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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

of muffled hens while others are as small and delicate as the eyelashes of newborn babies. Some flower in May and others in July. Which one should you choose? How do we know which are the best, most reliable plants? It can get a bit confusing, especially when

of blossom to choose from that it all gets a bit confusing. But my top five at the moment are: Prunus 'Taihaku' - its white flowers have centres the colour of jam stains Prunus cerasifera 'Nigra' - its purple leaves are interesting Prunus 'Cheal's Weeping

ball sized flowers of A. 'Purple Sensation', the drumsticks of A. sphaerocephalon or the starry heads of A. christophii), I’m particularly fond of the greater subtlety of nectaroscordum.The fresh green leaves start appearing in late February - earlier

the drive and while I have been away it has burst into flower. Cow parsley (or Anthriscus sylvestris to give it its posh Latin name) is a pretty biennial* native plant that scatters itself along roadsides and hedgerows.I learned from reading a fine blog

Picos Blue - I know, I have mentioned that one as well but this is a picture of the one in my garden.Eryngium padanifolium 'Physic Purple' - a South American variety that has very striking muddy red flowers. The leaves are fleshy and viciously spiked

there are not enough, because I bet you a shiny 20p piece that in a couple of weeks, when they have died back and other things have doubled in size, that you will have completely forgotten.I plant a lot of bulbs every year for various clients — last autumn I had about

. I had a bit of a gap into which I decided to plant the following:Thalictrum delaveyii - five foot tall. Drop dead gorgeous.Patrinia scabiosifolia - strong yellowy colour. No nonsense.Monarda 'Purple Ann' - a pinky red varietyMathiasella bulpeuroides

grassy bank. The flowers are strong purple and pink and it is a wonderful sight. I wish I had a photograph but driving while taking plant portraits tends to be frowned upon by the constabulary in these parts. It is easy to grow, needing only sunshine

ornamental cabbages with marvellous frilly leaves, in shades ranging from washy pink to beetroot to deep purple, together with larger ornamental kale.The Americans are very keen on ornamental cabbages and use them in quantity for public plantings (and also