Looking after the quarter
Planters
These planters are brought to you by Berkeley Court and Baker Street Quarter Partnership, bringing new greening to the area to improve the local environment.
Below you will find the names and descriptions of some of the plants used, all of which have been carefully chosen to increase biodiversity.
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Box Suffruticosa (Buxus sempervirens)
A slow-growing, compact, evergreen shrub to 1m tall, with small, glossy, dark green leaves to 3cm long, and very small yellowish flowers in clusters, produced in spring.
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Sedge 'Ice Dance' (Carex morrowii)
An evergreen sedge forming a low, slow-spreading tufted mound. The green, glossy leaves are edged with white and small, inconspicuous brown flower spikes appear in late spring.
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Lenten rose (Helleborus orientalis)
A clump-forming perennial to about 45cm with tough, leathery leaves deeply divided into seven or nine leaflets. From mid-winter to mid-spring produces large, nodding, cup-shaped, white flowers, often with cream or green shading and a large boss of pale yellow stamens.
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Alum Root 'Burgundy Frost' (Heuchera)
An herbaceous perennial forming a neat clump to 30cm in height, with greyish-marbled, dull red leaves, purple beneath, and small pale green flowers from early summer.
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Coral Bells (Heuchera sanguinea)
A clump-forming, semi-evergreenperennial to around 30cm with rounded, shallowly lobed, dark green leaves with pale green marbling. In summer bears small, red, tubular flowers in open sprays on fine, upright stems.
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Pieris 'Little Heath' (Pieris japonica)
Little Heath’ is a compact evergreen small shrub to 60cm, the small leaves with white margins. Flowers white, from pink buds, rather sparse.
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Self-fertile Japanese skimmia (Skimmia japonica subsp. Reevesiana)
A compact, evergreen shrub with slightly aromatic, leathery leaves. Small, fragrant, creamy-white flowers are produced in dense, conical clusters in spring, followed by red berries in autumn which often remain until the following spring.
Hart’s Tongue Fern (Asplenium scolopendrium)
An evergreen fern forming a rosette of arching, rich green, strap-shaped fronds 30-75cm in length, the margins often undulate. Spores borne in conspicuous transverse stripes beneath the fronds.
Daisy (Bellis perennis)
An evergreen perennial forming rosettes of dark green, spoon-shped leaves, with small, solitary, yellow-centred, pink-tinged, white daisies in late spring and summer.
Japanese Holly Fern (Cyrtomium falcatum)
An evergreen fern, deciduous in cold areas, forming a tuft of leathery, pinnate fronds to 70cm long, composed of dark glossy green, broadly sickleshaped leaflets.
Silver Nickel Vine ‘Silver Falls’ (Dichondra ‘Silver Falls’)
Silver Falls is a tender herbaceous perennial, usually grown as an annual, up to 10cm high and trailing up to 1.2m, with evergreen, heart-shaped to kidney-shaped, silvery leaves, 2-3cm across, and very small pale yellow, green or white flowers in early summer.
Copper Shield Fern ‘Brilliance’ (Dryopteris erythrosora ‘Brilliance’)
An evergreen fern with red new fronds in spring turning to a coppery pink then dark glossy green. Bright orange-red ripe spores appear on the undersides of the leaves in autumn.
Rough Horsetail (Equisetum hyemale)
A tall, upright, evergreen perennial to about 180cm, with hollow, jointed stems banded in black.
Fleabane ‘Sea Breeze’ (Erigeron glaucus ‘Sea Breeze’)
A low-growing, carpeting perennial reaching up to 45cm. Its evergreen leaves are a blue-grey-green colour. Masses of lilac-pink semi-double flowers with yellow centres are produced throughout the summer.
Wintercreeper ‘Variegatus’ (Euonymus fortunei ‘Gracilis’)
A creeping and trailing evergreen shrub, with ovate varigated leaves, dark green margined with creamy white. Inconspicuous pale greeny white flowers in summer, occasionally followed by pale pinky orange fruits. This shrub is generally grown for its variegated foliage and versatility of climbing, creeping and trailing.
