DISPORUM

These delicate woodlanders with fairy-bell flowers make the perfect companions to hostas and ferns, and are relatively easy-going provided you offer them a moist and shady spot

-  JONNY BRUCE

It was as a student at Aberglasney Garden in Wales that I first read Dan Hinkley’s The Explorer’s Garden, which opened my eyes to a treasure trove of rare and unusual perennials. I’ve since been lucky enough to encounter many of the beautiful plants he described, but the genus Disporum has always held a special place in my gardening life. At the time of his book’s publication, Hinkley was running his famous nursery at Heronswood in Washington State and by 2004 had amassed more than 12,000 wild-collected plants in 15 years of travel. Plenty more have been added since, often on collaborative expeditions alongside Sue and Bleddyn Wynn-Jones – who, through their astonishing nursery at Crûg Farm, have helped to introduce these plants to Europe – and more recently other plantspeople such as Paul Barney of Edulis Nursery.