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, and therefore a must for every garden.Designing your wildlife gardenWhen planting a nectar border or any selection of flowers to attract insects, think first of what's best for them and second, of what you want to look at. The two are not remotely exclusive

Verbena bonariensisVerbena bonariensis flowers on tall, wiry stems and can be planted with a variety of different perennials, including grasses. It has a long flowering season, making it an ideal plant for low-maintenance gardens and herbaceous

I love big plants. Not big pants. Plants.Not so much enormous shrubs or majestic trees (although they have their place of course), but herbaceous plants that go from nothing to gigantic in the space of a few weeks. I love their energy

.Carol's favourite self-seedersAlchemilla mollisThis woodland dweller, also known as granny's bonnets, likes to grow in a shady spot. It can grow to about 90cm high.Aquilegia vulgarisAlso known as Miss Willmott's ghost, this herbaceous perennial likes to bask in full

and miscanthus.Planting partnersGrow smaller varieties in patio pots and plant medium and tall varieties among herbaceous perennials in mixed borders. Improve the soil before planting, with home-made compost or well-rotted manure. Grow them in full sun

herbaceous perennials, and seed-sown annuals. Perennial displays can be created from lifting and dividing established plants from borders (no such luck for me, at the moment), while bedding staples, such as French and pot marigolds, salvia, bidens, lobelia

in late-summer are pretty wide-ranging, as are shrubs, climbers and herbaceous perennials. Most fashionable annuals, exotics and tender perennial patio plants should also stay in flower until late-September, or even early October, if properly looked after

.This idea was sparked off by Nigel Colborn’s excellent blog Silvertreedaze. Nigel listed 50 herbaceous perennial plants without which he would feel bereft. I've decided that what is good enough for the all-knowing Nige, is good enough for you and me, so I