Shade Plant Specialists

Long Acre Plants is essentially a mail order plantsman's nursery, in the hidden triangle of Somerset that slides into Dorset and Wiltshire. We specialise in unusual woodland plants and plants for shade, by mail order. This includes Erythronium, Epimedium, hardy ferns, hardy geraniums, hellebores (Helleborus), snowdrops, Viola odorata and Hepatica amongst many other shade loving plants.
Plants are the reason for this business and with a very few exceptions we grow what we like, for all the usual human reasons of association, perception of what is beautiful or just inexplicable love.
We try and grow in an environmentally aware way, including peat free compost, collecting and recycling rain water and using recycled paper. Plus all electricity used in the nursery and office is generated by wind or hydro, not through burning fossil fuels.

Geranium
Hardy geraniums are amazingly good in shade, even dry shade. The geranium forms we offer are Summer flowering so often give colour to shady areas during the most difficult time. We find that hardy geraniums combine well with Spring bulbs; eg snowdrops through to Erythronium. The geraniums cover the gaps after the bulbs finish and give another season of colour.

Hardy Ferns

We offer a large range of wonderful hardy woodland or shade garden ferns, many evergreen and others deciduous. As a rule, ferns are best in shade, but some ferns will take almost full sun, some are good in dry soils others in moist. Ferns fit into many different style of gardens, Japanese gardens, woodland gardens, cottage gardens, courtyards and containers, city gardens, tropical/ foliage style gardens even alpine gardens can look wonderful with a range of dwarf ferns, as well as pure ferns gardens or stumperies. Ferns fit into practically all garden situations and combine well with other plants. For example, deciduous ferns can be grown successfully in the same situation as a large Winter/Spring bulb displays, with aconites, Cyclamen, Galanthus, Narcissus and Erythronium etc.

Helleborus
We have a large range of hellebores available for immediate delivery. These hellebores are hand pollinated, vigorous breeding, line produced plants that are of a type but all slightly different. Hellebores are great plants for the woodland garden and come in a large range of colours and are pretty much trouble free. We do have some unusual forms such as Double Helleborus niger and Helleborus thibitanus available.

Tiarella

Tiarella is a lovely genus of plants, hugely developed over the last few years. The basic running Tiarella cordifolia, or foamflower, and the clump forming Tiarella wherryi, have been developed into a number of very shade tolerant, and once established, dry shade tolerant plants. The new Tiarella forms are evergreen but change throughout the year, with leaf colour and form.

Cyclamen
Cyclamen is a genus with a number of non-hardy species, but there are also some very hardy species of Cyclamen which thrive in a woodland or shady garden. Early Autumn flowering Cyclamen hederifolium will just about grow anywhere. Winter flowering Cyclamen coum is also is very tolerant of shade, even thriving under walnut trees, where growth in many other plants is greatly supressed.

New Woodland Plants

Aquilegia 'Dorothy Rose' £4.00 A full pompom type mid double pink cultivar. Will seed true if kept isolated or produce some lovely hybrids if not. find out more	Aquilegia brevistyla 'Fruit and Nut Chocolate' £3.00 A selection of this very early flowering Aquilegia, frequently in flower in March and for a further two months with milk ... find out more	Pulmanaria Bertram Anderson' £4.95 A longifolia hybrid wich brings with it long lance shaped spotted leabed and dark blue flowers over most of Spring. They ... find out more

Geranium x cantabrigiense ‘St Ola' £4.95 One of the very few evergreen geraniums for the woodland garden, short growing it forms a ground cover with pure white ... find out more	Geranium sylvaticum 'Birch Lilac' £4.95 Deep blue floers with a white eye on the lovely form of the native woodland cranesbill. To 45cm high and 30cm ... find out more	Corydalis 'Blue Panda' AGM £4.40 A shorter growing form that seems to be a natural hybrid. Clump forming with the most intense blue flowers. find out more

Pulmonaria 'Sissinghurst White' AGM £4.95 The classic white flowered form. A good vigorous long lived variety. Silver spotted leaves. find out more	Pulmonaria 'Bubble Gum' £4.95 A new introduction with well silvered leaves and sugar pink flowers over a long period. Not a form that changes colour ... find out more	Polypodium scouleri £6.95 A species of polypody from California, makes a good tufted evergreen clump. find out more

Best Selling Plants

Aquilegia vulgaris 'Munstead White' AGM

£3.00

syn Nivea. A lovely pure white strain of this good garden plant, easy in shade where is shows up wonderfully well. A native plant.
find out more

Geranium macrorrhizum 'Mount Olympus White'

£4.95

syn Geranium mac. 'White Ness' An easy hardy evergreen geranium. Very good in dry shade. Evergreen form which forms good ground cover with fragrant foliage. Pure white flowers over most of the summer starting in late May. This is a pure albino with no hint of pink in the calx or flower.

These are in 1 litre round coir pots which we are trialing. These just need planting in the ground as is and not removing from the pot. Hope you like them.
find out more

Aquilegia vulgaris 'Ruby Port'

£3.00

Double ruby red flowered form, very good in shade, even dry shade, and will seed true.
find out more

Brunnera macrophylla 'Jack Frost' AGM

£5.50

PP13859 PBR 1799
Fully silvered leaves and blue flowers in Spring. Shows great vigour even in dry conditions. Will gradually form a good size plant.
find out more

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Shade Plant Specialists

Geranium

Hardy Ferns

Helleborus

Tiarella

Cyclamen

New Woodland Plants

Best Selling Plants

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