February

Native to Canada and the US in all states east of the Rockies, this superb variety is quite unlike the usual Aquilegia. Growing just twelve to eighteen inches tall, with dark-green foliage and eye-catching, scarlet and lemon-yellow flowers which hang like drifts of softly illuminated lanterns.

Aquilegia var. stellata 'Barlow Mix' is one of the really exceptional doubles forms of Aquilegia. It is the first Aquilegia series with fully double, spurless flowers. Stylish and elegant, with a graceful upright habit they grow to around 80cm tall. It produces many stems and makes an ideal cut flower.

Eye-catching, purple-black flowers with contrasting white centres appear in late spring and early summer above fern-like, mid-green leaves this variety is something special. 'William Guinness' is a superb and reliable Aquilegia variety that makes an ideal cut flower, it grows and blooms well in shady areas.

The Star series was bred to have upward facing flowers, similar to the Mckana varieties with elegant white flowers with long spurs and tidy mounds of fern like foliage. This pure white columbine looks equally wonderful in a sunny, herbaceous border or to light up a dark corner of the garden.

Arabis is a very popular and useful plant and one of the best for the rockery. It is related to Aubrieta and is used in a similar fashion. 'Grandiflora Rosea' is a pink flowered cultivar that makes a good groundcover, it can be used in borders and is excellent for trailing over the edges of containers, over stones or down walls.

Arctotis was born to play a starring role, they are among the most brilliant of all flowers. 'Harlequin' is a beautiful strain with large, brilliantly coloured flowers with many different combinations, some with contrasting tones and all with a luminescent sheen. You'd be hard-pushed to find better performing plants.

Armeria Maritima 'Alba' is a beautiful white cultivar. One of the easiest grown perennials and a valuable rockery plant, and one that should always be included if choice is restricted. This compact, evergreen perennial grows in low clumps and sends up long stems from which globes of pure white blooms.

Easy to grow, undemanding and very long lived, it is no wonder that our little Thrift has been cultivated worldwide as a garden flower. Armeria maritima Splendens is a beautiful dark pink cultivar. With clumps of dark green, evergreen foliage it requires little water and very little maintenance.

Prized for its beautiful silvery foliage, the fine grey-white stems of Artemisia ludoviciana bear silvery-white leaves that are fragrant, fuzzy and soft. This finely textured plant adds a different element to the garden, the texture and leaf form setting them apart from those other garden plants with rather less refined foliage.

Asphodeline lutea is an easy to grow perennial that has great architectural form. The overall impression is distinctly upright, so it is good for adding vertical interest to the garden. In early summer leafy stems arise that bear dense, unbranched cylindrical spikes of gorgeous yellow, star-shaped flowers.

Aubrieta 'Hendersonii' is a vigorous variety that is smothered by rich lilac-purple flowers for several months in spring. It grows to only 10 to 15cm tall at maturity, but with a spread of around 45cm it makes a lively edging to a sunny border, growing over rock walls or placed in stonewalls.

Commonly called ‘Rock Cress’, Aubrieta is a traditional rock garden plant that is lovely spilling out of crevices, growing over rock walls or placed in stonewalls. 'Leichtlinii' forms a low cushion of leaves that is, throughout the summer months, smothered by wonderful deep-carmine flowers.

Aubrieta has long been treasured for its delightful spring show of brightly coloured flowers. ‘Whitewell Gem’ is smothered by large, intense reddish-purple flowers for several months. Lovely spilling out of crevices or over rock walls, the plants can also be used in paving with other ground hugging plants.

Aubrietia is a very versatile plant. They are well known for use in rockeries, but the cushion forming habit also makes it useful as a ground cover; it can be planted in beds and is perfect for underplanting shrubs. they can also be used between paving and walls, or create a wonderful foil for spring bulbs.

Elegant cascades of vivid, elongated flowers with large, arrow-shaped, neatly serrated, green leaves. Begonia boliviensis ‘F1 Sun Cities Mixed’ feature the three ‘Sun Cities’ of the USA: ‘San Francisco’ has slmon-pink blooms, ‘Santa Barbara’ features white blooms and ‘Santa Cruz’, fiery red blooms

Be prepared to get your funk on. The Funky Begonia has entered the dance floor, and she's ready to boogie all summer long. Huge, voluptuous flowers with superior heat tolerance and semi-trailing yet dense, sturdy growth habit, in six fantastic colours – Light Pink, Bright Pink, Orange, Red, Scarlet and White.

Bergenia cordifolia is one of the most useful of all plants and worthy of a place in any garden. No other plant offers such quality, glossy, evergreen foliage at ground level. This sturdy plant can be planted in groups as ground cover, for edging borders or to provide a foil for delicate foliage plants.