Sunflowers are a real ‘must-have’

Half-hardy annuals also feature in our summer displays and a packet of seed is similar in price to hardy types, the difference being the level of warmth required for germination and early growth.

So, either start them outdoors later in the year and they play catch-up, or find a suitable environment in the house now and nurture until the main frost risk goes.

Cosmos, rudbeckia, and sunflower are three must-have display plants in this garden.

We sow them mid-March and by the end of May they’re ready for planting out.

Our love affair with cosmos is down to the vast colour range available, differing heights of cultivars, cut flower use for vases, and their defiance of adverse weather.

The flower stems don’t look robust but those and the blooms they support continue to the first heavy frost.

Two of the tallest varieties, “White Knight” and “Tip Top Picotee” reach 90 centimetres, and the latter has attractive petal tips in purple/pink. “Candyfloss Mix” and “Rubies in Sunshine” stand at a mere 60 centimetres and are rich in colour.

Rudbeckia “Marmalade” (orange and gold petals, dark centre) and “Viviani” (blooms of 15 centimetres diameter), grow knee-high and flower deep into November.

Such is the height some sunflowers achieve that it’s difficult to accept they’re true annuals, germinating and completing their life cycle within a year.

However, it’s those with flowers we can face at eye level and below that are grown here. For example, “Beaches Mix”, “Ruby Sunset”, “Pro Cut White Lite” and “Orange Mahogany”. Those with multi-headed blooms per stem are best value for money. “Waooh” is one we’ve not tried yet but “Little Dorrit” has become a firm favourite.