Saxifraga umbrosa

Saxifraga umbrosa, London Pride or St Patrick's Cabbage, is a rosette-forming alpine perennial from the Pyrenees with waxy green foliage that gradually clumps to form a large ground-covering carpet. Its bright green leaves have a pale mid-rib and a wavy crenallated edge with small hairs and the basal rosettes can grow quite large before starting to send out offsets. In summer it sends up masses of exquisite five-petaled white flowers, intricately spotted with pink and yellow and embellished with apricot-pink anthers on long white filaments.

Saxifraga umbrosa is one of those plants that has been around British gardens for so long it is now usually overlooked by designers and exotic gardeners. This is an unfortunate oversight as it makes a wonderful planting companion with a wide range of more obviously exotic plants particularly the American and South African desert plants.

Horticultural snobbery is sadly alive and well in some quarters and a dose or two of imagination is always a healthy antidote. This is a wonderful plant. Inspired planting combinations with Saxifraga umbrosa will reward anyone who can think outside of the confines of gardening fashion. A plant doesn't have to be rare to have great value. Sometimes the most common of plants can provide uncommonly good results. Experiment with this plant. Be creative ... try it in new ways. Surprise yourself ... but don't expect the horti-snobs to approve. They are not known for their generosity of heart ... something the humble Saxifraga umbrosa has in spades.