Key plants in The Way of Saint James

A small deciduous shrub to 1.8m, with large oval leaves and Hortensia-type, rounded heads of white sterile florets, the sepals serrate. Sometimes tinged pink in full sun.


 

A robust evergreen fern with arching, ovate, bipinnately divided fronds to 1.5m long, bearing bulbils on the underside towards the tips.



 

As they age the feathery, dark green fronds of this handsome, evergreen ‘hard fern’ spread semi-horizontally to form an attractive, rosette-like shape. It provides all-year interest for shady areas of the garden and companionship for shade-loving woodland plants.

A vigorous bulbous perennial to 2m in height, with whorled leaves and racemes of up to 40 pure white turkscap flowers each 5cm in width.



 

Among the most glamorous shrubs, camellias are upright or spreading, glossy-leaved evergreens, with white, pink or red flowers. Impressive in shrub borders, they are also ideal for containers and you can also grow them more informally in light woodland beneath deciduous trees.

(Pictured: Camellia japonica ‘Hakurakuten’)