March

The physostegia has prolific dazzling tubular flower spikes which are arranged on distinctly square stems. This oddly named perennial is perfect for the middle of a mixed or herbaceous border. The flowers are on swivels that can be bent right or left on the stem - a useful feature for floral displays.

The white form of the lovely Jacobs Ladder, named after the slender, fresh green leaflets arranged like the rungs of a ladder. Blooming in late spring to early summer, the bright foliage and white flowers will brighten shady locations. Both the flowers and the attractive ferny foliage are excellent for cutting.

Collected at altitude in Japan and introduced in 2006, Polemonium yezoense 'Purple Rain' is one of the best new introductions in recent years. With bronze-purple lacy foliage, dark stems and violet-blue flowers, it is the darkest flower form of Polemonium available.

Prunella vulgaris is an interesting and quite beautiful little wildflower plant. The plants produce pretty blue-violet flowers in summer, the flowers freely produce nectar and are highly attractive to bees. If you’re looking for something to add to a meadow garden, or something for those shady areas this is the plant for you.

This attractive plant will be equally at home in the flower border or keeping company with the sage and thyme in your herb garden. Delightfully aromatic, the floral-peppermint scent is subtly different from other mints. Mountain mint is a great nectar plant, its honey is much sought after.

Considered by many gardeners as the most complete border flower, when Rudbeckia ‘Cherry Brandy’ was first introduced, it took the plant world by storm. This stunning cultivar is the world’s first red Rudbeckia, it produces a mass of spectacular cherry-coloured blooms all summer long.

Rudbeckia hirta 'Denver Daisy' has large, golden daisies with chocolate brown centres and marks at the base of each petal. Growing to around 75cm (30in) tall, this lovely variety performs well, is exceptionally heat tolerant and blooms for a long time in summer.

The heavy blooming ‘Irish Eyes’ has fantastic bright yellow and gold daisies with emerald green eyes, a far cry from your typical black-eyed Susan. It is easy to grow, great for cutting and offers lots of blooms in the heat of summer. This popular ornamental is at home in wildlife gardens, cutting gardens and mixed borders.

Rudbeckia hirta ‘Maya’ is a fabulous award winning variety, bearing beautifully doubled golden daisies with petals so dense they almost look like pincushions. Golden yellow, with a kiss in the centre — almost like a Zinnia in appearance. An outstanding cut flower and wonderful in mixed containers.

Semi-double and double velvety blooms in subtle shades of pale cappuccino, deep caramel, copper and dusty raspberry and everything in between. Rudbeckia 'Sahara' is one of the most spectacular blooms in the late summer border, coming to its peak just as others are starting to fade.

An absolute gift to flower arrangers, this is a noble and ornamental plant for the back of any border making nice clumps of foliage. It is, of course, the flowers that are remarkable: three or four inches across, “green” is one’s immediate impression on seeing them.

Salvia farinacea ‘Fairy Queen’ is an attractive new variety that bears multiple spikes of bicolour blue and white flowers on dark distinctive flower stems from June to October. With a bushy, compact habit and thick stems. A small white spot on each sapphire blue flower creates the illusion of fairy dust.

Salvia Victoria White is a companion to the more well known Victoria Blue. Flowering in less than four months from seed, it produces its white flowers from summer to autumn. Like all Salvia, it brings butterflies into the garden by the dozen, and makes a wonderful cut or dried flower.

Salvia patens is undoubtedly one of the very best blue flowering plants and one of the truest blues found in nature. 'Patio Deep Blue' is a compact variety that is perfect for containers or for the front of the border, there is little else that can compete with the richness of its colour.

Salvia verticillata 'Purple Fairy Tale' is a spectacular first year flowering perennial. The irresistible deep purple petals gather like raindrops in tiered pools to form whorled flowers. Easy to grow, it will begin to bloom just a couple of months after sowing. The plant flowers abundantly and continues right through to September

Salvia x superba 'Blue Queen' is one of the finest Salvias we know. This plant is a spectacular source of dark, intense colour and narrow, vertical form. Masses of pencil-thin, vibrantly colourful bloom spires, so densely set that they present a solid wall of colour in the border.