Slug resistant

If you have the space in your garden this is one plant to choose. Acanthus are robust perennials with handsome, lobed foliage. In late summer, tall racemes of white flowers with dusky purple bracts appear. Used as a motive in architecture and art through ages, Acanthus is a true architectural beauty!

Aconitum napellus subsp. vulgare Albidum is a superb white form of the most popular Monkshood. Hardy, long lived and maintenance free, they are choice mid to late season vertical accent plants. The stiff stems are self-supporting with handsome leathery green foliage.

Aconitum napellus ‘Newry Blue’ is an outstanding old Irish cultivar with wonderful upright spires of the deepest rich blue that tower over the back of the border. Known for its dense spires, they are every bit as dramatic as you could hope for them to be.

Agapanthus Getty White is a sparkling plant with dense clusters of white flowers on erect stems. It is a sparkling plant and is dazzling against a dark green backdrop. They are terrific as cut flowers and are suited to both formal and modern style arrangements.

The Agapanthus or Blue African Lily is one of the aristocrats of the late summer garden. Requiring only the minimum of care, the exotic combination of graceful foliage and stunning flowers is equally impressive in the border or large planter. This is a lovely plant to grow and they are very easy from seed.

The Agapanthus is one of the aristocrats of the late summer garden. 'Peter Pan Blue' is a fine dwarf hybrid with neat clumps of leaves and large clusters of light- blue flowerheads. The exotic combination of graceful foliage and stunning flowers is equally impressive in the border or container.

It is only within the past decade that a number of new noteworthy members of the genus Agastache have emerged from botanical obscurity. ‘Apricot Sprite’ is an outstanding perennial that provides a sizzling blast of tubular, peachy-apricot flowers. Compact and quick growing, they flower in the first year from seed.

Agastache aurantiaca ‘Tango’ was bred specifically to tolerate wet or humid summers better than other cultivars. Dense flowering spikes of sizzling hot red-orange bloom steadily from about mid-summer and continue deep into autumn. The only problem is that if you are inclined to collect Agastache, they’re very seductive. You start with one, and the next thing you know, you’ve got ten in the flowerbed and are wondering where you can sneak another one in.

Agastache foeniculum is a perennial herb that tastes as good as it looks and are as popular in the border as they are in the herb garden. They are excellent design plants, exhibiting a strong vertical accent for the perennial border. Bees hold an undisputed attraction for the flowers, the colour, shape and copious amounts of nectar are among their favourites. This is perhaps one of the most gratifying plants you can grow.

Agastache ‘Arcado Pink’ is a magnificent first year flowering perennial. An extremely floriferous variety with lovely purple-pink flower spikes and fresh green aromatic foliage. This Fleuroselect Novelty Award Winner is both vibrant in colour and stamina. The aromatic leaves are edible, young growth can be sprinkled in salads, used to decorate cakes, to make a tea or floated in drinks. Agastache added to your Pimms lifts it to a higher sphere altogether.

Agastache 'Astello Indigo' is just about the most exciting breakthrough yet and it's got the award to prove it - Europe's coveted Fleuroselect Gold Medal. Compact and quick growing, they flower in the first year from seed with fabulous, upright spikes that are fully covered with deep indigo-blue flowers. The masses of fragrant blooms throughout the summer are ideal for cutting. They produce copious amounts of nectar for bees and butterflies to feast upon.

The latest introduction and additional colour in the series, Agastache ‘Asturo White’ feature spires of scented white flowers with fresh lime green spikes. Extremely long blooming, it will bloom the first year from seed, from mid-summer, right through autumn until first frosts. The plants are ideal for Northern European-type climates, at their best in more temperate conditions. A fabulous addition to beds and containers, for gravel gardens and wildlife borders.

Allium connoisseurs will tell you this little-known Allium is the most beautiful of them all. They point to nodding clusters of delicate wavy-edged bells in soft shades of rose and lilac set above masses of slender grass-like glaucous foliage. Allium narcissiflorum is one of the treasures of the genus.

Allium sphaerocephalon is a quite unique, summer-flowering plant that prized by gardeners because of its striking floral display. The tall stems are good at adding colour and movement to the garden, they provide light vertical accents when drifted through borders.

Amsonia hubrichtii provides three seasons of interest. It comes into bloom around the second week of May, the flowers have an almost lily-like appearance, but it is in autumn when it reaches its true glory when the leaves and stems turn a brilliant gold to amber.

Amsonia illustris is perhaps the boldest of the Amsonias, a little taller and showier with shiny green leaves and larger blue flowers. They flower reliably year after year, are not fussy about soil or situation and are very hardy. The foliage stays green through summer and turns a brilliant gold in the autumn. This is an extraordinary long lived designer perennial that deserves wider use.

One of the loveliest of the species, Amsonia tabernaemontana is a rarely seen, easy to grow perennial that gives reliable performance year after year. It will create a massive impact when their flower buds open to reveal elegant blue flowers in spring and summer, and will provide shining colour in autumn. Long-lived and adaptable, this attractive and unusual addition to the border warrants more inclusion in our gardens.