Tall growing, annual plant with delicate, finely divided foliage. Native to Mexico and southern USA, but naturalised in many parts of the world. Summer flowering with white, pink, or crimson, daisy-like, 8 cm wide flowers with a yellow centre. Attracts butterflies. Many cultivars have been introduced, including dwarf ones (Sonata series) that grow 30-50 cm tall.

Cosmos bipinnatus prefers a sunny position in well-draining soil.  Self-seeds and easy to propagate from seed. Pinch out the tip once the plant is about 15-20 cm tall, to encourage branching. When it reaches flowering size, the plant usually becomes somewhat top-heavy, so will need staking. Deadhead to prolong the flowering season. May suffer from grey mould, aphids, and slugs.

Cosmos is an annual plant, so it flowers, seeds set, and then dies within one year. Once you have planted this in your garden, new seedlings will appear in subsequent years (as long as you give the plants a chance to form seeds before cutting off the spent flowers). Lovely flowering plant for the middle or back of borders. Flowers last a bit more than a week on water.

Small deciduous, round-headed tree or large shrub with burgundy-coloured foliage and large pink 'clouds' of tiny flowers in summer. The leaves emerge wine red in spring, gradually darken during summer and finally turn scarlet red in autumn. The sap may cause skin/eye irritations.

Raised in the UK during the late 1970s, 'Grace' is a hybrid between the cultivar 'Velvet Cloak' of Cotinus coggygria (European smoke bush) and Cotinus obovatus (American smoke tree). 

Prefers a sunny position for best foliage colour. Grows in any soil-type as long as it is well-drained. Tolerates poor soil. Can withstand periods of drought once established. Vigorous when young. Responds to pruning. Frost-hardy (zones 5-10).

Beautiful plant with striking foliage colours throughout the growing season, and tiny flowers in large panicles that resemble smoke-like plumes. Use as a focal point, and repeat the foliage colour in lower-growing shrubs elsewhere in the garden.

Small, deciduous tree in the rose family (Rosaceae) with thorny branches. Very showy, crimson, double flowers in spring. Alternate, glossy leaves with three-five lobes and toothed margins. Yellow and bronze autumn foliage. Discovered more than 150 years ago as a sport on a Crataegus laevigata 'Rosea Flore Pleno' plant, and introduced to the trade in 1866 by the plantsman William Paul (England).

Synonym: Crataegus laevigata 'Coccinea Plena'. Also sold as Crataegus x media 'Paul's Scarlet'.

Suitable for a sunny or partially shaded position in any well-drained soil. Crataegus laevigata 'Paul's Scarlet can handle dry conditions reasonably well once established, and is suitable for coastal gardens and windy sites. Does not require much pruning other than the removal of dead, damaged, or crossing branches in autumn or winter. Susceptible to rust, leaf spot, and blight. Frost hardy (to USDA zone 4).

Crataegus laevigata 'Paul's Scarlet' looks absolutely magnificent when smothered with frilly, rosy pink blossoms in mid spring. I just wish it would flower for a longer time! 

Perennial in the Iris family with light green, long and narrow leaves (90 x 2 cm) that spreads with underground rhizomes. Sprays of bright orange flowers held on long, thin, zig-zag stems, arising from the foliage clumps during late summer. Can become invasive in mild, wet climates as it tolerates many adverse conditions including grazing. The seeds are not a problem, since not many are produced, but the plants can multiply and spread rapidly via their corms and rhizomes. In New Zealand and some other parts of the world Crocosmia x crocosmiiflora is regarded as an environmental weed, competing with ground covering shrubs and native seedlings.

Crocosmia x crocosmiiflora is a hybrid bred in France in 1880 by crossing two African species Crocosmia aurea and Crocosmia pottsii.

Prefers a sunny, sheltered spot in well-draining soil, but will adapt to most soils and tolerates partial shade, heat, and moist soils. Quite drought tolerant, but benefits from an occasional watering during exceptionally dry weather. Frost hardy (zones 5-9). In cold climates, the corms can be lifted and stored in a cool, dry place until spring. 

Easy to grow and consistently produces lots of flowers. Divide the clump after a few years to maintain vigour. Suitable for containers and cut flowers. Beautiful bright colours.

Deciduous tree in the Rosaceae family, probably originating from to South-west Asia, and cultivated in the Mediterranean region for thousands of years. Dull green, oval to elliptical leaves, 5-11 cm long, covered with very fine hairs. Foliage turns yellow in autumn. Flowers in spring with 5 cm wide blossoms, white and usually flushed with pink, emerging from pink flower buds in spring. Round or pear-shaped, fragrant, 9-13 cm long fruits, ripening to golden yellow in autumn. Quinces are used, among other things, to make jellies, jams, puddings, wine and cider. A number of improved cultivars have been developed, including 'Van Deman', 'Smyrna', 'Vrajna' and 'Champion', differing in growth habit, leaf size, fruit production, fruit shape, and hardiness.

Cydonia oblonga has a long history in the Middle East, and was also revered by the ancient Greeks and Romans. The 'Apple of Discord' Paris gave to Aphrodite when he was asked by Zeus to select the most beautiful woman, was a quince. He chose Aphrodite because she offered him in return the love of the most beautiful woman on earth, Helen of Sparta.

Prefers full sun and light soils. Tolerates most soil types as long as they are well-draining. Copes with less than all-day sun, but doesn't fruit well in a shady position. Requires a cold period (like apple trees, but shorter) to encourage flowering, and a warm summer for the fruits to ripen. Protect from strong winds. Self-fertile, so you only need one tree for fruit production. Prune in winter to open up the center of the tree, and train to a central leader with secondary leaders fanning out.  Without pruning and training, Cydonia oblonga tends to form an irregular tree with somewhat crooked branches from quite low to the ground. Frost hardy (zone 6).

An interesting specimen tree with gorgeous spring blossoms, and unusual, bright (but not glossy) yellow fruits weighing down the branches in autumn. For a lovely colour combination later in the growing season, plant Cydonia oblonga near shrubs with deep purple flowers in late summer and autumn, such as Salvia 'Black Knight', or blue flowers, such as Dichroa versicolor.