Ivydene Gardens Herbaceous Perennials and Alpine Herbaceous Perennials Gallery:
Site Map

Section 3

PEONY GALLERY PAGES

UK Peony Index

PEONY TYPE
Herbaceous Peonies:-
...Lactiflora
...Hybrid
...Species
Tree Peonies:-
...Tree Peony Species
...Lutea Tree Peony Hybrids
...Central Plains (Suffruticosa) Tree Peony Hybrids
...Japanese Tree Peony Hybrids
...Rockii Tree Peony Hybrids
Intersectional Peonies:-
Inter-Sectional or Itoh Peonies

FLOWER COLOUR
Coral
Lavender
Multi-Colour
Orange
Other Colours
Red
Pink
White
Yellow

FLOWER FORM
Single
Japanese
Anemone
Semi-Double
Crown Form, with Semi-Rose Form and Rose (Fully Double) Form within this page
Bomb
 

FLOWERING PERIOD IN UK
1. Very Early Season in May
2. Early Season in early June
3. Mid-season in late June
4. Late Season in July

FLOWERING SEASONS IN UK FROM MARTIN PAGE
Very Early in April
Early in May

FLOWERING PERIOD IN FRANCE
April
May

FOLIAGE COLOUR
Green
Other Colour

USE
Fragrant Flowers
Flower Arrangers
Tree Peonies in Pots
Front of Border
Rest of Border
Hedge
Rock Garden
Suitable for Seaside / Coastal
Tree

Carsten Burkhardt's Web Project Paeonia has a Peony Database with names of peony species and cultivars from a-z with pictures of more than 3400 species & cultivars.

I have completed 50 of the peonies in this UK Peony index (35 of them with no photos and no peony description page and 10 with photos but the peony description pages have not been created yet).
I have diverted my attentions to which plants to use in what soils in the Plants topic and when I have completed the insertion of the plant names into the chalk, clay and sand pages
I will return to this gallery (9 November 2017) to complete its entries.
This might be after I have inserted and detailed all the plants to be shown in the Raw Camera Photo Galleries taken either by Chris Garnons-Williams or the slides of Ron and Christine Foord (which I am currently digitising in March 2020), whose index is shown in the table on the left under
Topic - Plant Photo Galleries
Plant with Photo Index of Ivydene Gardens

Section 4

Diascia Photo Album - this site is no longer available and the last update was on 8 February 2001 (this info was found on 2 March 2021).

"I hope these pictures will help you identify the diascia you have.   They are sometimes close-ups, sometimes long shots and most are scanned from photos or slides.  They have been taken by my brother William or me unless otherwise credited.  I aim to give a botanical description based on the writings of Hilliard & Burtt and Dr Kim Steiner in time." from Christine Boulby.

Diascia

Description

Diascia 'Acklington'

Bred by Christine Boulby. Dark red flowers. I thought I'd lost it but it survived here a winter so I gave it a name.

Diascia aliciae

Diascia anastrepta

Diascia 'Alicecap'

Cultivar bred by Dr Kim Steiner.  Bushy habit, pale pink flowers over a very long period.  One of the most hardy hybrids in our collection.  Resistant to virus.

Diascia 'Andrew'

Cultivar bred by Hector Harrison.  Upright habit, red open flowers in abundance.

Diascia 'Appleby Apricot'

Bred by Hector Harrison and one stand of it has lasted in tact for five winters here in Northumberland.  One of the hardiest apricots.

Diascia austromontana

Diascia barberae

Diascia 'Bella'

Cultivar by Christine Boulby.  Mid-pink flowers and long trailing habit.

Diascia 'Belmore Beauty'

Protected by Plant Breeders Rights.  Variegated version of Diascia 'Ruby Field'.  Foliage edged in yellow.  Trailing habit, good in baskets.

Diascia 'Christabel'

Bred by Hector Harrison.  Has huge pale pink flowers in profusion all summer long.

Diascia 'Coral Belle'
Photo by David Fenwick

Bred by Hector Harrison and Protected by Plant Breeders Rights.  The only coral coloured diascia in distribution.  Orangy-red flowers atop rich deep green foliage.  Looks good in hanging baskets.  

Diascia cordata

Can be distinguished from other species by two distinct separate yellow windows in the throat of the flower.

Diascia 'Doreen'

Deep reddish purple flowers and a very prostrate habit.  Found in my garden two years ago and named for my mum.

