a unique plant that is often sold in grass sections of garden centres. However, it belongs to the lily family, hence its name. It comes from shady forests of Eastern Asia. Liriope has dark green, ribbon-like, semi-glossy foliage. The leaves are narrow and evergreen in mild wi ...

Honeyberry is an edible version of honeysuckle with fruit of similar taste and appearance of blueberry. Modrý triumf is a Czech variety selected for the best taste and heavy cropping. The fruit is sweet or sweet-and-sour, 25-35 mm long, oval, deep blue. The fruit ripens very ear ...

Honeysuckle is a twiggy shrub with glossy leaves. It can be grown as a low border or hedge, clipped similarly to box. The branches are flexible and if the border is squashed it can be repaired by gently squeezing the hedge back together with your fingers. Borders such as English Box can smash and br ...

Lemon Beauty honeysuckle is an evergreen or semi-evergreen, low-growing shrub with attractive foliage. The leaves are very glossy, mid green with conspicuous creamy yellow margins. It grows fast and new branches are composed in dense fronds, forming a prostrate shrub. In zone 6 it ...

This honeysuckle has a more compact growth than the species and its leaves are more shiny and bright green even in cold winters. This fast growing shrub that can be grown as a low border or hedge, or clipped similarly to box. Its unbeatable fresh green colour is a welcoming feature making it an ...

Silver Beauty honeysuckle is an evergreen or semi-evergreen, low-growing shrub with attractive foliage. The leaves are very glossy, mid green with pure white margins creating silvery effect. It grows fast and new branches are composed in dense fronds, forming a prostrate shrub. In zone ...

If you like honeysuckles and want to enjoy a variety with the longest possible blooming period try this one. It belongs to sempervirens group which are honeysuckles that keep some portion of foliage in mild winters. Its name is Blanche Sandman and bears trumpet-shaped flo ...

Dropmore Scarlet is one of the most beautiful honeysuckles with unusual flowers. It is a hybrid between l.hirsuta and l.sepmervirens which means that it can hold a certain portion of leaves in mild winters. The flowers are 3-4 cm long and thin trumpets of scarlet red colour o ...

Firecracker is an attractive perennial with purple leaves and yellow flowers. The lance-shaped leaves are mahogany to burgundy red, and star-shaped flowers are bright yellow offering a good contrast with the foliage. The leaves turn bright red in autumn. It is soil tolerant as far a ...