Easy colour, year after year in your garden

There are a number of herbaceous plants that come into flower this time of year that will add a great splash of colour to your shrub borders.

Few shrubs or trees flower in July and August, so the addition of herbaceous plants is crucial in your garden (these are plants that die off for the winter and reappear in spring).

Most herbaceous plants are easy to grow; they come in all shapes and sizes and in every colour of the rainbow, and they will also thrive in shade.

There is one to suit every location in your garden. The tall growing Heleniums are perfect at the back of a border and Erodium Bishops Form is the daintiest little ground cover plant – it will flower for months at the front of a border.

Right now Crocosmia Lucifer, with its flame red flowers, is looking spectacular. It will grow and multiply almost anywhere with no care needed.

Lucifer is quite tall at up to four feet high, so give it lots of space, and if it’s in an open space, you might need to support it a little.

One of its cousins, called Emily McKenzie, is worth planting. It’s half the height and has a burnt orange flower, which I think blends in more in the garden, and it usually comes into flower mid- to late July.

There are some interesting yellow varieties, which flower much later, right up to September.

The key to success when planting herbaceous plants, taking for granted you choose the right plant for the location and keeping any eye on colour tones, is that blended colours look much better than full stops.

Ideally, plant in groups and anything less than three of any one plant will not give you the wow effect.

Because herbaceous plants are in situ for years, prepare the ground well before planting; make sure you get rid of all perennial weeds and incorporate lots of organic matter.

They will flower and flower and flower.