Diascia 'Eclat'

Seen here juxaposed against a penstemon.  Lovely big red flowers.  Not as long flowering as some other species

Diascia fetcaniensis

Flowers have a 'moustache' of dark glands in a straight line on the lower lobe directly under the stamens

Diascia fetcaniensis growing through a join in a retaining wall at Cragside, Rothbury

This picture included to show the determination of this species.  Its stolons will penetrate the tiniest cracks and roam up to three feet.

Diascia 'Harry'

Bred by Christine Boulby and named for my husband and best friend, Harry.  Lime green foliage and reddish flowers.  Bushy habit.

Diascia 'Hector's Hardy'

This plant was one of Hector's first crosses and is named for him.  He had had it in his garden several years before we were shown it, so it has stood the test of time.  Bushy habit.

Diascia 'Helvellyn'

Pale pink flowers on nice shiny green foliage.  Found by William in a garden in Barmby Moor at a house called 'Helvellyn'.

Diascia 'Iceberg'

Bred by Hector Harrison using D. integerrima 'Blush' and other plants.  Has a nice neat bushy habit and lovely white flowers.

Diascia integerrima

Diascia integerrima 'Blush'

White form of Diascia integerrima. Best grown in the garden where it will populate a large area over two to three years.  Flowers later in the season (July/August here). Will tolerate the driest of dry places and has survived temperatures as low as -10C here in Northumberland.

Diascia 'Jacqueline's Joy'
Photo  by David Fenwick

An early cultivar bred by Hector Harrison.  Has lovely racemes of mauve flowers. Bushy habit.  Very suitable for hanging baskets.

Diascia 'Jane'

Bred by Christine Boulby.  Pale mauve/pink flowers in abundance above mid-green foliage.  Prostrate habit.

Diascia 'Katherine Sharman'

We thought this plant had disappeared but it made a comeback in 2000.  It is thought to be a sport of D. 'Ruby Field' and has olive green foliage edged creamy white.  Not a very sturdy plant.

Diascia 'Lady Valerie'

Bred by Hector Harrison.  Has lovely large pale orange flowers and grows very well in containers. 

Diascia 'Lilac Belle'

Bred by Hector Harrison and introduced the same year as D. 'Lilac Belle'.  Small dark green leaves with loads of little lilac flowers all summer. Good in baskets.

Diascia 'Lilac Gem'

Bred by Hector Harrison.  Upright habit.  Palest lilac flowers from July onwards.  Hardier than most of the mauves and forms a neat clump up to 15 inches in circumference.

Diascia 'Little Dancer'

Origin unknown.  Bright pink flowers on nice deep green foliage.  Good in baskets.

Diascia 'Louise'

Bred by Hector Harrison.  Very wide peach flowers on fresh green foliage.  Upright habit.  Does well as a spot plant at the front of a border.

Diascia 'Lucy'
Photo  by David Fenwick

Bred by Hector Harrison. Easily distinguished from other cultivars by a terminal flower on a raceme that is a buttercup-shaped flower - ie it does not have spurs or a 'throat'.Very jolly apricot flowers.Neat grower and good as spot plant in front of border.

Diascia 'Megelvar'
Photo  by David Fenwick

Bred by Hector Harrison. Nice apricot flowered diascia with neat habit and strong dark foliage.

Diascia mollis

Diascia patens

Diascia personata

Diascia platbergensis

Diascia 'Pink Panther'

Origin unknown.  Pale baby pink flowers atop dark green foliage.  Neat habit.

Diascia 'Red Ace'

Bred by Hector Harrison and protected by Plant Breeders Rights.  One of the reddest flowered diascias around, and on some of the deepest green foliage it is a stunner.  Survives a good deal of dryness, and ideal for baskets.

Diascia rigescens

Distinguished from other species by a yellow 'median keel' of glands on the lower lobe of the flower.  This photo shows its with Cistus ladanifer.  A lovely combination.

Diascia rigescens 'Anne Rennie'
Photo by David Fenwick

Similar to above but flowers a slightly paler shade and carried in rather more loose racemes.

Diascia rigescens x lilacina

One of Hector's earliest crosses and given to Blooms of Bressingham.  Nice mauve flowers and good foliage.  Prostrate habit.  Good in baskets but its a bit of a thug

Diascia 'Ruby Field'

Bred by John Kelly and introduced in 1971.  Although he gave details of the cross he made to create it, we are not sure of the species he actually had due to name problems.It has nice blousy flowers on prostrate foliage and has been used in alpine beds for many years in the UK.

