For impossibly beautiful flowers that open in the depths of winter, look no further than the many astonishing forms of Camellia japonica , writes Charles Quest-Ritson

I love the delicate, open, airy height provided by Anthriscus sylvestris so early in the year, with a drama and elegance like few other spring-flowering perennials. Its off-white flowers and burgundy

Erysimum Rysi Copper One of the definitions of a wallflower is that of a shy and awkward person with whom nobody wants to dance: I am sure we have all felt like that at some point in our adolescence.

Modest, alluring and versatile, Viola odorata, or sweet violet, is a small, hardy, herbaceous perennial that tumbles and scrambles close to the ground, forming dense clumps of dainty, heart-shaped, gr

Just a little over 100 years ago, John Charles Williams of Caerhays Castle in Cornwall, took pollen from single-flowered varieties of the popular, exotic-looking but not fully hardy Camellia japonica.

Kari-Astri Davies considers a pair of double-flowered, golden-hued plants treasured by a 17th century botanist