Isabel Bannerman
1 Lunaria annua
A thigh-high, hardy wilding, covered with white or violet flowers in late spring followed by lucid, moon-shaped seedheads. We collect from roadsides or wherever we can because the colour of flowers is variable, and we like to have many shades of lilac and royal purple through to blue. They self-sow in the garden but slugs love them at that delicious, first true-leaf stage, so sow and pot on until they are big enough to cope better. H 90cm, S 30cm. RHS H6, USDA 5a-9b.
2 Cynara cardunculus Scolymus Group
I love growing different kinds of artichoke from seed because they are statuesque, easy and rewarding, as well as edible and esoteric in flavour. They are generally hardy and bountiful, and, left uneaten, the huge electric-blue thistle flowers are beloved by bees. H 2m, S 1.2m. RHS H5, USDA 7a-10b.
3 Nicotiana suaveolens
A compelling plant that is hard to find. It might be best thought of as a half-hardy biennial because you tend only to benefit from its enchanting night scent in its second year. Germination of the fine seed is surprisingly easy, but they need heat to grow faster. They grow tall and elegant, the flowers pale trumpets belting out a warm, velvety smell, more refined than that for which tobacco flowers are so famously generous. H 1.2m, S 40cm.
4 Primula vulgaris
These are easy to grow and every garden should have thousands for their luminosity in winter and scent. At Caerhayes in Cornwall they are so thick in the grass you have to step on them. For such a primrose path, or under a hedge, sow in plug trays. Seedlings are best transplanted when small but sturdy in late winter.
H 10cm, S 10cm. AGM. RHS H7, USDA 4a-8b.
5 Quercus robur
Julian likes to fill his pockets with the acorns of characterful English oaks. Look out for healthy acorns in September before they drop. Put each one in a small pot with compost and water well, then keep it just damp and outside and wait for germination. Find a happy spot for something that will grow tall and wide. H30m, S 30m. RHS H6, USDA 5a-8b.
6 Reseda odorata
Mignonette is in the ‘impossible to buy plants’ category. The flowers look like something in a rock pool, and need to be overwintered before flowering in the second year. Its intense, confectionery-like perfume bewitched Victorians, who managed to grow small standard trees out of them for table decoration. This is seed growing for the obsessive. But as an experiment I found it fascinating. H 50cm, S 50cm. RHS H6.