Stunning summer-flowering perennials with a wide range of colourful, flared blooms. These prefer moist, well-drained soil with plenty of full sun, and they will also be in dire need of mulch if you're in a cold winter area. They're perfect for mixed and herbaceous borders, and can be left to their own devices and form clumps of flowers and mid-green leaves. The colours can be quite amazing, from white to pink to orange, often streaked and spotted with beautiful contrasting colours as well. They will often reach 20" in height and 30" inches in width, so perfect for really artistic ground cover.

Famed for their chaliced, intricate flowers, these late-bloomers are dwarf perennials that are pretty easy to grow if the conditions are right. They need well-drained but quite gritty soil that is moderately fertile. They also need a lot of sun. During the summer, tone the watering down for best results. These look amazing when planted in a rock garden in groups, but take care that they are not smothered by larger plants.

Evergreen Azaleas

Azaleas are stunning spring shrubs in a huge variety of colours, and can be told apart from true Rhododendrons by their flower shape and smaller leaves, and by the fact that they have five stamens to a flower, where rhododendrons have around ten.

Containers are ideal for the smaller or dwarf varieties, and larger types bring a vivid splash of colour to any dull area. They need moist soil, rich in humus and well-drained, and particularly suit light-shaded areas.

As to pruning, thin them out in the summer if they're getting too thick, but otherwise little effort is needed as they're springing up. As with all Azaleas, avoid cultivation around their roots, as they are easily damaged.

Deciduous Azaleas

In spring and the early summer, they bear a stunning array of colourful flowers, from white to vivid orangey-red to delicate blushing pink among their dark green leaves. These particularly suit light-shaded areas, and you can grow them in containers if your soil isn't suitable, but they're very versatile for artistic liscence in the garden, and they grow in a wide range of shapes and sizes.

They need moist but well-drained soil that is acidic, with lots of compost and assorted organic assistance. Like all Azaleas, don't cultivate them around their roots as this will damage them, and remember that shallow planting is a must, as always. These guys can really be left to their own devices as far as pruning is concerned, as very little is needed.

This is a lovely herbaceous perennail; with really beautiful flowers like tiny bells and large leaves (can get up to 10" long and 8" wide) that turn a wonderful maroon in the autumn and provide good ground cover. It prefers moist, well-drained soil and relies on part to full shade to really bloom as it's not a big fan of sunlight. The foliage ends up being about 12" tall and quite thick.

Good for edging pathways and adding a splash of colour to shady border, to keep it healthy make sure you get rid of any dead or damaged bits in late winter or spring and lop off flowers that are on their last legs (or stem). Abendglocken (meaning Evening Bells) doesn't seem to have any pests that cause particular problems either.

A stunning, pure white crocus with beautiful goblet-like flowers; this grows best in well-drained but moist soil with plenty of sun. After the flowers have faded and died away, thin mid-green leaves appear in late winter or early spring.

The bulbs should be planted in the early autumn, at a depth of about 4 inches in nice fertile soil. They reach about 7 inches in height, and four inches across, and look really great at the front of a border or peeping out from nooks in a rock garden.  Be aware that all parts of this plant are seriously toxic if eaten.

Also delightfully known as 'Lucifer', Crocosmia is a hardy perennial that forms clumps of bright green leaves, with luscious arches of red flowers in the summer that create a real splash of colour by a water feature, or at the edge of a border. They reach from three to four foot high and about three inches across. They like well-drained, moist soil that's rich in humus, and deal well with either full sun or partial shade.

Crocosmia Masoniorum: a late-summer-flowering variety that thrives in well-drained, fairly fertile soil. If you're in an area where you're likely to get frosts, grow this somewhere sheltered, like a wall.

A lushly-blooming perennial, flowering dusky pink with purple patches in the autumn. Beautiful mid-green leaves sprout after the flowers appear from underground tubers, mid-green and freckled with silver.

