Compendium of Collections

Hilliers took the theme of the Living Library of Garden Plants very literally in their display of the 12 National Plant Collections held by the Sir Harold Hillier Gardens.  A beautifully bound red leather encyclopedia is planted up with  examples of all their Collections. (See list at the end of this entry).  Not only is this in keeping with the theme of the Plant Heritage Marquee this year but it points to The Hillier Manual of Trees and Shrubs which has been in print since 1972 and is a must-have for many gardeners.

An eye catching interpretation of an acorn sits in a prominent place at the front of the display representing the 600 species of deciduous, semi-evergreen or evergreen oak trees in the genus Quercus. Privet can  rarely be more beautiful than the Ligustrum lucidum ‘Golden Wax’ on display.  A plant of garden origin with large golden leaves and large panicles of flowers. The Collection of Plants raised by Hilliers is represented by a Cotinus hybrid with its frothy flowers and russet leaves.  Visit the garden to appreciate the Collections in full; the images give you a close up of the leaves.

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Carpinus, Cornus, Corylus, Cotoneaster, Hamamelis, Hillier (Plants raised by), Ligustrum, Lithocarpus, Metasequoia, Photinia, Pinus (excl dwarf cvcs.), Quercus