Dig into the joy of a life outdoors
Find peace and purpose by reconnecting with nature, creativity and the joy of making things in your own patch of paradise.
Discover extraordinary, unusual, and beautiful plants from around the world — each with growing and care tips to help you cultivate these weird and wonderful species in your own space.
Puya alpestris
Sapphire tower
A spiny, silver-green Chilean bromeliad that eventually sends up spectacular spikes of metallic turquoise flowers.
- Full sun
- 0.6–1.5 m (2–5 ft)
- H3 · Zone 9
Strelitzia reginae
Bird of Paradise
A dramatic architectural houseplant famed for its striking orange and blue crane-like flowers and bold banana-like…
- Full sun, Partial shade
- 1–2 m (3–7 ft)
- H1b · Zone 11
Strelitzia nicolai
Giant white bird of paradise
A huge, banana-like evergreen with paddle-shaped leaves and dramatic blue-and-white 'bird' flowers.
- Full sun, Partial shade
- 2–1 m (7–33 ft)
- H1b · Zone 11
Salvia ‘Amethyst Lips’
Amethyst Lips sage
A bushy shrubby sage with bicoloured flowers, white at the base and amethyst-purple at the lips.
- Full sun
- 50–90 cm (20–35 in)
- H4 · Zone 8
Geranium Rozanne (‘Gerwat’)
Rozanne cranesbill
A famously long-flowering hardy geranium with violet-blue, white-eyed flowers from early summer to autumn.
- Full sun, Partial shade
- 50–60 cm (20–24 in)
- H7 · Zone 4
Fuchsia ‘Genii’
Genii hardy fuchsia
A hardy fuchsia grown as much for its bright lime-yellow leaves on red stems as for…
- Full sun, Partial shade
- 60–90 cm (24–35 in)
- H4 · Zone 8
