Stachys byzantina 'Silver Carpet'

Stachys byzantina 'Silver Carpet' is a low-growing mat-forming cultivar of Lamb's Ear that has exceptionally silvery foliage covered in the fine silky hairs that are so characteristic of this species. An asexual cultivar, it doesn't flower and is grown for its foliage and as a weed-suppressing ground-cover. It likes a gritty, well-drained soil in full sun and shouldn't be in constantly wet soil over winter. It dies down in the colder weather and when it reappears the new growth is green before gradually turning silver.

This form of Stachys byzantina originated from the Dewdrop Nurseries in Heacham, Kings Lynn, Norfolk. The nursery was established in the 1950's by W. Cunningham & Sons who moved into the old Fire Station in Pound Lane when it closed down. Hubert, John and Peter Cunningham ran Dewdrop Nurseries there until - like so many of the old nurseries - it was pulled down and became the now suburban Dewdrop Close. Somehow, Stachys byzantina 'Silver Carpet' seems to embody some of the nostalgia and charm of the post-war 1950's and early 1960's era; an age not so long gone yet so different from our life in the 21st Century. In today's world, new cultivars tend not to gently make their way into horticultural cultivation from sleepy family-run establishments but are given all the fanfare of a massive product launch through global distributors after having first had the dubious practice of a plant patent applied. It was a time before plastic, when seed-trays were made of wood and labels were hand-written.