Usually blue this native bugle is a good spreader with large pink spikes of spring flower. Great for drawing in the bees and covering the ground with neat, evergreen foliage. Ht 10cm

Unusual biennial sage that will seed about. Above the architectural leaves come the most glorious big flowers in shades of amethyst. Needs good drainage and a sunny spot. Flowers June July 50cm 9cm pots supplied

All phlox are summer stalwarts with whorls of scented upright flowers and neat leaves coping well in sun or shade. This gem however has one other trick up its sleeve - handsome cream foliage which illuminates dark corners all summer. Soft pink scented flowers with a darker eye complete the picture 30cm

The classic tall and airy plant for summer. Ever popular, both for its long flowering over several months and as a wildlife mecca that buzzes with bees and butterflies. Mauve flowers in clusters appear from July to October and in the sunny places it loves this will seed about but never become a nuisance. Perennial in the South-West 1.4m

Toadlily. A truly elegant and unusual Japanese perennial which comes into its own in late summer and autumn when the orchid-like blooms speckled in purple, dangle from wiry, zigzagging stems. Protect from slugs in spring and this will slowly build into a substantial clump. Best in semi shade and associates well with brunneras, hostas and ferns. 1m

Native wildflower that paints verges and grassland in magenta purple through high summer but does equally well gently seeding itself through garden borders. A tidy perennial plant 30cm

Unusual betony with large and showy dense spikes of hooded mauve purple flowers like a giant dead-nettle in May above a mound of tidy, scalloped foliage. From Turkey. Easy care and good as groundcover under shrubs and roses. Ht 40cm

This is a hybrid form of our native Betony. Very neat and upright in the garden the summer spikes are a magnet for bees and make lovely seed heads all through winter. Flowers July -Aug 30cm

The strongest and most popular sedum with the best winter seedheads. This is the one your granny grew - smothered in late summer with butterflies. The pinky red blooms - rather like broccoli, are held above neat apple-green succulent foliage 35cm (Now annoyingly renamed Hylotelephium Herbstfreude)

The best of the dark purple-leaved sedums. This perennial really stands out in the border with its rosy red flowers through September set above dark purple leaves followed by decent winter seed heads too. 30cm 9cm Pots

The biggest sedum at 40cm. Lovely pewter- tinged leaves and soft pink flowers Sep-Oct 40cm. Great foliage all summer and then the butterflies get busy in Autumn. Like all sedums, very drought tolerant and sun-loving. Ht 40 cm

One of the best hardy salvias partly for its longevity of flowering and unusual colour. A great bee plant if you keep deadheading you will have masses of purple spikes from June to November. Protect new shoots in spring from slugs. Ht 40cm by Width 50cm Full sun and good drainage.

This is my favourite pink shrubby salvia. The individual flowers are large for a sage with a silvery hue that really shimmers and sings in the border. As with all the shrubby sages - hardy - long flowering and easy plus deer and rabbit resistant. 40cm Jul-Nov

A favourite shrubby salvia with among the largest lipstick pink flowers of its type which go on for months through high summer till the first frosts. Shrubs get about 40cm high. Trim them lightly in April to keep them looking neat. Hardy and reliable but a bit brittle and delicate if you have large dogs or kids footballs flying about! Nice complement to the larger blooms of roses or dahlias.

Vigorous ground covering carpet with masses of pink globular flowers in May - June. Lovely trailing over a wall or path edges. Ht 10cm Cut back hard in spring. Sunny site and good drainage.

Nice compact phlox with clean pink flowers - each with a rosy eye and the classic musky scent through summer . Good both in sun or shade 30-40cm

This cottage garden plant has a unique colouration - irridescent blue/purple flowers above purple -tinged foliage. Blooms appear in June to July; they smell sweetly and last a long time on compact plants in sun or shade and no staking required 50cm

The architectural soft-pink drumsticks of this native plant are an unusual shape when they flower in May and June making a great contrast to tulips and alliums. This plant likes average to damp soils and will spread about making good groundcover in sun/shade 30cm.

One of my favourite groundcovers - it rapidly spreads sideways - over ugly drain covers and down walls before covering itself in pretty spikes of flower which start white - fade to pink before darken to red which creates a lovely multi-coloured effect for months from June to October. In winter the leaves turn deep brown. 20cm - spread 1m +

A lovely deep violet colour. No garden should be without a penstemon because they flower for a long time and make useful mounds of evergreen leaves through winter. 50cm

This is the hardiest and easiest penstemon to grow with a generous show of raspberry pink bells all summer and willowy leaves which stay evergreen through winter. Cut back hard each spring 40cm

Wild marjoram. A native herb with aromatic foliage and long-flowering heads of purple smothered with bees, butterflies and all manner of insects. In light soil and sunny spots this will seed gently about . Ht 30 cm.

An especially elegant form of purple loostrife. And though this is a classic perennial of pond edges, this tough plant copes with any good garden soil making erect spikes of cerise flowers in July to August and stiff seed-heads all winter Stays put Ht. 50cm.

Unusual and dainty shrub that only reaches a meter high but decks itself in Chamaeleon-like leaves which change from shrimp-pink in spring to cream and finally green by summer when attractive, white spirea-like flowers appear on the branches. Will slowly sucker about in sun or part shade. May - Jul Ht 1m

Dusty Miller. No other plant looks like this. Ghostly skeletal, upright structure above a rosette of evergreen grey furry leaves. This is a short-lived perennial for sun and good drainage but it will seed about generously and is long flowering - effective in gravel areas. Carmine flwrs June – Jul. Ht 40cm

Unusual evergreen perennial. Above a grassy green mound of foliage, strings of small purple flowers emerge like clusters of tiny grapes in early autumn. A neat and easy plant for dry, shady places. Good as an edger too and nice with hostas and trycertis lily. Ht. 30cm.

Purple toadflax is an elegant, narrow perennial which looks good wherever it self seeds. Narrow spikes from June to September if you deadhead promptly. Tidy leaves 1.2m

Elegant perennial for sun or shade. Pink & white ‘hearts’ drip from all along the fresh ferny foliage in April – May when spring gardens need a colour boost. Well- behaved and long-lived, plants are best with a little shade so this is perfect planted beneath larger shrubs or on a bank where you can look up at those delicious flowers. 40cm

A striking and vigorous little groundcover making sheets of stunning silvery leaves topped with pretty mauve-purple hooded flowers in May - June. Clip over in summer and it will look tidy all year. Easy to remove where you don’t want it. Great in shade. Ht 15cm.

Macedonian scabious will bring in beneficial insects as well as looking fabulous with its brooding burgundy flowers. Deadhead regularly and those pincushions will keep coming for months. A reliable addition to the flower border and a fashionable colour. Ht 40cm Slowly self seeds.