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I love the way plants hold associations with places and key events in your life. Some - like pheasant's eye daffodils - I grow in my garden as a fond reminder of the childhood associations I have with them. Others somehow seem to slip the net

' as a general catch-all term for those plants that can be grown from dormant bulbs, corms, tubers and rhizomes. Among my regular favourites are begonias, dahlias, canna lilies and eucomis, the pineapple flower. Then there's galtonia, the summer hyacinth

and consisted of immaculately maintained pathways through fabulous exotic plantings. Since then the garden staff has been reduced from 12 to one and the mood of the garden has changed to one more in keeping with the relaxed attitude of the island.The paths are a

, gritty compost. They take up to three months to germinate at about 15°C and should be left for a few years before transplanting and growing on.PropagationMore plants to grow for late-summer colourChoose flowers for late-summer colourCombine asters, sedums

We had a good time, but in the same breath I have to say it's great being back - Matt Biggs and I have just returned from hosting the Gardeners' World magazine Gardening Cruise with 128 fellow gardeners. These trips are always packed full of great

producing a single flower per stem once a year, moth orchids produce several stems, each boasting a dozen or more exotic flowers. Yes, I know you'll find these phalaenopsis orchids everywhere now, but they offer so much more value than a bunch of cut flowers

, loam-based compost, a warm position, and once they're growing you must make sure their compost never dries out. This is one pot plant I don't think you can overwater.Many varieties have wonderful speckled leaves, while others have dark leaf stalks

They were a long time coming, but my Glory Lily has finally started flowering. It was my fault really, as I should have planted the tubers earlier in the year. Time caught me out, and despite receiving them in March they remained in the paper bag

. In this picture I planted it with annual cornflowers.Iris 'Deep Black' - one of the most sumptuously coloured irises. The petals are seductively dark and exotic.I could go on, and on, and on, but I'll spare you this time.Feel free to add your own here and do see

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 0.6