A great space-filler, it happily seeds itself underneath shrubs and the like. Best grown in full sunshine or partial shade, these plants will need mulching when the leaves have faded to preserve them. They like fertile, moist but well-drained soil.

These are deciduous perennials, best grown in cold climates prone to frost. They have a huge variety of blooms that flower triumphantly from the middle of summer through to autumn and are great in borders, most effective planted together en masse. They can also be grown in containers.

Dahlias have underground tubers that need to be lifted and stored in a cool but frost-free place during the winter, and planted out when danger of frostbite has passed. These guys need well-drained soil in the sun, and require a lot of feeding with a good fertiliser that's high in nitrogen every week at the beginning of summer. You will need to stake the taller varieties, and keep them at their best with regular deadheading; the flowers are perfect for cutting and creating spectacular arrangements.

These are deciduous perennials, best grown in cold climates prone to frost. They have a huge variety of blooms that flower triumphantly from the middle of summer through to autumn and are great in borders, most effective planted together en masse. They can also be grown in containers.

Dahlias have underground tubers that need to be lifted and stored in a cool but frost-free place during the winter, and planted out when danger of frostbite has passed. These guys need well-drained soil in the sun, and require a lot of feeding with a good fertiliser that's high in nitrogen every week at the beginning of summer. You will need to stake the taller varieties, and keep them at their best with regular deadheading; the flowers are perfect for cutting and creating spectacular arrangements.

Hardy fuschias are very versatile plants, great as decorative hedges or to add a splash of colour in a mixed border. They can also be trained up walls in a spectacular fan, or grown as free-standing bushes. Throughout summer and into autumn, hanging, bell-like flowers will appear, singly or doubly.

They need well-drained, fertile soil in the sun or in semi-shade, somewhere protected from cold winds. They benefit from good, deep winter mulches, remove any damaged stems in the early spring, also cutting back good healthy growth to the lowest growing buds.

Half-Hardy and Tender fuschias

The half-hardy and tender fushicas are flowering plants that need protection in winter and cold climates. This extra care results in a range of beautiful summer flowers for the garden, conservatory and greenhouse. Nevertheless, they can all be grown outside in the summer months and look stunning on the patio if grown in containers. Shelter them in a greenhouse or conservatory over the winter months.

They like to be grown in moist, well-drained soil or compost; choose a position in sun or semi shade, providing a deep mulch in the winter. Young plants should be pinch-pruned if you want them bushy, and trim them after they flower to get rid of faded blooms

Trailing fuschias

Trailing or spreading fuschias are perfect to drape over tall containers, windowboxes or in hanging baskets for the best effect. They bloom throughout the summer and into the autumn, and you can leave them undisturbed up until the end of the season, then it's best to give them the chop and bring in new plants for the next year. They need fertile, well-drained soil or compost in sun or partial shade. They won't need much pruning unless you're nipping wayward growth in the bud, so to speak, and keep them safe from cold winds that will dry them out. Give them a nice shape and bushiness by pinching the tips of young plants regularly.

Small Hardy Geraniums 

Grow these hardy perennials in very well-drained soil that's rich in humus with full sunlight. These will need monthly feeding with a nice balanced fertiliser during the growing season, but don't water them much in the winter. Encourage fresh new growth by taking out all the old leaves and faded flower stems. These are very adaptable plants, and look great in borders but are also perfect for ground cover and adding a dash of colour to rock gardens; they are evergreen, live for ages and are pretty easy to look after, happy to put roots down in a wide range of soils. Often, the leaves are also aromatic, and they bloom in a wide variety of colours from startling pink to a pale blue, and also often have wonderful contrasting eyes or viens.

Large Hardy Geraniums

These are taller types, and are perfect as border plants, or clump-forming space-breakers between shrubs. They also really don't require much TLC. They're really effective in cottage gardens, with colourful and aromatic leaves in some varieties and an explosion of summer blooms ranging in colour, with some really beautiful contrasting markings on many varieties. Gorw them in moderately fertile soil that's well-drained, either in full sun or partial shade, but to be honest, as long as the soil isn't completely drenched, they're fairly tolerant of a wide range of soil types; again, encourage fresh growth by getting rid of faded stems and the old leaves.

