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Some people get a bit snobby when it comes to flowers. Perennials usually come high in the pecking order for the 'must have' plants of the moment, but when did you last hear anyone singing the praises of hardy annuals?Annuals are the unsung heroes

When did you last lift and divide congested clumps of perennial flowers in your garden? You're not alone if you're struggling to remember, as this is a job I often overlook too.Hardy perennials just do their thing year after year, and I don't give

degrees of frosty weather in between. I like to think a deep carpet of snow, although clearly at zero degrees or less, is actually insulating plants below from even colder air temperatures above. Hopefully no harm will come to the perennials and bulbs

I've always had a soft spot for chrysanthemums, and it's during autumn that they really reward you with the flower you've been anticipating all year. I can't think of another hardy perennial for pots or borders that looks so bright and colourful

While many perennials in my garden borders have packed up shop for the year and are dying down, it's so uplifting to see others, such as Japanese anemones, ending the year with all guns blazing.I've always had a soft spot for Japanese anemones. Our

looks it's pretty hardy, and tolerates shade well, too. This shrub is an ideal choice to form the permanent framework for an exotic garden, something I know many people now try to develop. My own garden is more traditional, with lots of perennials

special care since.Like all hardy perennials they'll come back year after year, but some need lifting and dividing to keep their displays fresh and vibrant. Not so with astrantia, which produces delightful starburst blooms in June, that last all season

it is. These bold golden bells have an exotic feel, developing in tight clumps close to shoot tips, and flowering for 4-6 weeks through the second half of April into May.S. 'Sun King' is a reasonably hardy evergreen shrub, and mine has reached about 3m

It's strange how some wonderful plants just pass you by. I've only just discovered a lovely low-growing perennial called Verbena rigida. As is the way, I was buying paint at B&Q and just happened to walk through the plant area when I came across

, and eventually grew too large.Let's be fair. All plants grow, and many trees, shrubs, perennials and climbers can grow too tall or wide for their site, so this isn't just a 'problem' with conifers.As always when choosing plants, do your homework, get advice from