Alan's five favourite plants

Alan celebrates a plant that he used to struggle to grow. He shares how he overcame the challenges so that it now flourishes in his garden – and can thrive in your garden too.

Alan describes the flower that stopped him in his tracks, when he was a boy, and that he still loves today. He picks out a star plant for colour through late summer and autumn – and explains why bigger isn't better in the case of this plant.

There's a dubious-sounding plant that Alan has only recently discovered, and yet it is already a statuesque, permanent resident in the beds and borders of his garden. And he chooses an exotic flower that we can all now grow, thanks to the development of hardy varieties.

Find out which varieties he loves the most, how he grows them in his garden and why he thinks they deserve a place in your garden.

More on growing plants

• Choosing plants for pots
• Plants for shade
• Plants with yellow flowers
• Plants for a naturalistic border
• Plants for winter containers