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Sown now in the greenhouse, dahlia seeds will produce young plants ready to plant outdoors in late May to flower this year. Seed companies sell a range of quick-growing bedding strains that are suitable for growing this way. You can also use

, your safest bet is the white double Dianthus 'Mrs Sinkins' which smells like the wrists of wood nymphs. It's one of the old garden pinks (great scent, short flowering season, most of them about 30cm high) and was originally bred in 1868 by John Sinkins

Although the time for roses is long past they can be remarkably resilient. Here we are at the beginning of December and I have two flowering in my garden at the moment - Rosa 'The Prince' and R. Moonlight. It is true that neither bloom is much

sink is the flowering currant with its limply hanging pink flowers. Not only is it extremely boring but the slightest contact with the leaves releases an unmistakable smell of cat pee. (I could just about accept Ribes sanguineum King Edward VII if I

will hopefully be as big as theirs!I think some varieties have rather wishy-washy flowers, like 'September Charm', whose blooms are pale pink; I prefer either a pure white flower, like 'Honorine Jobert', or something providing a deep, rich, colour. 'Pamina

. Persicaria officinalis (or orientalis) is about 2m high with sturdy stems that don't need staking and heavenly hanging pink flowers. In America it goes by the name of Kiss Me Over The Garden Gate, which is another big selling point.I'm sure there are lots

-sized shrub with ditzy white flowers dotted along its semi-naked branches. It has a sharper, slightly spiced scent - more aftershave than soft florals.The most common is Viburnum bodnantense, which has boudoir pink flowers and smells of a Duchess's swansdown

I love the delicate flowers of prunus, although I'm not so keen on the blowsier, pink varieties I sometimes see in other gardens. The smaller, more delicate spring blossom hits the spot for me.Like most gardeners, I also have a nose for a bargain

Rose Shades (from Mr Fothergill's seeds), producing a simple, single rosette in shades of rose pink. They only grow to about 45cm, so I've planted them closely to form a carpet between some standard Bonica roses in a complimentary shade. The marvellous

colour, from frilly-knicker-pink and daffodil yellow, to navy blue ruffs and watery marmalade. Some seek to combine all the colours of an ice-cream shop in one flower - which I think is a bit of an insult to a noble stalwart. Personally, I prefer