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, lacewings and hoverflies, which prey on aphids.CalendulaSage, Salvia officinalis, is strongly scented and will confuse pests of brassicas if planted alongside them. Its blue flowers attract bees and hoverflies, which also pollinate crops.SageBorage, Borago

Late-summer nectarAs some insects are still out foraging in late-summer, it's a good idea to provide food for them with nectar-rich, late-flowering plants.Plants for beesIn late-summer, many plants have finished flowering, but bees, butterflies

, indeed, an extraordinarily fine plant (I have it self seeding in the gravel outside my office). Pretty well everybody also knows about Verbena bonariensis which is one of the finest herbaceous plants ever invented: it flowers for ages (from about July

favourite, the meadow cranesbill is a perennial that flowers in June and grows well in an open spot. Taller stems can grow to 90cm high.Geranium pratenseForget-me-nots will pop up everywhere to create a frothy blue cloud, but are easy to pull out if you have

for the one with the AGM sticker. But back to my confusing list of alliums, I notice that there are fifteen AGM plants. To make your job of choosing them even simpler, here are my top five:Allium caeruleum: a late-flowering, small-headed blue variety. Height 0

', blue clouds of catmint and Russian sage.Planting companionsSome shrubs also make great companions, such as euphorbias, geums and Anthriscus sylvestris 'Ravenswing' with the warmer-coloured iris flowers, or cistus and artemisia for the cool blues

hyacinth produces a mini forest of stems, each carrying a small head of flower. It comes in blue, pink and white, and I'm hoping that a single bulb per pot will produce a really good display.

kept cool out of the sun. There it was left to its own devices, using the shrubby germander as a living plant support.C. 'Arabella' really comes into its own through late June into July, when its six blue petals open around a bold central boss of white

We’ve finished clearing out all the summer containers and started replanting them with winter bedding. I really love potting up plants, especially in late-autumn and winter when any dash of colour is welcome in the garden.A trip to our local market

ichu looks set to become a first class ornamental grass. With silver panicles of summer flowers borne above bright foliage, it looks particularly good in a container.Jarava ichuAn excellent ground cover plant, Luzula nivea has wide, hairy leaves