These are really stunning tender plants, deciduous with shiny green leaves and deep red blooms up to six inches across with startling stamen columns. Fine to live in a pot that isn't too big, otherwise this one could become a tree if left to it's own devices! Tolerant of moist soil types so long as they are alkaline to neutral, are moist and well-drained, and in sheltered, sunny spots.

They also need a fair amount of water during the growing season, so you can be quite free with it. Typically reaches around 6ft in height and 4 ft in spread.

These are deciduous perennials, with an abundance of large leaves that come in a wide variety of green shades, depending on the type, and a lot of them have lovely contrasting white or yellow streaks around the leaf-edge.

In the summer, an array of colourful, purplish flowers appear on tall, thin stems, and look great in containers, or as dense ground cover. They prefer moist, well-drained soils, protected from chilly winds in partial shade or full sunlight.

They need reliable moisture in the summertine, so dose them up with a decent spring mulching to keep them sweet - and weatch out for slugs who love them too!

These plants are a must-have for sprucing-up late summer and autumn gardens, adding startling shades of pink, purple and white to fading areas and spaces left by perennials in borders. Particularly lovely-looking in cottage gardens, there are three main types: A. tomentosa, A. hupehensis and A. vitifolium, that are actually Chinese in origin, but were known as A. japonica by the time they were putting down roots in the west.

These plants are very versatile and can tolerate almost any soil as long as it isn't waterlogged, although they really prefer moist but well-drained loam, and shady spots. It takes a couple of years for them to really come into their own, but after that time their blooms just keep getting better.

These stunning, flaming torch-like flowers spring out of mid-green leaves, brilliant red in August and September, eventually fading to yellow. They need moist but well-drained soil that's rich in humus, in full sun or partially shady spots. They're pretty hardy but need their crowns protecting with a mulch that's deep and dry during the winter months. Dead and dying flowers can be nipped off in the autumn and used as compost, these plants reach around 48 inches in height.

This fiesty perennial is usually grown as an annual, with vivid bunches of startling blue flowers that appear during summer and autumn; these plants look great tumbling over the edge of a tub or container in a vibrant waterfall of blooms.

They have very small, dark-green leaves and the plant will generally reach around 4 inches in height and 4-6 inches in spread. This type of Lobelia likes deep soil or compost that's moist but not waterlogged, either in full sunshine or spots that are in partial shade. These need to be planted out when frost is no longer a risk, in fertile soil in the spring.

These are semi-evergreen perennials, with delicate goblet-like flowers in a wide variety of colours, from blushing pink shades to rich reds and purples.

They make great border plants, flowering in summer and still lovely in the early autumn. These plants need soil rich in humus and well-drained, in full sunshine or partially shady spots.

If you're in a frost-prone area, a dry winter mulch will work wonders; and make sure you keep them flowering as long as possible with regular deadheading, as they're fairly short-lived.

A delicately beautiful, upright perennial that looks great in mixed borders or patio containers. From mid-summer through to around mid-autumn, it flowers with lovely pale blue blooms above mid-green leaves; this plant reaches around 23 inches in height, and 18 inches in spread. It needs a spot in full sunshine and well-drained soils, and must be protected in frost-prone places by being grown next to a warm wall, the younger plants will also need overwintering in places safe from frost.

Wisteria is a strong, vigorous grower, bearing aromatic flowers in the early summer in long, hanging clusters; and lush green seed pods are usually not far behind.

These are best trained up a wall or sturdy trellis or archway for full effect. They are pretty big, reaching a height of around 28 ft or even more.

They need well-drained yet moist soil, in partially shady spots or full sunshine; it's best to try and handle their growth and encourage flowers by pruning them back both in the summer and late winter.