In the first of a two-part series, Mike Palmer celebrates his favourite fuss-free hardy geraniums for sunny borders

This spring jewel is so wonderful when it pops up in gardens, whether it is planted in borders or in areas of grass – as it is just as happy in both. The foliage will start with a slight purple tone a

REAL readers' gardens!

John Massey’s Ashwood Nurseries has been breeding superb hellebores for the past 35 years, and they are acknowledged to be the best in the world. It all began because John was looking for winter work

Purple punctuates the planting: here an acer, verbena and some pinky-purple crinum, or swamp lily, stand out

I absolutely adore smaller gladioli like Gladiolus communis subsp. byzantinus. It can naturalise, which is a really positive thing for the garden. For anyone who’s terrified of having pink in their ga