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of the brassica family, which is apparent in the flowers. It grows best near water, hence its presence by my ditch.As folklore has it, this plant is sacred to the fairies and is therefore unlucky if brought indoors. I have no idea what terrible revenge the fairies

’t seed itself.Verbena hastata - I have written about this fabulous plant here before.Helianthus salicifolia - about the last thing to flower before autumn really hits. About eight feet tall with narrow willowy leaves.Geum 'Prinses Juliana' - I've always

in summer to produce more plants. The tricky bit is remembering to order them in August, so long after they've actually flowered.Make notes, Ladies and Gentlemen, always make notes (says the man who always forgets everything).

carpeted with the things and the air filled with the faint scent of their flowers. That, combined with low rising sunbeams and the lettuce-coloured young leaves, is one of the most spectacular sights you could ever wish to witness.I have been unable

I love early September: the sun is still hot but the nights are not stifling. The majority of plants have flowered and faded away but there are still some, particularly the dahlias, that are flowering their little heads off. There was a time when

A few weeks ago I wrote about the redesign of part of my garden. It's going well — thank you for asking. One of the plants I mentioned was Nectaroscordum siculum, which I think merits a blog of its own, as it's one of my very favourite plants

and robust in spirit) is a bit like a camel: it carries all the nutrition and energy it needs within its pale skin already. This means that it will flower without much help from us (at least for this year it will) no matter how late you plant them.So I reckon

level. Yes, I know that you are cutting off all the flowers and I also know that it looks a bit shorn and embarrassed after this treatment, but it is the best choice.The plant will grow new foliage very quickly and will still have time to flower

It is a very old and trusted maxim that ‘a weed is just a plant in the wrong place’. I don’t know who said it originally, but part of me rather wishes that it had been me. The other part of me wants to punch whoever coined the expression

shade.Sarcococca confusa (Christmas box)A winter flowering, highly scented shrub. Compact in size, Sarcococca is ideal for planting near a pathway or gate.Viburnum tinus (laurustinus)This is a workhorse of a shrub, which has pinkish-white flowers