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, 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

after the snowdrops and before the first primroses, and then virtually disappear under the canopy of more showy summer plants. Sometimes they produce a smaller, second flush of flowers in late summer, which I only notice when gardening or sitting close

.Aeoniums are wonderfully generous succulents, as they can be propagated so readily from their rosettes by cutting them from a parent plant and pushing into pots of gritty compost to root. Many succulents are hardier than often recognised, though you need some nerve to risk

woad body paint terrorising Romans. The plant from which this comes is Isatis tinctoria and, oddly, it is not even faintly blue, but very yellow.I was reminded of this by a quick preview visit to Jekka McVicar's stand at this year's Chelsea Flower Show

to write. A brief history of modernist design? An investigation of the idiosyncrasies of the Linnean system? A illustrated discussion of the baroque? The propagation of rare orchids? Advanced composting techniques?Instead, I've decided to ramble about one

and planting.I've already fished out my seed tin, and have various piles of seeds to sow in month order in the front room. I can’t wait for that steamy, greenhouse scent that will permeate the flat once seed sowing is fully underway. The front room

, they will not thrive in sodden soils - decent drainage is essential. As with any other plant, get them off to a good start by incorporating plenty of organic material, such as home-made compost. Oriental poppies will appreciate a small amount of fertiliser, but don

be propagated from runners, rather than divided. Cut off the runners if you don't want the clump to spread. A. californica should be planted 2.5cm (1in) beneath the water.Anemopsis californica'Berlin Tiger' bears eye-catching yellow flowers with brown markings

each of the baby plants in house plant compost then water both the compost and the rosette. Rooting takes around a month. Alternatively, you can wait until the main plant begins to die off, then cut it out and leave the babies to grow where they are.Propagating