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This month’s pick of the bunch for garden lovers nationwide

If you love lavender and are looking for something a bit different for your garden, consider the newly released Lavandula pedunculata ‘The Queen’. Bred by Plant Growers Australia, this beautiful lavender has deep burgundy flowers topped with wavy pink bracts that look like butterfly wings and complement the fragrant silver foliage.

‘The Queen’ performs best in a spot that receives full sun and has good drainage. It tolerates heat and cold, and does well in dry spells, but needs a good watering during long periods without rain. This compact plant grows to 60cm high by 90cm wide, which makes it an ideal choice for low borders and containers. Removing spent flowers will encourage repeat flowering after its spring flush. pma.com.au

Vita Sackville-West’s White Garden at Sissinghurst Castle in the UK inspired many gardeners to use white as a design theme. The new compact Agapanthus ‘Bingo White’ (left) is perfect for a mass of fresh white in your garden through spring and summer. Agapanthus is known for its one-flower flush, but this hybrid ‘aggie’ repeat flowers. Drought and frost tolerant, it likes full sun or semi-shade, and thrives in rich soil but tolerates most soil types. ‘Bingo White’ grows to only 40cm high by 60cm wide, with flowers up to 60–80cm tall, so it’s ideal for the front of a border.

The new semi-compact Agapanthus ‘Ice Angel’ also repeat-flowers. It grows to a clump 50cm high by 60cm wide, with flower heads up to 80cm tall.

Plant in garden beds or planter boxes. It likes the same conditions as ‘Bingo White’. They both team well with daylilies, irises and alliums. Remove spent flower heads to prevent seeding in regions where agapanthus are weedy. ozbreed.com.au

Winter-flowering hellebores bring welcome colour into the garden in the colder months. Attractive varieties of Helleborus x hybridus include (above, from left) ‘Double Picotee’ and ‘Primrose Yellow Dark Centre’. Hellebores grow to 45cm tall, forming a clump of palmate-shaped leaves with open cup-shaped flowers. They love the shady parts of the garden. Plant among other shade-lovers, such as hostas and begonias, or beneath deciduous trees or shrubs. They thrive in temperate to cold climates and need little maintenance other than incorporating plenty of compost when planting. Give them a good feed and mulch in summer. postofficefarmnursery.com.au

Give your spring garden a kick-start after a long winter with a splash of colour from the fragrant Penhow range of nemesias. Flowering from spring through to autumn, Nemesia ‘Cherry Red’ has fragrant burgundy and mauve flowers, with a tighter, more compact habit than traditional, old-fashioned nemesias. It thrives in full sun and tolerates frost. Growing to 15cm by 15cm, it suits hanging baskets, balcony gardens and the front of borders. Nemesias are easy to grow and should last several years if they are regularly cut back and fertilised. touchofclassplants.com.au