Most reliable flowers

To stand the test of time, these plants need to put on a good show each year, endure changing weather patterns and be easy to grow.

Pelargoniums, for example, have been grown in the UK since the 1700's, and the group boasts a huge variety of cultivars, including the intense 'Dark Secret' and scented 'Bitter Lemon'.

Discover Alan's most reliable flowers to grow, below.

Penstemon 'Sour Grapes'

'Sour Grapes' is a short, bushy, semi-evergreen perennial with blue-purple-amethyst flowers from early summer to late autumn, even in strong sun/drought. Hardier than it’s given credit for.

Verbena bonariensis

Verbena bonariensis is a self-sufficient, self-seeding biennial, best left to wander through mixed borders for an airy purple haze all summer.

Annual sunflowers

Annual sunflowers (Helianthus annuus) are great fun for kids. Short multi-stemmed varieties make great cut flowers or patio tub plants, with good seed-heads for birds afterwards.

Sedum 'Herbstfreude'

A top butterfly and bee flower, reliably blooming in late summer and well into autumn with coppery seed-heads to follow. Withstands poor soil, hot sun and wettish winters well.

Pelargonium 'Frank Headley'

An old variety, Pelargonium 'Frank Headley' has white-edged leaves and single red-pink flowers; good in the conservatory or summer tubs, where it goes with most bedding.

Alan's favourite fruit and veg to grow

• Tomato 'Gardener's Delight' – easy to grow, very reliable. Produces masses of sweet, bite-sized fruit that is versatile in the kitchen

• Cooking apple 'Bramley's Seedling' – a reliable cropper with good-sized, regular-shaped fruit for easy peeling. Freezes well when stewed

• Eating apple 'Sunset' – a great alternative to 'Cox', with similar flavour but none of the problems. Productive and easy to grow almost anywhere

• Plum 'Victoria' – an oldie that crops every other year unless fruit is thinned in 'good' years. Reliable heavy cropper and very tasty. Use for cooking, eat raw or for making juices and jam

• Raspberry 'Joan J' – reliable and easygoing heavy-cropping raspberry that fruits from late July to November, weather permitting

• Potato 'Duke of York' – still one of the tastiest and most reliable heavy-yielding early varieties; also good in tubs or under cover for earlier results

• Runner beans 'Enorma' – a heavy-cropping old favourite with large, tasty, good-looking stringless beans

• Lettuce 'Little Gem' – one of the easiest varieties to grow well, quickly reaching useable size. The same packet of seed can be sown all season

• Brussels sprout 'Trafalgar' – a festive favourite with all the family, thanks to its sweet flavour. A reliable, heavy cropper that 'stands' well past Christmas

• Courgette 'Defender' – an exceptionally heavy-cropping, reliable variety with superb disease resistance, so one plant is enough in a small garden