The Shade Plant Specialists

Long Acre Plants is essentially a mail order plantsman's nursery, situated in a 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. We endeavour to make our packaging as environmentally friendly as possible. The packing cases we use are made from recycled PET which can be recycled again so creating a closed loop and having the best carbon footprint.

Hardy Ferns

We offer an extensive and large range of wonderful hardy woodland or shady garden ferns, evergreen and 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 styles of garden, 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.

Rare Plant Fairs
We shall be at all but two of the Rare Plant Fairs in 2025. The details of our unusual plants fair schedule can be found the shows tab at the top of the page, or click on the image to the left..

We are happy to bring orders to sales for collection saving you the shipping charge.

All of the fairs are within lovely gardens and they usually have good catering facilities. So all round a good day out.

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.

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. Geraniums cover the gaps after the bulbs finish and give another season of colour. A few will even keep their leaves through a mildish Winter too!

New Woodland Plants

Hypolepis millifolium £9.00 From New Zealand fronds 50 x 15cm very divided with a bluish look and can take dry conditions. Can spread find out more		Polypodium glycrrhiza 'Malatense Sterile' £9.00 A form of licorice fern or sweet root. a plant widely use by first nation peoples of the pacific north west. ... find out more		Chelonopsis moschatus 'Album' £8.80 A white form of this Japanese woodlander, penstemon like flowers in late Summer and Autumn./ Betetr on a north wall in ... find out more

Best Selling Plants

Dryopteris affinis 'Cristata The King' AGM

£7.00 (2 or fewer items) £6.50 (3 or more items)

A truly magnificent fern with splendid crests and arching fronds, said to be the 'King of the British Ferns'. In time, to 1.2m tall. Very effective in a pot against a north facing wall. Semi-evergreen.
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Geranium macrorrhizum 'Mount Olympus White' AGM

£6.95 (2 or fewer items) £6.45 (3 or more items)

syn Geranium mac. 'White Ness'. An easy, hardy, evergreen Geranium. Very good in dry shade. 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 calyx or flower.

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Dryopteris championii

£7.00 (2 or fewer items) £6.50 (3 or more items)

Another Japanese species with pale green new fronds ageing to dark green. Shiny and very weather resistant, slowly creeping. Evergreen. Looks wonderful in Winter. New croziers are covered in silver hair but can be very late to appear in Spring.
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Gillenia trifoliata AGM

£8.95 (2 or fewer items) £8.50 (3 or more items)

A plant that has become increasingly popular as gardeners recognise its quiet beauty. White star flowers that have a fluttering butterfly quality about them, reddish stems and calyxs, followed by berries and coloured foliage in Autumn. A semi-shaded well drained spot will have this flowering most of the Summer. Use to the front of a shade border to fully appreciate its beauty. A rhizomatous perennial, that is gradually clump forming.
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Saxifraga stolonifera 'Nezu Jinga'

£7.50

A Japanese form with very large silvered green leaves with a network of silver veins to the extra large leaves to 15cm wide. White flowers in large panicles in Summer. Good ground cover. Discovered in the wild by French plant hunter Cedric Basset in Nezu, in the Bunkyo Special district of Tokyo, Japan.
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Polystichum setiferum 'Rotundatum Ramosum'

£8.00

These are bulbil raised crested forms with fronds dividing and redividing. A nice form to 60cm high and wide.
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The Shade Plant Specialists

Hardy Ferns

Rare Plant Fairs

Cyclamen

Geranium

New Woodland Plants

Best Selling Plants

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