In Britain, one catalogue stands out for its committment to bringing us excellent new introductions, thoughtfully chosen plants from way back – and strong opinions. For in his Cotswold Garden Flowers catalogue, Bob Brown not only releases his own new plants plus those of other top breeders on both sides of the Atlantic, and chooses the best of all the rest, but he rates every plant in the catalogue. He gives each plant marks out of ten!

Now, of course, you won’t find any with only two or three marks, though there’s an elder rated only 3.5. A few plants escape rating but almost everything in the catalogue is rated 7 or more, with quite a few starring at 10 out of 10. “A score of 5 is average – it’s OK,” says Bob, “6 is nice, 7 is good, 8 is very good, etc. I welcome argument.”

The 10-out-of-10s include three agapanthus, two agaves, a bergenia, two brunneras, two cannas, a chrysanthemum, three crocosmias, an echinacea, three hellebores, two heucheras, no hostas, two kniphofias, a meconopsis, an Oriental poppy, three primulas…

Bob loves, and breeds crocosmias; three get top marks and, out of 13, ten get 9, 9.5 or 10. Same goes for kniphofias, two are rated 10. The picture below shows the throwouts from the breeding programme. And his son Edmund’s enthusiasm for elders is revealed in the collection of 46 (yes, you read right, 46 ) different types. Though none rate a 10, there are many specially selected for their fruit production.

Some plants are praised in a single word to go with their 10 out of 10: “amazing” (Helleborus ‘Bob’s Best’), “fabulous” (Papaver orientale ‘Snow Goose’). Others get a sparky phrase: “you (or more likely your spouse/partner) need mental preparation for its irruption” (Clematis armandii ‘Appleblossom’).

On the nursery’s website, you’ll not only find the text of the catalogue, but a record of Bob’s ratings for a huge range of plants that did not make it into the catalogue or are still being assessed:
“Small mounds of crinkled dark green glossy foliage as if suffering an aphid attack... Died - unknown reasons’ (Ajuga pyramidalis ‘Metallica Crispa’)
“Destroyed - not good enough.” (Vinca major ‘Jason Hill’)
“Easy. Most visitors are more enthusiastic than I am. (Died of old age).” (Potentilla ‘Melton Fire’)

And although this is all very amusing, it’s important to remember that with Bob’s experience, his fine eye for a good plants, and his inability to prevaricate for the sake of a sale you can trust what he says.

A visit to the nursery is a treat (check the website for details), as is the catalogue (don’t throw away the old ones). Bob Brown’s plants are also on sale at a range of plant fairs.

* Cotswold Garden Flowers will ship plants to the rest of Europe, but not to North America.

Two of my favorite mail order plant catalogs arrived in the mailbox recently, one British and one American. They’re both great fun, and both full of great plants. First, the American one. Next, the British one.

Plant Delights Nursery, and its mail order catalog, are crucial to American horticulture. They take on added importance after the loss of two important smaller nurseries – Asiatica and Seneca Hill Perennials. Tony Avent, the boss at Plant Delights, chooses good new plants, and some old ones, and then launches them into the horticultural world with a few choice phrases – and a cartoon catalog cover by Jack Pittman… the latest featuring a Facebook parody.

But the fun and humor is an overlay above a keen eye, an astute assessment of what is, and what is not, a good garden plant, and the willingness to give anything a try. Calocasias hardy in zone 7 (colder than England), hostas and epimediums bred at the nursery, thoughtful picks from breeders of dianthus, echinaceas, heucheras, hellebores and many more, a mass of new Asian Polygonatum selections, the first yellow-leaved buddleja…

There are plants from across the Atlantic of course, including a purple-flowered hardy gladiolus: “When I first saw this in the UK at Cotswold Garden Flowers, it was not in flower, but I was intrigued at the thought of a hardy purple glad, so I bought one on faith… and MasterCard… This vigorous grower is simply superb.” The Cotswold Garden Flowers catalog will be featured here next.

Everything in the catalog is trialed at the nursery’s garden in North Carolina. Having visited the garden and nursery last fall, I can testify to the impressive set up and mass of intriguing, and not always fashionable plants being assessed. How many variegated aucubas are you trialing, Tony?

There are some oddities – “You want strange...can you handle strange? If so, we've got strange!” Tony says about a new yellow-banded Liriope – and I know some gardeners feel he’s a little optimistic about what’s hardy and what’s not. “I consider every plant hardy until I have killed it myself… at least three times,” he says.

But be assured this catalog is packed with good plants - and it’s fun to read.

Check out the Plant Deights website, order a printed catalog (and never throw it away), and take a look at the vast range of plants introduced by the nursery.

* Plant Delights will send plants to Britain – but look over all the details carefully before ordering.