Beds & Borders

Verbena hastata 'Blue Spires' is the blue form of this lovely perennial, with multi-branching candelabra-like flower heads, the flowers slowly expand as they ascend the stems like burning sparklers. The flowers appear in mid-late summer and will last into late autumn.

Verbena hastata 'Pink Spires' flowers with multi-branching candelabra-like flower heads. Appearing in mid-late summer and lasting into late autumn, this hardy plant does not need staking, and provides lots of mid to late summer colour in the garden.

Verbena hastata 'White Spires' is one of the choicest species available. It produces masses of pure white flowers on architectural flower heads. Its sheer volume of flowers make it a real winner. It is understandably increasing in popularity as it becomes more readily available.

Verbena 'Obsession Apricot' is a new pastel colour of this exquisite series. Bred to be earlier to flower, the evenly spread buds open to reveal showy clusters of star-shaped, peach-apricot flowers at from late spring to mid autumn. They bring an extremely fine and delicate texture to any garden composition.

A beautiful pastel mixture of this exquisite series, Verbena 'Obsession' plants are compact with a trailing habit of growth they eventually spill over the edges of hanging baskets and containers. This award winning variety is an excellent performer flowering over a long period throughout summer, regardless of the weather.

“Imagination’ is a verbena cultivar that is noted for its profuse bloom of violet-blue flowers, its spreading-trailing stems and its deeply cut foliage. A heat and drought tolerant plant, easily grown it performs well in hanging baskets and containers in full sun.

Veronica longifolia prefers a position in sun or part shade in moist well-drained soil. The sophisticated blue spires bloom in midsummer and last for several months. They make a strong vertical statement and are an excellent contrast to more traditional flowers shapes when positioned at the front of the border.

Gardeners are often looking for good solid perennials that will have attractive flowers, be easy to take care of, grow nicely but not take over the garden. One group of plants that should be considered is the Veronicas. They provide some of the clearest, truest blues in the perennial border.

To garden with an Oudolf-esque plant like Veronicastrum, it is not necessary to turn your outdoor space into a prairie: you are allowed to keep your flower beds. Naturalistic planting travels well, and Veronicastrum holds its own in a formal border as well as in the middle of a lawn which has turned into a meadow.

Viola 'F1 Sorbet Hybrids' are a unique miniature hybrid that combines the charm of violas with the explosive colours of pansies. The series has some of the most amazing colour selections you'll ever see.

Early-blooming and reliable, Viola Sorbet remains compact in both heat and cold, making it a standout performer in spring and autumn. One of the most striking colour combinations of the series, 'Orchid Rose Beacon' has a rose and purple-pink face, dark whiskers and a golden eye. Absolutely gorgeous, it can be slipped into almost any gaps where you need a little brightness.

Sorbet 'F1 Raspberry' has tricolour patterns with cap, face, whiskers and eye colours, with luscious deep raspberry red upper and lower petals with dark whiskers and a golden eye. It is a stunning new colour pattern, with a bright face that seems to be basking in the spring or autumn sunshine

Xeranthemum 'Lumina' is a hardy annual and one of the prettiest of all the everlasting flowers. The attractive double crested paper-like blooms stand gracefully aloft strong stems, they are simply charming in borders with an abundance of dainty blossoms in four distinct colours of white, rose, crimson and purple.

Popular wonderful flowers, reminiscent of Dahlias on tall robust plants, Zinnia elegans 'Dahlia-Flowered Pink' are extremely easy to grow from seed, they provide colour from mid-summer to autumn and with thick straight stems that are less likely to bend when being cut. They are perfect for cut flowers.

Popular wonderful flowers, reminiscent of Dahlias on tall robust plants, Zinnia elegans 'Dahlia-Flowered Rose' are extremely easy to grow from seed, they provide colour from mid-summer to autumn and with thick straight stems that are less likely to bend when being cut. They are perfect for cut flowers.

In Zinnias, 'Dahlia-flowered' means multi-petaled, piled up, dome-shaped blooms that really do resemble dahlias. 'Dahlia-Flowered Salmon' feature gorgeous, large 8 to 10cm (3 to 4in) salmon-pink blooms. Extremely easy to grow from seed, they provide colour from mid-summer to autumn.

So named for their unique spiky appearance, Cactus Flowered Zinnias have semi double, large blooms each with re-curved, quilled and twisted petals, they bloom in a wide range of colours. Growing 75cm tall, with thick straight stems, they are perfect for a bouquet or for the vase.

A slightly eccentric variety of Giant Cactus Zinnia, 'Señorita' produces wonderful large, peach, cherry and salmon-pink blooms each with ruffled, ribbon-like petals. These reliable plants produce a bumper crop and the more you harvest, the more they bloom, providing colour from mid-summer to autumn.

Years of breeding have brought striking new colours, shapes, sizes, and growing habits to the humble zinnia. Zinnia elegans produces large golden yellow blooms, atop thick straight stems that are less likely to bend when cut. They make wonderful cut flowers and have a long vase life.