First Year Flowering

'Ellagance' are first year flowering lavenders, boasting large flowers and a compact bushy form. ‘Ellagance Pink’ is the newest addition to the series. The deliciously perfumed, delicate pink blooms are produced from July onwards and are highly attractive to bees.

'Ellagance' are first year flowering lavenders, 'Ellagance Ice’ is the white flowered variety. The deliciously perfumed, pure white blooms make an enchanting informal aromatic hedge in the garden. The flowers are produced from July onwards and are highly attractive to bees.

Knautia arvensis is an attractive native perennial herb of well drained grassland. It can be found throughout Europe in meadows, rough pasture, hedgerows and verges. Though it is by nature a perennial, it will flower and produce seed the first year if grown as an annual, either autumn or spring sown.

Heliopsis are stalwarts of the garden. They are long-lived, low maintenance and not fussy about their surroundings. ‘Summer Sun’, with an extra layer of golden-yellow petals, will bloom the first year from seed. The long stiff stems are perfect for cutting and seldom need staking, and in tame flower beds, they practically raise themselves.

Heliopsis ‘Summer Nights' is a special selection made by Dale Hendricks of North Creek Nurseries, USA. Introduced in 2004 it produces a profusion of single blooms in early to mid-summer, with rich, deep golden-yellow petals and deep mahogany centres. The foliage is red-tinted and the stems are tinted dark burgundy.

Heliopsis is a great plant for the busy home gardener. ‘New Hybrids' is a selection of the newest forms, they will bloom the first year from seed with a profusion of blooms in shades in lemon, golden yellow and orange-yellow. The plants will produce arm loads of flowers all summer long and never once ask for decent soil or proper care.

Helenium hoopesii is considered by some to be the most valuable of the species. It blooms with bright golden yellow disk florets that each form a kind of rounded knob that transforms the flower from your typical two-dimensional daisy into something much more interesting and sculptural.

If there's one plant that can inject a little razzle-dazzle into the border during gloomy late summers it is Helenium. From late July 'Helena' blooms with masses of vibrant blooms in a spectrum of rich colours from gold to mahogany red. Perfect for the back of the border and wonderful for cutting.

Heleniums are much under-rated garden plants. They are a mainstay of the summer and autumn border but are so often overlooked. They are hardy, colourful, easy to grow, tolerate difficult growing conditions, provide months of colour, are attractive to insects and unaffected by most pests and diseases.

Gaura 'Cool Breeze' is a stunning new variety that is now available from seed. It produces a flurry of dazzling pure white, starry blooms on graceful slender stems. They have pale green stamens and buds instead of the usual pink. A first year flowering perennial, very easy to grow it will bloom in around 14 weeks from an early sowing.

Festuca amethystina has the most striking combination of silvery-blue, tufted blades of foliage, with drooping, dark violet-tinged flower stems that will rise above the foliage in the first year if sown early enough. It is a gem for containers or a rock garden.

Erysimum 'Golden Shot' is a perennial cultivar of our familiar wallflower, with narrow, dark green leaves and golden-yellow clusters of fragrant flowers.Very easy to grow, with a long flowering period which starts in early spring they will flower right through till late summer.

Dianthus superbus is a robust plant that is tough, very easy to grow and almost maintenance free. Hardy, drought resistant, it is also one of the few dianthus that will tolerate continual moisture. Flowering in spring, the pure white blooms emit an unforgettable fragrance both night and day.

Dianthus superbus 'Spooky' is a hybrid variety that blooms with exquisite long-petaled blooms. Brighter than the species and more highly branched, they have a sweet fragrance that makes them a delightful cut flower.

Dianthus superbus is a garden favourite that ranks highly with many gardeners. The fragrant blooms, in shades from a romantic pale pink to a rich, deep-lilac are so finely cut they resemble frilly pinwheels. Those florists of old who strove for those rounded dianthus flowers must have hated it.

Dianthus plumarius ‘Spring Beauty’ bloom with large, informally semi-double and voluptuously double blooms. The petals usually toothed or fringed, sometimes smooth-edged or are held atop slim stems, singly or in loose clusters. Perfect for use as a cut flower for romantic bouquets, in a small jug or vase, the flowers will pour forth their fragrance indoors for as long as a week.

Dianthus plumarius have lent their charm to European cottage gardens since the Middle Ages. ‘Single Flowered Mix’ bloom with elegant single flowered blooms that are enthusiastically produced in succession from late spring to late summer. They would be eye-catching even if they didn't lure you in by the nose first, their sweet floral scent is absolutely irresistible.

Dianthus pinifolius is a rare and unusual dryland species with a very distinctive look. This intriguing dianthus forms compact mounds of blue-green, grass-like foliage. In late spring to early summer, tall stems emerge from the foliage from which dense heads of dark ruby red flowers erupt.