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Growing hebes
I used to be a bit sniffy about hebes. I considered the majority of them inelegant and boring – bog standard shrubs you find in a variety of municipal situations...
13 messages
oldchippy
05/01/2012 at 18:09
Hi Kate, I have a Hebe in flower,I took a piece from some one's garden while walking the dog's one night(it was over hanging the pavement)It is now quite a large bush,I don't know it's name but if it flower's now that good enough for me,The only other plant's in flower are Viburnum Tinus and our winter flowering Cherry there is plenty of gorse in flower on the golf course.
donutsmrs
05/01/2012 at 18:41
Hi Kate, I've got a lovely Hebe growing around the base of a conifer. It came as small plant, now it is really beautiful. When it is in flower it comes out in a white flower, I have no idea what its name is, but it just gets covered in bees, they love it. I have also got purple one growing in a pot that I bought at an auction and that also flowers really well. I don't do a lot to them just trim them back after flowering but they reward me with such a beautiful display. Just lovely.
happymarion
05/01/2012 at 19:08
Ah,hebes. They are spectacular in the New Zealand Garden at the Bristol University Botanic Garden. But I have long been a fan. A friend brought me one with lovely long white flowers from Clevedon Court with no name some six years ago, and it has brightened up a dark part of my woodland walk ever since, flowering for months on end. Another one I particularly like is called"Red Edge". The red edge is round the leaves! It gets covered in stumpy little purple flowers that look like elves hats. Hebes are such neat plants too and the parahebes are some of my favourite alpines.
Milo de Paor
06/01/2012 at 00:12
People used to have hebe jeebies here too until they read your post. Now they're making shopping lists of them.
kathryn.brock
06/01/2012 at 08:44
I love my hebe, it has faithfully flowered for months and is still flowering now. It puts up with this wind and heavy rain too and still looks good.
I bought it in a sale for £1 and think its the best value plant in my small garden.
Long live the hebe!
simon treasure
06/01/2012 at 11:30
Eh ? Hebes have surely beeb decimated in the UK over the past two winters. I lost all bar one of mine (out of 6 varieties) to severe frost. Not hardy below -7 in general. I live on the coast as well.
Newcastle
06/01/2012 at 21:13
I like Hebes as Winter foliage plants and am planning to grow some near the alpine bed I am starting to establish. I am experimenting with growing some of the smaller varieties alongside Spring bulbs. At least Hebes help to provide some Winter colour when nothing else much is visible. I don't know the Sapphire variety - thanks for displaying it. David.
higgy50
07/01/2012 at 00:31

My dad always used to grow Hebes and often gave me small plants when I first started gardening. I think due to inexperience at that time they never did very well and never really inspired me. I have to say that now many years later I have found some good uses for Hebes when trying to fill that difficult space! Some varieties I have tried have given me some great colour through long flowering periods which is always useful!...

Most certainly to often overlooked and I'm afraid I did used to be a guilty party!!...

 http://higgysgardenproject.blogspot.com/

Higgy

happymarion
08/01/2012 at 11:05

One thing you have to watch out for wth hebes is that they are susceptible to fungal attack from honey fungus.  This will surely kill them so do not plant hebes anywhere near even if it has been treated.

HOLEDIGGER
14/01/2012 at 23:19
What a pleasure Hebes are, Plants in all sizes, a lot of different flowers and leaf colour, and WOW!! when you see the bees and butterflies taking nectar and the sun, that is something to smile about, and feel good. They are such an easy plant to propogate,
clara martins
16/01/2012 at 01:01
Like everything in life it takes time to appreciate the things that are really good!. I too never used to consider hebes as a prominant or attractive garden plant but when i started to realise that the several different hebe shrubs in my garden withstand frost, shade and flower several times a year, they are winners in my book.
donutsmrs
16/01/2012 at 18:23

Thought you might like to see my Hebe, it flowers its socks off every year.

http://s3.gardenersworld.com/uploads/images/original/5233.jpg?width=281&height=350&mode=max

 It never disapoints.

Dahlia Lover
10/02/2012 at 11:31

I too love Hebes, my favourite is purple pixie it has flowered it socks off from June right through the winter - frost and snow and has only now stopped.  Hebes are so easy to propogate from cuttings I have taken so many from friends gardens and raised them until small plants and shared them out, so now we all have each others plants growing in our gardens.  They make great foundation plants to grow perrenials and bulbs around and in winter add interest when almost everything else has died down.

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