One of the plants most certain of producing spectacular blooms year after year is the Buddleia commonly known as the butterfly bush. It has a place in every garden simply due to its ability to attract butterflies. Many different varieties are available from the common Buddleia davidii to the dark purple flower on the Buddleia ‘Black Knight’.

Sometimes grown as a climber one of the most spectacular yellow flowering plants is the Fremontadendron californicum. It’s an evergreen plant which can grow to an impressive 10-12 foot. It is fully hardy but would prefer to grow on a south facing wall. It can get quite wide as well as tall so is a plant which requires a little more space than an average climber.

The Indian bean tree, Catalpa bignonoides, grows into a medium sized spreading tree. It has large heart shaped leaves and its’ fruits are large bunches of long bean like seeds. They can be grown from seed

The Eucalyptus gunnii, has white puffy flowers as it matures. It will grow into large tree if you allow it, or can easily be pruned and kept as a large shrub. Apart from its evergreen rubbery blue-green leaves being scented they are also very useful for flower arranging.

The agapanthus is available in both white and blue. Try the Agapanthus africanus for large blue blooms and Agapanthus ‘White Storm’ for a white bloom. Agapanthus grow well not only in a herbaceous borderbut also do very well in pots.

Throughout the later part of the summer, many people will notice the ‘tall grass like plant with bright pink flowers’. They mean of course the Dierama pulcherrimum, or otherwise fondly known as the Angel’s fishing rod. It can grow to a good size of 60-75cm in height. The evergreen grass like leaves of this plant make it a good architectural plant throughout the winter. Many gardeners grow this plant at the edge or above ponds. This allows the flowers which grow on arching stems to hang over the water, and on a clear summers’ day, reflect in the water below. `

As the month draws to a close we are nearly always left with the unmistakable sight of the red hot poker. A vigorous semi-evergreen plant, the Kniphofia ‘Royal Standard’, has two tone flowers. The base of the flowers appear bright red fading to yellow at the tip. They make an excellent plant for herbaceous borders, just remember this is not a timid little plant and will command its space.

Another great herbaceous perennial which lasts into late summer is the arum lily, Zantadeschsia aethiopica. This is a tall deciduous perennial which bears tall large white spathes. It prefers a slightly damp soil and will tolerate dappled shade.