Plant agastaches 'for quick-growing, abundant flowers'

16:53 1st April 2011

A great way to display a mass of flowers in a garden is to invest in agastaches, an expert has claimed.

According to Graham Rice, editor-in-chief of the Royal Horticultural Society Encyclopedia of Perennials, these quick-flowering breeds can bloom in their first year.

Seeds sown in May will go on to produce bright flowers in September, he added, suggesting that there is still plenty of time to buy them.

One supplier, Jelitto Perennial Seeds, has two new varieties, named Bolero and Tango, Mr Rice added.

Georg Uebelhart, the firm's general manager, told him: "They have a compact habit and good branching and a short production time - they're first year flowering but remain perennial."

Bolero is small and produces rose-purple tubular blooms and bronze foliage, while the Tango has fiery orange flower spikes and grey-green foliage, Mr Uebelhart added.

In a recent article for the Daily Mail, Martyn Cox suggested that planting a palm can give an outside space a tropical feel.