Meet your new best buds

LOUISE MIDGLEY highlights four flowering gems to grow in 2019

A NEW and exclusive sweet pea, named after the London’s land-based college. Grown against a trellis or fence in a sunny aspect, the plants will produce a profusion of large, frilly, deep purplish/blue blooms during summer. To keep the plants productive, water well and pick blooms every few days to stop them setting seed. You can buy 20 seeds for £2.35

mr-fothergills.co.uk/0333 777 3936 Stunning green and cream marbled foliage sets this new Agastache apart from other varieties. It produces beautiful smokey-blue, bottlebrush-like spires in summer and early autumn. Loved by butterflies and bees, drought-resistant and minty scented foliage are just three of its many attributes. Buy three young plants for £18.

hayloft-plants.co.uk/0138 655 4440 Commonly referred to as annual Larkspur, this elegant hardy would punctuate the borders of a cottage garden as happily as it would add height to the clean lines of a modern garden. Spires of salmony-pink, papery flowers emerge in mid-summer, which may need to be staked. Buy 320 seeds for £1.95.

chilternseeds.co.uk/0149 182 4675 With its exceptional coconut fragrance, this quirky yellow and white Nemesia makes the ideal filler for window boxes, hanging baskets, containers and the front of borders. The seeds germinate easily, so it’s a great plant for beginners to try.

Buy 150 seeds for £1.99

suttons.co.uk/0844 326 2200