Diascia 'Rupert Lambert'

Bred by Rupert Lambert.  Plant has upright habit and reddish flowers. 

Diascia 'Salmon Supreme'

Bred by Hector Harrison.  When i first saw it I was at Beth Chatto's gardens in Cambridgeshire.  One of the first apricot coloured diascias to appear on the market in the UK and has been popular ever since.

Diascia 'Selina's Choice'

Bred by Hector Harrison.  Plant has a very neat habit.  Apricot flowers in abundance and looks great as a hanging basket.

Diascia 'Tiny Tom'

Bred by Hector Harrison.Tiny foliage and interesting pinky mauve flowers, this is one of the smallest and neatest diascias I've seen.

Diascia trials at Appleby, North Lincs

Hector's hardiness trials take place every year in his search for good garden-worthy plants.

Diascia 'Twinkle'

Bred by Hector Harrison and protected by Plant Breeders Rights. Although this diascia is one of his first successes, it remains a firm favourite of mine.  Has tight purple racemes of flowers on very lush dark green foliage.  Superb in hanging baskets.

Diascia vigilis

Diascia vigilis 'Jack Elliott'

Diascia 'William'

Bred by Hector Harrison and named for my brother William.  Has mid-pink flowers on lush green foliage.  We have lost this one, if you have it we'd love to hear from you!

Latest update 13 March 2001 of above Diascia Photo Album

 Christine Boulby Copyright © 2001 All rights reserved

"Their common name is twinspur, in reference to the two (usually downward-pointing) spurs to be found on the back of the flower. These help to distinguish them from the similar (and closely related) genera Alonsoa and Nemesia. The spurs contain a special oil, which is collected in the wild by certain species of bees that appear to have coevolved with the plants, as they have unusually long forelegs for collecting the oil.‪
In gardens, Diascia cultivars (mostly hybrids) have become extremely popular as colourful, floriferous, easily grown bedding plants in recent years." from Wikipedia.

"Diascias are sun-loving plants, but enjoy fertile rather than dry, poor soil. The cushion-forming types can get straggly so cut them back in late April and late August to keep them compact.
Hardiness can be a problem, but many will survive winter in well-drained soil.
You can containerise Diascia personata, but it has to be a substantial pot to balance the height of the plant. The ruby-pink flowers are excellent with dark blue agapanthus, purple dahlias or fluffy pennisetums.
At Great Dixter they use D. personata with the green and cream vertically striped grass, Miscanthus sinensis var. condensatus 'Cosmopolitan' to great effect. Graham Gough, of Marchants Plants, also uses it in his grass-led garden and he describes it as "remarkable and lofty"." from How to grow Diascia personata by Val Bourne in The Telegraph.

"Diascia is a natural for containers. You can fill an entire container with one variety or use a diascia plant as your spiller, in a mixed container. Diascia also makes a lovely edging plant and will elegantly flop over sidewalks and walls or throughout rock gardens.
Diascia perfers a slightly acidic soil pH. Something between 6.0 and 6.5 seems to be ideal.
It’s rare to find seed for Diascia, but there are some out there. Start seeds indoors, abou 6-8 weeks before your last expected frost. In warm climates, Diascia can be direct seeded. The hybrid Diascia won’t grow true from seed.
Diascia seed needs light to germinate, so just press the seed firmly on top of the soil, don’t cover it. It’s very important to keep the soil moist, since there’s nothing insulating the seed. Diascia seed should germinate within 2 weeks." from Gardening About in America.

Lazy S'S Farm Nursery in America sell Deer Resistant Plants:- "Realize, if deer are starving or in extremely high concentrations competing for food, they will eat almost anything. These Plants are their last choice. By inter-planting with these plants, especially the fragrant herbs, you make you entire garden less appealing to them! They never bother our gardens and we're convinced that it's because we work in the fragrant 'herbs' -- Yarrows, Catmints, Agastache, Etc., in every bed -- and why not - they're gorgeous and long blooming.

Deer's primary defense is their sense of smell. When a garden has a lot of highly scented plants, the deer have trouble smelling predators and they realize that they are more defenseless. So use lots of fragrant herbs especially larger ones like Perovskia - Russian Sage and Nepetas that release their strong scent if the deer brush against them.

Also, Deer do not like grazing extremely low, or too high. Shrubs and trees with foliage 3-5 feet or higher will be less likely to have deer damage."