October

There’s a Sweet Pea renaissance happening in the cut flower market and among the most sought after by florists and flower farmers alike is the dramatic Nimbus. A spencer type with big, prolific flowers on long stems, Nimbus wears its stormy dark-blue-violet highlights sprayed against a cream background.

Created from the resurgence of interest in breeding sweet peas for scent, Exceptionally fragrant, with a vintage look, Lathyrus 'Old Times' produce elegant and unusually coloured blooms on long stems. Dreamy, cream-colored blooms with lavender-blue blush and veins - this variety is a must grow.

Providing the best of all worlds for the gardener, Spencer Modern sweet peas have exceptional scent, combined with large ruffled petals and long stems that are perfect for cutting. With big, prolific flowers on long stems, 'Pulsar' produces fragrant, ruffled white flowers rippled with delicate lilac stripes and flakes.

Sweet Pea 'Wiltshire Ripple' is an old variety, recently rediscovered and is a particularly heavy and long blooming vine. A unique colour combination in the fashionable ripple pattern of claret to chocolate colouring over white scented blooms. With long strong stems, they are ideal for cutting, exhibition and garden decoration.

Created from the resurgence of interest in breeding sweet peas for scent, Spencer Modern sweet peas provide the best of all worlds for the gardener. Lathyrus 'Zorija Rose' is a brilliantly bright variety with magenta flowers and excellent fragrance. They make exceptionally fine cut flowers.

Lathyrus odoratus 'Arthur Hellyer', produces large undulating flowers in shades of soft lavender, white and light purple. named after the English gardener Arthur Hellyer. Highly fragrant with the classic heady and sweet pea scent, they are absolutely irresistible!

Long-stemmed creamy-white with extra-long, thick stems and a wonderful fragrance, Lathyrus 'Ice-Cream' is a romantic addition to the garden and perfect for wedding work. Stunningly beautiful, with the most delicious vanilla ice cream coloured large undulating petals.

Introduced in 1981 in celebration of the wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana, Lathyrus 'Royal Wedding' produces wonderfully large, slightly ruffled flowers with four to five blooms to a stem. They are of course perfect for wedding work.

Lavendula angustifolia is an excellent plant for low informal hedging and as a specimen evergreen for borders and formal gardens. Flowering generally begins from mid to late June to early July. The flowers have a rich sweet scent and are highly attractive to bees and other beneficial insects.

Munstead Lavender is a fragrant robust English lavender that, due to its short size and tightly held blooms, makes a great hedge. It flowers profusely in the spring, after which a good pruning will provide an attractive grey bush with highly aromatic leaves.

Fragrant, free flowering and heat and drought tolerant. Lavandula angustifolia ‘Vicenza Blue’ bloom the first year from seed. This especially fine lavender has bold clustered flower spikes of deep lavender-blue from mid July to early September.

Coveted by every devotee of flower arranging, the perennial variety 'Woodcreek' is extremely useful and popular. Long lived and very productive year after year, it makes a stunning spectacle when in bloom. Airy clouds of tiny white papery flowers hover all summer, on leafless fine stems that are perfect for picking.

With tall spikes of pink and mauve tiny flowers, Linaria ‘Canon J Went’ is an undemanding hardy perennial. Bone hardy, long-lived and drought-resistant, they are wonderful in the perennial border, for naturalised planting schemes, mass plantings or gravel gardens and a great choice for cut flowers.

Lupin 'Noble Maiden', occasionally called Fraülein, feature soft ivory white buds that open to pure clean white. The flowers open from the bottom up making for a longer blooming period. Stunning in the border or in a vase.

George Russell developed his Lupins aiming for, and achieving a central stalk or spike totally obscured by colourful flowers. 'The Governor' is one of the most popular from the series and features deep ultramarine blue blooms each with white flag.

Each small flower of Band of Nobles ‘Chandelier’ is a glorious shade of golden yellow, and the standard (the upper petal) is often a shade or two lighter. They have been bred for a long flowering period and give unbeatable garden performance.

The magnificent vertical stems of Lupin ‘My Castle’ produce vibrant red blooms bringing height and grandeur to summer borders. The intense colour of this robust variety makes a real statement when planted in drifts, or dotted among other perennials.

Bred for a long flowering period with unbeatable garden performance, George Russell developed one of the most popular and distinctive plants in history. Magnificent vertical stems of densely packed soft pink flowers each with a white flag. The Chatelaine’ provides that rare combination of power, poise and subtlety.