JOSSE AND BRIAN’S FAVOURITE SEPTEMBER PLANTS

All these plants are grown in pots, allowing them to be positioned in the garden at the exact time and place to look their best.

Dahlia ‘Mary Baker’: While Josse and Brian love all dahlias, their favourite is ‘Mary Baker’. The pink is more subtle in colour, but it is still very showy. It was a gift from an old friend and is now rarely available unless passed on from one gardener to another.

Oxalis tetraphylla ‘Iron Cross’: An ornamental shamrock, this herbaceous perennial has clover-like, green leaves and dark brown patches at the base of each heart-shaped leaflet to form the cross which gives this plant its name. Bright, brick-pink, funnel-shaped flowers appear from late spring.

Lilium speciosum ‘Black Beauty’: This 4ft (1.2m) tall lily produces branching stems of scented Turk’s cap flowers, with greenish centres and black-spotted inner petals that are pink, with creamy white margins. It is perfect for the back of a border, and it is worth planting a few extra bulbs in a corner because this lily also makes a great cut flower.

Pineapple lily, Eucomis bicolour: A stately, tender bulbous perennial that starts out as a handsome, leafy rosette before a stout, purple-spotted stem emerges and is adorned with countless star-shaped, purple-edged, greenish-white flowers, and topped by a distinctive tuft of leaves.

Angel’s trumpet, brugmansia: Also known as daturas, these are vigorous, tender tropical shrubs growing to approximately 6½ft (2m). In summer, they bear trumpet-shaped, pink or yellow flowers that are strongly perfumed at night. They are best grown in a pot that can be overwintered away from frosts. It should be noted that these plants are poisonous, and their sap can also irritate the skin, so gloves should be worn when pruning or touching them in any way.