Add a showy performer to your garden

Gardeners looking for a "showy performer" this summer should look no further than the Salvia candelabrum, which will give plenty of flowers throughout the summer, according to Val Bourne in the Daily Telegraph.

And now is the best time to get planting as S. candelabrum tends to develop roots in July or August, so those starting off with a small plant should see it blooming in no time.

Unlike some Salvia, the candelabrum is a tough customer with a stiff stem that can stretch up to over five feet high.

It should even stay in leaf through the winter with any luck.

Ms Bourne advised on how to best tend to the plant, saying you should be sure to take cuttings as S.candelabrum can become woody and brittle at the base after a few years.

"Fill a seed tray with horticultural sand or gritty compost. Water well and pull away new pieces of growth from the stem so that each cutting has a heel or a ragged tip," she advises.

Growing the flower in the warmth of the greenhouse will allow the lovely aromas to circulate and help young plants establish themselves.