I JUST LEFT IT ALONE

Carolyn Jones, 43, has to climb a ladder to inspect her 14ft 2in echium in High Halstow, Kent.

She bought it two years ago at a flower show in Cornwall, and planted it in her garden. Mrs Jones said: ‘our garden is very high and open to the elements, so I didn’t have much hope for it surviving the winter. But it put on a huge amount of leaf growth in the first year, and grew to 4ft. I just left it to its own devices: no food or frequent watering, and it just got taller.’