Plants A to E

The leaves Bear's Breeches have been used, in very stylised forms by designers and architects to adorn everything from Doric columns to William Morris wallpaper. The whole plant is statuesque and imposing, but needs plenty of space to be seen at their best. Most will grow in either sunny or shady conditions as long as the soil is well-drained, but flower better in full sun.

A tough old plant known as Yarrow. Cut it back after the colour of the first flowering has faded and you will probably be rewarded with a second flowering later in the season

Moonkshoods provide wonderful spires of blue flowers. A great alternative to delphiniums - they are much tougher and longer-flowering. Grow in good, rich soil.

It's true that agapanthus are beautiful in the garden, but I love them in big old terracotta pots, thick and dense as if they are about to break out. Keep plants on the dry side during the winter but water well when flowering. Plants grown in pots in particular need to be fed from late spring until they start flowering.

Agastaches are relatives of the hyssop, with aromatic foliage and flowers that are very attractive to butterflies and bees. They need well-drained soil and grow best in hot, sunny places.

A lot of people wince at the mention of 'ground cover', with its suggestions of periwinkle or those bizarre dwarf roses, covered in black spot. The truth is that we all have parts of the garden that need low-growing, spreading plants to cover the soil. Bugles, like lamiums are perfect for the job. Far from being utilitarian they are extremely pretty and provide relief from more exuberant plantings.

Like monardas and phlox, we have little luck with asters. Both in France and now here, the soil is too dry for us to produce anything but spires of glowing mildew. There are a few, though, that don't seem to mind our unfriendly conditions.

A friend complained that Astrantias have seeded everywhere and grow in huge patches in her garden. How wonderful, we thought. The flowers start in May, pause for a breather during the heat of midsummer and then continue until the autumn

Begonias are not just houseplants. There are a few whose exuberant foliage is hardy outdoors. They grow best in sheltered, shady places and will even grow in that most difficult of areas - dry shade. Adaptable to most conditions in shade, ours have even seeded themselves into a gravel path.

The shoots of C. recta are the first to appear: slender as asparagus and with the force of peonies, they thrust though the soil in April. The stems grow to about 1.2m long and, left to their own devices, will scramble along the ground and push up through adjacent plants. Grown against a wall or fence the plant will lean back for support like a tired gardener. A froth of small white narrow-petalled flowers appears in June which, though individually unremarkable, are, en masse, a glorious scented cloud.

The grace and elegance of dieramas is unsurpassed. The long fine stems bow under the weight of the flowers, delicate nodding bells emerging from tissue paper sheaths. One of my Desert Island Plants. They thrive best in sunny places that do not dry out in the summer but that are not wet in the winter.

You can fall in love with plants in the oddest of places. On my first visit to South Africa I parked the car in a very run-down car park and opened the door next to huge clumps of Dietes bicolor. I knew immediately it was a plant I would be trying to grow. Even in those improbable surroundings the plant’s bold, upright foliage made it eye-catching. But what made it really desirable were the cream flowers, like flattened orchids, that covered the plant.

I remember once seeing a television war-correspondent reporting from some strife-ravaged area of Afghanistan. Growing in the bleak landscape behind him were dozens of magnificent Eremurus flowers. I don’t know whether the reporter was wanting to make some point about Nature Triumphant or finding Beauty even in Desolation, but you could see the dramatic effect that the plant has in the wild. Transplanted into the comfort of a British garden they can seem even more spectacular.

Most sea-hollies flower in that lull between the plenty of mid-summer and the start of the autumn-flowering perennials. Seeing the intense blue flowers on garden visits or in show gardens, it’s easy to be seduced into wanting them in your own garden.

Creating an exotic look does not necessarily mean brassy cannas or flamboyant datura that require lots of mollycoddling. There are smaller plants, many of them hardy, than can hint at glamour and mystery whilst sitting comfortably in a more traditional planting scheme.

... the vivid yellow and green flowers of euphorbias bring a freshness and vitality to the garden that few other plants can.. By carefully choosing different species you can have these qualities in the garden from April through to September. And the cool green or glaucous-blue of the evergreen forms add beef to the garden during the winter.