This Begonia quite unlike the large flowered fleshy types. It's a graceful, hanging plant with small bunches of little single orange flowers at the end of pale red stems. The leaves are toothed and a lovely fresh green. It flowers for weeks on end. It's said to over-winter in the Cotswolds in a sheltered spot but we'd be inclined to treat it as half-hardy and give it some winter protection. Plant in partial shade in moist, loamy, humus-rich compost. 9cm pot.

Bright rose flowers March-April. Deep green leaves turning dark copper in winter. Spectacular plant for any soil and tolerates full sun and part shade. Good ground cover and NOT liked by rabbits!

This South African plant has pale purple daisy flowers in clusters on spiny stems which grow from ground level rosettes. Spreads by underground runners when mature. Hardy but likes a warm, sunny spot in well drained soil.

Striking variegates leaves and blue flowers appearing early. The flowers which appear in spring, are a little like forget me nots. Good under trees and shrubs and does best in good soil and a bit of shade. H 1' S 2' 2l pot

This stately Campanula is a beautiful back of the border plant, growing to over 5' and with a spread of 2'. It needs staking or growing through peasticks, if in a windy spot. Full sun, part shade, soil: fertile, moist, well drained, netural to alkaline. Flowers July to Sept. Fully hardy. Self-seeds freely. Flower colour retained best in part shade. Protect from slugs and mulch with well-rotted compost in spring.

aka Milky Bellflower, this Campanula has tall branching stems of lilac flowers from July to September. The mid-green leaves are slightly serrated. Deadhead for repeat flowering at a reduced height. H. 54". Hardy

Dark purply blue pendant bell flowers from June to September. This is a lovely perennial and is happy in a sunny or partly shady place. 2l pot. H&S about 18"

Rosettes of large glossy green leaves with stems of large bells lilac/white and spotted inside, held well clear of foliage. Very striking. H. 12"-18"

Bell shaped double purple flowers from May to July. Prefers sun/partial shade and well drained soil. H. 2' Hardy perennial

Lovely, bright, cheerful, clump-forming perennial with large, deep blue flowers from early to mid-summer. Good in beds and borders. H' 18" Best in sun or light shade. Hardy. 2l pot

Attractive, hardy, white-flowered, clump-forming perennial from early to mid-summer. Good in beds and borders. H' 18" Best in sun or light shade. Hardy. 2l pot Photo courtesy of Jelitto

This giant scabious attracts attention with its unusual 2" wide, primrose yellow, rosette-like flowers. This is an 'airy' plant growing to about 6' tall and in need of plenty of space. It looks best at the back of a large border and in windy gardens needs supporting with stakes or peasticks. 2l pot

This lovely plant has become deservedly popular over the last few years. Its beautifully coloured bracts, steel blue bell like flowers and glaucous leaves with white spots, bring an unusual and slightly exotic note to any planting scheme in a sunny spot. One pretty way of planting it is on top of a sheltered wall so that you look up into its flowers. It's treated as an annual but in our experience usually seeds itself and pops up again next year. 2l pot.

A useful late flowering plant, with strong stems and crinkly leaves. Chelone means turtle head and the pink flowers are supposed to resemble the open mouth of a turtle! Full sun, some shade, soil:acidic, chalky/alkaline, boggy, clay, sandy Most attractive. Hardy. H 2'

Upright hardy perennial with lac shaped leaves and fringed white flowers. Bit unusual and quite an attention-grabber. H approx 2' . Grow in fertile, moist soil in partial shade or full sun. Soil can be acid or neutral. Will grow in boggy conditions, tolerates clay. Do not allow to dry out. Photo courtesy of Jelitto.

Hardy perennial chicory grown to 5' with beautiful sky blue flowers. Excellent for back of borders but thrives in poor soil Roots dried roasted and ground are used as coffee substitute or to strengthen coffee flavour. Does well in sun and on chalky soil. 2 litre pot Photo courtesy of Jelitto

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This shrubby, non twining Clematis has the most beautifully coloured indigo blue flowers with recurving petals. It has the bonus of being sweetly scented. Herbaceous. Height about 3' Flowers June to September and can be hard pruned in spring if necessary but before new growth appears. Plant in full sun or partial shade in well drained light, chalky or alkaline soil. Hardy. 2 litre pot.

A most attractive shrubby Clematis which sprawls as a billowy ground cover or, as it grows to between 6' and 8' can be tied in to a trellis or other support. It has clusters of small white and blue or lavender flowers in late summer and the very prominent stamens give it a lively appearance. The late flowering makes it valuable in the garden. Plant in well drained humus rich soil and in sun. Mulch in late winter (avoiding the crown) and prune back the stems to a pair of strong buds.

This pink form of the much loved lily of the valley is quite unusual and extremely pretty. Plant in a humus rich soil in a shady setting - it's a woodland flower. In our experience, Convallarias 'wander', so if it decides it's going to take root in a gravel path instead of a flower bed, it knows best!
Hardy. 2l pot.

A low growing shrubby member of the well known climbing and twining plants. This plant is evergreen with silvery hairs covering the leaves. It has pink flower buds opening to white with a pink vein down the middle of the flower. It likes a hot, sunny position in a well-drained spot and is a half-hardy perennial. It has the RHS Award of Garden Merit (AGM) 2l pot

A low-growing hardy perennial with lovely white bracts in late spring, followed by red fruits. It makes excellent groundcover in sun or partial shade and in moist acidic, well drained soil. H. 5" S. 10" 2l pot.

An upright perennial with light green, deeply divided leaves and racemes of bright blue tubular flowers. This is a very pretty and rather showy early spring plant and is dormant in late summer. Good for cool, moist places in dappled shade. Hardy. 2l pot

Compact habit with single, bright yellow flowers with a gold centre which look lovely against narrow, deep green leaves. Plant in sun with good drainage. H. 8" 2l pot

Tall, architectural plant for the back of a border and needs space to do its best. Big sprays of white flowers and large grey/green kidney shaped leaves. Hardy, tolerant as to soil and some drought. Attractive to bees and doesn't like being moved once established, so pick the right spot! Grows to around 6' or a bit more and spreads about 4'. It's a very striking plant and a good foil to other larger flowered plants in front or beside it. 2l pot

Discovered here in our garden, this is a lovely deep, clear orange colour. It flowers as C. 'Lucifer' is going over so adds colour and longevity to the border. Spreads very well, so divide clumps every year or two. 2l. pot

This charming autumn flowering, white cyclamen is a joy to behold. It looks especially lovely planted under trees, in rockeries, or at the edge of a border. They are hardy and flower from autumn into winter in both heavy soils and well-drained, re-appearing and increasing every year. Our corms are approximately 3" across in 1 litre pots.

A real wow factor plant. With us this clump forming perennial can get to a height and spread of 6' or more, so needs plenty of elbow room. It's a clump forming perennial with arching, deeply cut grey leaves, rather like an artichoke, to which it is related. Its common name is Cardoon. The purple seed heads appear in late summer and are popular with birds. Hardy to around -10C Full sun, tolerant of most soils. 2l pot