Informal / Cottage

The papery bracts of Scabiosa stellata is an example of perfect geometry. A delicate geodesic sphere of translucent papery, cone shaped bracts adds a new shape to the garden. The everlasting seed heads make excellent cut flowers and are perfect for dried arrangements.

Solidago canadensis 'Golden Baby' is an easy to grow hardy perennial that bears flat-topped clusters of golden-yellow plumes. Growing to around 60cm tall they are perfect for borders or containers and provide end-of-season colour. Given an early sowing they will bloom in their first year.

What can I say? Its a plant you can pet!...Bees love it…children love it….and you just have to stoke it on the way past! Lambs' ears is a well-known ground-covering perennial, popular for its soft, fluffy foliage, plus, it’s a great silver accent in between all the green going on in the garden.

Summer-blooming spiky flowering plants - in garden design parlance ‘the verticals’. We all need some, and there are lots of contenders, but a plant that can go just about anywhere in the garden, cope with almost all situations and bloom with copious plush spikes over several weeks is a very rare treat.

Thalictrum aquilegifolium 'Purpureum' features a basal clump of lacy, blueish-green foliage topped by a hazy, fuzzy show of purple flowers. They produce a shimmering hazy effect in beds and borders wildflower gardens or meadows. Both leaves and flowers are good for flower arrangements.

As they say, white goes with everything and among theme gardens, the white garden may be the most popular. The White Garden Flower Mix gives a selection of spectacular, bright white annual flowers. Calm, soft and serene this beautiful mix will carry borders into early winter with panache.

Brilliant sizzling, orange-scarlet flowers cover this vibrant ornamental plant, Tithonia produces one of the best flowers for attracting butterflies to the garden. Very easy and rewarding and perfect for new gardeners and children, sow direct in May and June for fast and furious, fabulous flowers.

Valeriana officinalis is a graceful wildflower that is native to Europe and Western Asia. The tall, branched flower stalks are held atop a low mound of foliage, the densely clustered flowers are sweetly scented and usually white with a hint of pink.

Verbascum are a wonderful plant for making a garden feel uncontrived, producing masses of flowers without taking up lots of space on the ground. ‘White Blush’ is one of the most popular varieties. Growing to just 100cm, the dark crimson buds open to reveal large white flowers with deep purple stamens.

One look at this species of Verbascum and you will realise why it is also called ‘Arctic Summer’. Tall, white, fleecy flower stems emerge from felted evergreen leaves in early summer. Its stems and leaves are covered in a silvery down that gives it an appearance of being permanently covered with frost.

Verbascum nigrum is one of the most reliable and long-flowering verbascum, it is also one of the truly perennial species. This European native bloom profusely with masses of golden-yellow flowers. First thing in the morning, the flowers are alive with bees getting on with their day’s work. Take time to stand and admire them for a few minutes. They will pay you no heed, they’re far too busy.

Verbascum nigrum is one of the most reliable and long-flowering verbascum, it is also one of the truly perennial species. The variety ‘Album’ bloom profusely in late spring with masses of white flowers with attractive violet filaments, held on candelabra like branches. They bloom throughout the summer, with a few sporadic flowers still in September to early October.

Verbascums are statuesque in both foliage and flower. This elegant species, native to the Olympus mountains is arguably the finest of the genus. Tall flower spikes rise from the centre of the foliage, each are weighted heavily with bright, golden-yellow blooms giving the effect of an enormous candelabra.

Verbascum ‘Snow Maiden’ is an incredibly beautiful mullein that grow to just 36 to 48cm tall. With masses of soft white flowers each with delicate yellow filaments they flower in June and continue to appear over a long summer, often right through to September. Very easy to grow from seed.

The poise of the lovely Verbascum phoeniceum 'Flush of White' makes this plant a natural candidate for the front of the border, even though its height might suggest, that it should go at the back. In summer winds, which snap off delphiniums and toss sunflowers awry, the Verbascum stands defiant.

English gardeners are very familiar with this plant and consider it essential for a well-structured garden. Verbascum phoeniceum 'Hybrids Mix' flower freely, giving a glorious plethora of colours from delicate salmon to rich claret. A true perennial which can flower the first year given an early sowing.

Relatively new to cultivation Verbascum phoeniceum 'Violetta' is the smallest growing of the perennial Verbascums. Soundly perennial and drought tolerant it produces delicate flower spikes with whorls of tissue thin purple blooms that ascend to the finest point. It is by far the darkest flowered mullein available.

Verbena bonariensis 'Vanity' is a new compact cultivar of a perennial favourite. This Fleuroselect Gold Medal winning variety has an open habit with gorgeous, intense purple-blue clusters atop branching thin, wiry stems. Its garden friendly, neat habit makes it sturdier and easier to maintain while you create a pollinator paradise in your garden.

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.