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crimson-red petals that feel like velvet. Forming a perfect rose bud, each flower is tightly packed with petals so opens like an old-fashioned fully double English rose.With inbuilt disease resistance and a strong growth habit, this hybrid tea rose is one

, this spreading plant features clumps of strappy leaves alongside sprays of trumpet flowers in shades of red, yellow and orange.My top plants for extending colourCrocosmiaThis plant is ideal for the no-fuss gardener. The large, long-lasting flowers in pinks

've listed some of my favourite fruits below.Plants grow up to 1.8m and bear sweet berries from July. Best suited to large, sheltered plots.Good soft fruit varietiesBlackcurrant 'Boskoop Giant'Grows well in shade and on heavy soil. It forms red berries

After the intense cold of winter, the bright and cheerful flowers of alpines and rock garden plants introduce much-needed colour into our gardens. There is a huge range to choose from and, being used to extreme conditions, they're extremely hardy

'Anya' or 'Red Duke of York''Half Pint' peas are smaller than regular pea plants, so don't require staking. They can even be grown in a container. The young tips can be trimmed and added to salads for a delicious spring treat, and are followed by flowers

gardener needs, but as soon as those big, bold blooms open it's bound to rain and shatter the petals. In the blink of an eye it's all over and I've got to wait another year for them to flower again.My problem is that I love plants, and have to admit

. 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

In 1985, Chris Baines created the first ever wildlife garden at the Chelsea Flower Show. Apparently it caused quite a stir - wildflowers in those days were often dismissed as 'weeds' - and his medal was mistakenly inscribed "Chris Baines, for a

to keep wearing the same size trousers. I could fly off somewhere hot, but sadly that's not terribly practical. Instead, my cheap and easy solution is to talk about summer flowers, with the only proviso being that they can be any colour at all except white

flowering, to ensure they have enough energy to grow the chillies, tomatoes or beans we're growing them for. This is especially pertinent when growing them in containers, as there is only a finite amount of nutrients in the compost. Once this is used up