These lovely South African plants come in an amazing range of colours, and do best and multiply well in situations where they have good drainage and sun in the same way as crocuses do. Sandy, loamy soils at the front of a raised bed or border are perfect. And of course they make superb specimens for pot cultivation when they can be divided up every few years as the clump expands. ... Learn More

This really beautiful flower opens its violet-rose to lilac, or rarely salmon-pink flowers, with a violet or greenish yellow cup and a violet blotch or band in the throat. In the wild it is found in clay soils in dry areas of the winter rainfall Cape and blooms in late winter to early spring. ... Learn More

This dwarf species bears pale to intense pink flowers that flare widely open at the mouth, giving a starry appearance, with a pale yellow and white throat, above clumps of narrow, grassy leaves. It will do well in any rich, well drained soil in a sunny spot, but requires a good winter protection. It may succeed best grown in pots as in the wild it grows in high places ranging across a huge swathe of Africa, stretching from the Drakensberg Mountains in South Africa to Kenya, the Sudan, southern Ethiopia, and Cameroon. ... Learn More

This exceptionally pretty plant, which appears in late winter and into spring, has almost goblet-shaped, scented yellow flowers, usually with black marks or blotches in the throat, and usually the leaves are spirally twisted, hence its name. It grows in the wild in South Africa, in sandstone and clay soils, from distinctive corms that are flattened with a wide fan-like basal ridge. ... Learn More

These reliable, clove-scented, purple crocus-like flowers have yellow centres with bronze-gold feathering on the backs of their petals, and erupt from compact tufts of thin leaves. Flowering from Feb-Apr, they ultimately make strong, vigorous plants. They are long-lived with a strong constitution, and are ideal in a sunny spot with fertile soil and good drainage, or in a container where they will bulk up reliably. ... Learn More

Superb, hooded, helmet-shaped flowers of deepest rich purple-blue are held on stout stems amongst short but very thick and leathery, glossy leaves. After several years it forms a huge clump. The flowers appear whilst the leaves are still half developed, so the blooms are revealed in all their glory. ... Learn More

In late summer, from the centre of a stout growth of heavily corrugated dark green leaves, arise spikes of large, brilliant purple, orchid-like flowers with a white throat and slightly paler hood. These completely hardy, herbaceous relatives of the tropical gingers grow in the wild at great altitude in the eastern Himalayas, in Tibet, Bhutan, Nepal and Sikkim. RHS Trials gave them an AGM, and noted that they were "Good value plants that are vigorous and produce plenty of flowers over a long period." ... Learn More

This very long lived and exotic looking plant is in fact completely hardy. Exceedingly lovely, soft yellow, orchid-like hooded flowers, arise from tufts of glossy lanceolate leaves over a long period in early and midsummer. ... Learn More

The full name is Roscoea purpurea var. procera. Large, sumptuous, exotic, pale purple, orchid-like flowers are held on thick stems bearing broad, fleshy, pointed leaves. A very desirable,very long-lived and bone hardy member of the ginger family. This is probably the largest and easiest to spread of all of these orchid-like plants. ... Learn More

An extremely beautiful and hardy roscoea, looking surprisingly like an icing pink terrestrial orchid. We have discovered that these dwarf plants are the only roscoeas which are able to slowly self-seed, here forming a spreading carpet of pink flowers along a gravel pathway in early summer. ... Learn More

A hardy, long flowering perennial bearing large, black-eyed, single, yellow daisy flowers with cone-shaped, black-brown centres from August to October. Adding welcome colour to borders later in the season, it's ideal in partially shaded areas and works well in prairie-style schemes with ornamental grasses. It’s short enough not to need staking, and doesn’t spread so fast that frequent division is necessary, making it a very easy-care plant. ... Learn More

'Cappuccino' is an erect biennial to 50cm in height with bristly stems and leaves and classic daisy-shaped flowerheads from July through to autumn. The flowerheads have a brown central disc surrounded by bronze petals that bleed into yellow at their tips. An eye-catching display, and also has the benefit of attracting a wide arrange of pollinators to the garden. ... Learn More

Large golden yellow flowers with burnt golden eyes flower for long periods in late summer through to autumn. Hirta is a compact and densely flowering form that will enjoy full sun and due to its habit is also suitable for larger containers. ... Learn More

This lovely and long-lasting Rudbeckia shows up brightly in your border, displaying large golden-orange daisy-like flowers with solid dark, almost black, centres making a striking contrast and definitely attracting attention. The birds and bees love this plant which flowers prolifically from mid summer to late autumn. ... Learn More

One of our recent favourites; semi-double and double velvety blooms in subtle shades of caramel, copper and warm pink. These so-called Gloriosa Daisies are magnificent plants for the border - the giant, single or double, daisy-like flowers, are carried on long stems from early summer until well into autumn, and are excellent for cutting. Sown early, will bloom the first year. An eye-catching display, and also has the benefit of attracting a wide range of pollinators to the garden. ... Learn More