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. 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

'Freda' - a pretty plant with purple-tinted leaves and pink flowers. The arbour is gorgeous to look at, but becomes a more favourite haunt as it provides me with a leafy retreat, laden with the best of summer perfume.Add to this some night-scented stock

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

.It took me a while to find the best spot for them.  Heavy clay isn't really ideal, but I've been blessed with wonderful allium displays that return year after year.Their dense pom-pom flower heads, composed of numerous purple 'stars', provide an easily

, mauves or white are held on strong, medium-tall wiry stems that don't need supporting.Japanese anemoneThis must-have plant has short stems of large bell-shaped flowers in purples, pinks and blues. It's drought tolerant and pretty hardy, although it

late summer flowering plant that will tolerate a bit of shade (provided it is not too dry). The pinky-purple flowers look like the mouths of giant carp. Gets to about 45cm high.Metasequoia glyptostroboides - the dawn redwood is a deciduous conifer from

.Houseleeks are most valued for their distinctive rosettes of succulent, spirally patterned foliage, although they also bear attractive flowers from spring to summer. Each rosette is a separate plant, and is monocarpic - it flowers once then dies, but is soon replaced

plantain's thickened stem and forked flower-head, and the daisy squashed and stretched like a plasticine model. And now there was the regular appearance of broad purple inflorescences just outside my kitchen.Apparently, Veronicastrum is prone to fasciation

ichu looks set to become a first class ornamental grass. With silver panicles of summer flowers borne above bright foliage, it looks particularly good in a container.Jarava ichuAn excellent ground cover plant, Luzula nivea has wide, hairy leaves