Aster

This lovely cottage garden plant has spikes of purple-eyed white flowers that shoot up from glossy dark evergreen foliage. Flowers emerge from early summer and bloom right the way until early autumn. This plant is a biennial, so avoid cutting back spent flowers to allow them to self-seed.

Cistus populifolius is an evergreen frost-hardy shrub that carries white single flowers from spring into summer. Grows best in a hot and dry position on poor soil and is drought-tolerant. Plants are best ordered in spring and planted immediately for good show in the first summer.

This native wildflower bears large white or pink flowers with a purple lower lip that sit on honey-scented foliage traditionally used in “Maybowl” beverages and retaining its fragrance once it’s dried. Melittis Melissophyllum is a very tough plant and can survive long periods of summer drought once it’s established.