Top ten plants for August gardens

First is an exceptionally fragrant, long flowering, short variety with lilac blue flowers. It’s perfect for the front or middle of borders in informal or formal gardens. The stiff stems mean that not only do you not need to stake them, but they also make good cut flowers.

This unusual woodland plant is ideal for part shade in flower borders. It is a very handsome foliage plant, and the soft yellow flowers are to be a talking point with your garden visitors. After flowering, cut down old flower stems to keep the plant in check.

Not only will this robust hydrangea grow in full sun (unlike most other hydrangeas), but it also provides long winter interest with its spikes of dried flowerheads. Through autumn they put on a fantastic display as the leaves change from green to a deep burgundy-pink.

Unlike its more brightly coloured counterparts this red-hot-poker has soft yellow flowers opening from green buds on bronze flower stems. Repeat flowering for several months, it delivers great vertical structure in the flower border where it grows up to 1.5m tall. They prefer to grow in a sandy soil, but any deep, moist, well-drained soil will do.

In the same family as ‘conker’ trees, but in reality, this deciduous shrub is totally different in both looks and size. In late summer, the pretty flower spikes that bloom have an exotic look that works well in both tropical and traditional planting schemes.

Next is a very pretty, white flowering perennial that grows well in a partially shaded spot. From summer it will flower for weeks on end, often until the first frosts. It’s unfussy about soil conditions and looks great planted mid-border.

You may be more familiar with this wonderful plant’s old Latin name, ’sedum’. They are easy to grow and bloom maroon coloured, upright flower stems covered in heads of soft pink flowers. Not only do the flowers look fantastic but they are a great plant for attracting pollinators into the garden too. Leave the seed heads on for winter interest, cutting back in late spring the following year.

This long lived, pretty, slow growing, small tree makes and ideal focal point for a Japanese garden. With its graceful, weeping shape and blanket of pretty green leaves turning pale yellow in autumn, it’s sure to leave an impression. Leaves often don’t appear until the end of May; older trees, after a hot summer can produce scented, creamy white flowers between late summer and early autumn.

A wonderful compact, medium size shrub with scented leaves and very pretty dark blue flowers that grows really well if planted near a warm, sunny wall. Perfectly suited to a Mediterranean or cottage garden planting scheme, the fragrance and flowers can add charm to your space.

Last is a plant that’s easy to care for but will still give a lot. The clump-forming perennial has deep-purple stems and brown tinged leaves. Then, in summer and early autumn fluffy off-white flowers form small balls that will keep flowering long after most other perennials have stopped doing so.