Magnolias are some of the most magnificent specimens in the garden. Magnolia kobus is a beautiful small tree which displays upright oval growth in youth, bearing flowers at an early age, it spreads and mounds with maturity. They can be used as specimens or as lovely backdrops for other plantings.

If there is a Saucer magnolia in your neighbourhood you've surely noticed it by now. Magnolia soulangeana is a slow-growing, deciduous tree or large shrub. Spring brings the most amazing display, as the large, goblet-shaped pink flowers erupt into bloom.

Malva is one of the truly grand old-fashioned flowers of that almost mythical English Cottage Garden, which so many people strive to recreate. With lovely ice-pink flowers and finely lobed foliage that possesses the elegance of some ferns, Malva will bloom profusely given a sunny position.

Considered by many gardeners to be the most desirable of the Malva species, this rare white-flowered form is even lovelier than the normal rose-pink Musk Mallow. Flowering throughout the summer, the pure white, scented flowers contrast beautifully with the ferny foliage.

Malva sylvestris 'Zebrina' is an easily raised perennial which thrives in sun or part shade, producing strong, erect stems crammed with white to pink flowers with purple, almost black 'flamed' markings. The purple veins out as if stroked on with a paint brush.

Compact, bushy, easy to raise plants with a glorious fragrance which are ideal for bedding or for growing in drifts in the border. The showy richly fragrant flower spikes grow to just 30cm tall and come in a fine mixture of colours including crimson, scarlet, rose, pink, purple, lavender and white.

The Brompton Stocks have been in cultivation for well over a hundred years, and no wonder. The robust, branching, fast-growing, vigorous plants, are wonderful for flowering in late spring and early summer. They produce gloriously scented flowers in a good colour range and are splendid for cutting.

Florists’ bouquets often include stocks. They enchant us with the soft colours of the double flowers and with their intensely sweet scent. The Miracle series is specifically cultivated for cutting. With extremely large flower heads and upright strong stems, they do not branch but grow neatly to about 70cm tall.

Night or Evening-scented Stock is one of the easiest and rewarding scented plants to grow. The flowers open in the late afternoon and emit a most delightful fragrance. The scent has been compared to vanilla, rose, spice and even cloves. It will become a summer fragrance you will never want to be without!

The beautiful mauve version of the beautiful Himalayan Blue Poppy. Meconopsis "Hensol Violet" has tall leafy stems that bear a succession of single mauve poppies. They emerge from rosettes of leaves over six weeks from late spring to early summer.

The cousin to our very popular Himalayan blue variety, this rare and special pure white form offers an exciting alternative.The scintillating, silky blooms aloft downy foliage give an absolutely breathtaking effect when planted in groups in shady borders and woodland areas.

The Meconopsis genus contains some of the most exquisitely beautiful of all flowering plants. M. cambrica is the easiest to grow, and is reliably perennial. The delicate cup-shaped, golden-yellow flowers are borne in abundance from late spring to early autumn.

Mesembryanthemum, is also known as Dorotheanthus bellidiformis. This cultivar dark pink flowers with dark centres. This bright, ground-hugging little annual forms patches of brilliant, almost iridescent colour in spring. Useful for growing on sunny slopes, between pavings, or in bare patches in the rockery.