March

Cornflowers are the most splendid of annuals. Centaurea cyanus 'Classic Fantastic' blooms in a mixture of captivating blue shades, ranging from light heavenly blue to dark blue. The flowers are often in two shades of blue or have a dark center and lighter petals. They are breathtaking when they're grown in dense drifts.

The 'Classic' series of Cornflowers offers flower lovers three fabulous shade-mixtures. A harmonious mixture of exceptional shades, 'Classic Magic' produces blooms from light mauve with a dark centre to flowers that are close to black with white tip on each petal. For magical borders and bouquets.

'Classic Romantic' is a delightful mixture of charming pink and pretty rosy-red shades. The flowers are often in two shades of pink, or have a dark center and lighter petals. Many flowers are rosy-red and have white tips. By sowing this variety you will add some romance to the border, and to summer bouquets.

The Ball series, also known as the Boy series, feature double flowered blooms on tall stems for garden or cutting. This pink flowered cultivar boasts wonderful full flowers on densely branched upright plants and produces many flowers from early summer until frost. Well suited for cutting, drying, and pressing.

Cornflowers are great plants for the cutting garden or border, and this fine cultivar is no exception. Centaurea 'White Boy' is a double flowered cultivar with wonderful fluffy, white flowers on densely branched upright plants. This is the white member of the series which is also known as White Ball and Snowman

Today cornflowers are rare in the wild, they flourish instead in our gardens. They are the most splendid of annuals. Aside from their electric blue, which is breathtaking when they're grown in dense drifts, they are easy to grow, they flower all summer, make great cut flowers and bees adore them.

Persian Cornflower is an attractive clump forming cornflower, with bushy, branched plants and the unusual characteristic of being perennial and flowering in the first year. Very adaptable to both dry and moist locations. Large deep lavender-pink blooms adorn the divided foliage throughout summer.

Centaurea macrocephala is a magnificent perennial that ideal for providing vertical interest in a sunny, well-drained herbaceous border. The golden-yellow shaggy thistle-like blooms are on strong stems and mid-green, lance-shaped leaves are followed by attractive seed heads.

Native to the meadows and woods of the mountains of Europe, Centaurea montana flowers from late spring with large flowers that are fringed in an intense violet-blue with deep purple centres and most attractive, very deeply cut petals. Easy to grow, it is an excellent garden plant as well as cut flower.

Centranthus 'Snow Cloud’ produces airy clusters of white flowers that appear from July to October on tall, fleshy stems with glaucous leaves. Very long flowering, sweetly-perfumed and easy-to-grow from seed, given an early sowing Centranthus will flower from July right through to October.

Centranthus ruber is a Cottage garden favourite that’s made it into the style books. Sweetly-perfumed, dense clusters of reddish-pink flowers appear from July to October. They are ideal for attracting bees and butterflies and other pollinating insects into the garden and lovely when used as a cut flower.

Cephalaria gigantea is a gentle giant that has an informal look that is perfect for looser planting styles. With pretty pale butter-yellow scabious shaped flowers, use it as you would Verbena bonariensis planted at the back of a mixed or herbaceous border. The stems are tall but airy and 'see-through'.

'Snow in Summer' lives up to its name in late spring when the foliage is smothered in luminous white flowers. Beautiful used as a path edging, in a stone wall or cascading over containers. Try it amongst your spring bulbs - tall lily flowering tulips above a dense carpet of white Cerastium… Breathtaking!

This beautiful highly versatile, aristocratic border plant has become very much in vogue in recent years. Oval, fleshy blue-green leaves spiral up the stem with tightly packed, sea blue bracts - and then the finale - small clusters of rich purple-blue tubular, nodding flowers which are adored by bees.

Camomile is a most useful plant. It can be used to make beautiful lawns and raised beds, an infusion of the plant is an ideal family remedy, calming and sedative, perfect for restlessness or travel sickness, while for gardeners the tea is effective as a spray to prevent 'damping-off' of seedlings

Actaea cordifolia comes into its own late in the season, when multiple stiff and stout stems emerge from the base of the plant. It displays impressive long racemes of chalky-white blooms that are composed of numerous, tiny individual star-like, fragrant flowers.

Actaea simplex 'Atropurpurea' is an exceptionally beautiful selection, valued for its large Astilbe-like leaves of purple black. Its dark hue makes a wonderful backdrop for colourful foliage and flowering shade plants. In late summer, long, fluffy spires in pale pinkish-white, rise above the dark foliage.

This uncommon Clematis is a graceful, vigorous and very floriferous climber. During summer and all the way through to autumn the plant is covered with golden yellow nodding lanterns. In the autumn the flowers of 'Radar Love' turn into beautiful large tufts of long silvery, silky seed heads that are just as ornamental.

Great for adding vertical interest to a perennial border, or use as accent plants in containers for an exotic feel, the Cleome 'Queen Series' are very easy to grow and last well into autumn. Large flower heads in Cherry, Violet, Rose and White, they make attractive cut flowers and the seed heads can be dried and added to bouquets.

Over the past few years, the new breeding of Coleus has exploded them into hundreds of wild and crazy types of colours and forms. Overwhelmingly the favourite is the Kong series for its sheer presence, each leaf is easily as big as your palm, and probably twice as large as the next biggest Coleus you can buy.