Salvia – Amistad – 2 litre pot – Available from June

The most incredible of all the salvia, this is a real show stopper just for the intense colour of the flowers. Planted early they can reach 6 feet and cannot contain their enthusiasm to dominate the late summer for a real WOW factor!

Although sold mostly as a perennial, here we are not convinced – there are gardens where they return for up to 3 years but sometimes our sharp frosts cause them to not wake up in the spring – Our friend Jill has a very sheltered garden and fleeces hers, so we keep ours protected and dry during the winter and they generally bounce back every year. By pinching out you can produce a very bushy plant and attempt to control the height, but it is a losing battle. Amazing for a Focus plant in a large pot on the patio.