Checkerberry (Gaultheria procumbens ‘Red Baron’)
A dwarf evergreen shrub to 15cm in height, spreading indefinitely, with rounded leathery leaves, aromatic when crushed and turning reddish in winter. Small, bell-shaped white or pinkish flowers are followed by scarlet berries 10mm in width.
Irish Ivy ‘Spetchley’ (Hedera helix ‘Harry’s Dwarf’)
Spetchley is a prostrate evergreen shrub with very small leaves deeply divided into three narrow lobes; no flowers.
Bird’s foot ivy (Hedera helix ‘Pedata’)
Pedata is an evergreen climber grown for its dark green leaves the shape of a bird’s foot, being divided into 3 narrow lobes, the lateral ones each with a smaller lobe.
Silver ragwort ‘Silver Dust’ (Jacobaea maritima)
A subshrub, usually grown as an annual, for its ovate, pinnately lobed, strikingly silvery-white leaves, sometimes with loose clusters of yellow daisy flowers in summer.
English Lavender (Lavandula angustifolia ‘Hidcote superior’)
A bushy evergreen shrub, with linear, aromatic, pale silvery green leaves. Long spikes of fragrant, deep purple flowers are borne on slender stems from early to late summer.
Big Blue Lilyturf (Liriope muscari)
An evergreen, tuberous perennial forming a dense clump of narrow, arching, leathery, dark green leaves. Dense, upright spikes of small, violet purple flowers appear in autumn, followed by black berries.
New Zealand Myrtle ‘Little Star’ (Lophomyrtus × ralphii ‘Little Star’)
Little Star is an evergreen shrub with small, round, dark green leaves bordered in cream and flushed with pink. Mature plants produce small, white, scented, cup-shaped flowers with a mass of stamens in late summer, followed by black berries.
Heavenly Bamboo ‘Gulf Stream’ (Nandina domestica ‘Gulf Stream’)
A compact, bushy, evergreen shrub to 1.2m tall with pinnate leaves divided into lance-shaped leaflets. New growth emerges a bronze-orange colour in spring turning green with age but often retaining a red-orange flush. In autumn and winter, the foliage turns shades of red and gold. Conical panicles of small white flowers in summer are sometimes followed by red berries.
Pieris ‘Prelude’ (Pieris japonica ‘Prelude’)
A compact, evergreen shrub with pink young foliage maturing to dark green, and erect panicles of small, creamy-white, urn-shaped flowers in late spring.
Soft Shield Fern (Polystichum setiferum)
A tufted, evergreen fern to 1.2m in height, with rosettes of soft textured, lance-shaped mid-green fronds, the stalks with prominent orange-brown scales.
Rosemary Prostrata Group (Rosmarinus officinalis ‘Prostratus’)
A group of compact, evergreen shrubs with a prostrate habit linear, dark green highly aromatic foliage. Clusters of blue flowers appear in the spring and summer and occasionally in autumn.
Butcher’s Broom (Ruscus aculeatus)
A bushy sub-shrub to 75cm, with glossy lance-shaped cladophylls 2.5cm in length, flowering in spring, with glossy red berries on female plants in summer and autumn.
Shining-white Ragwort ‘Angel Wings’ (Senecio candidans ‘Angel Wings’)
A clump-forming, evergreen perennial to about 40cm with large, rounded, velvety, silver leaves. Flat, terminal clusters of small, yellow flowers are produced in summer.
Lamb’s Ear ‘Big Ears’ (Stachys byzantina ‘Big Ears’)
A mat-forming herbaceous perennial with soft, grey-green, slightly hairy foliage which is larger than other varieties. Upright stems of small pink to purple flowers appear from June through to September. An excellent choice as ground cover to suppress weeds and drought-tolerant and a tactile choice for a sensory garden.
Dark Purple-flowered Periwinkle (Vinca minor ‘Atropurpurea’)
A wide-spreading evergreen perennial about 10cm in height, with ovate, dark green leaves and deep reddish-purple flowers 2.5cm in width.
