Which plant in your garden have you found to be the most useful?

Yes. They have brought heucheras on a lot, haven't they?! That kind of plant can add "distinction" to a flower bed.

I can never get geums to come back merlot. I do like them though.

I agree about the geraniums. But one called Wargrave is proving itself to be a pretty thug. Totally overtaken a nice blue one.

I agree about Erysiums, especially the Bowles Mauve which goes on and on.We have also got a creamy white one, a yellow one and one which is amber in colour.
All the hardy geranuims are good too.
A third choice would be an annual, Cosmos.

Rosemary. I cook with it a lot.

Our clematis is amazing, much as it drove my husband mad when we moved in and it had swallowed up the garage. After cutting back, it grows and flowers so quickly

My camelia bloomed for nearly two months - but they are a little temperamental about soil.

janeainsworth your rhododendron is the same as one we bought and planted last weekend so not being an expert gardener I have high hopes for it. We were taken by friends to Lea Gardens in Derbyshire where there are 3 acres of rhododendrons of every variety. Well worth a visit and of course a garden centre at the end.

Funnygran If your soil isn't acidic you do have to give Rhodies some tlc or their leaves go yellow and they don't thrive. I give mine a couple of doses of Miracid each year to keep them happy
I hope yours gives you as much pleasure as mine has given me.

jingl is this Wargrave? I agree it spreads itself but I do like it. It came from my mum's garden and is happy in sun or shade and is useful for filling up places.

Winter flowering pansies. They are cheerful all winter long in spite of rain, wind, frost and snow ??

Erysimum (the purple one) has good all-year interest in my garden. And it does not get eaten.

Mixed with antirrhinums (pink & white), Verbena bonariensis (purple), fennel and lavender (silver) it made a lovely show which all bloomed until the first frost.

My most useful plants are anything that states 'perennial, ground cover' , creeping phlox, snow in summer etc etc. Makes the chore of weeding so much easier.

Definitely the geraniums Have blue, dark pink and two different pale pink.Trying to get a white one but they are hard to find .Fantastic ground cover. Closely followed by alchemilla. And aquilegia

Ooh Dont think I have Wargrave It looks a different colour to.mine

Penstemons. They flower for such a long period & come in such lovely colours.
Best bargain is a Clematis I bought for 50p towards the end of the day in Epsom Market 12 years ago.It looked a bit sad & I felt sorry for it. It flowers from now until Autumn & is the first bit of colour in the border outside the back door when spring bulbs finish. It has more than repaid me & I look forward to it's first flower every year.I think it was called Pope Pius 9th.It has just started flowering this year. Lovley.

Cosmos. Such a friendly cheery little plant that flowers much of the summer and can be planted in odd gaps that perennials have left.

I like cosmos, but after just one sowing two years ago, it got to be a real nuiscance, self seeding all over the place. This year, I set out to eradicate it completely, but still have seedlings coming through and, in truth, I can't bring myself to get rid of any more. They are very pretty when in flower and obviously determined that they will be part of my planting scheme (such as it is) so who am I to argue?

On the subject of geraniums, I always hankered after Johnson's Blue and my sister gave me a clump from her garden. She said if I cut it back after the first flush of flowers, it would flower again, but I could never get it to do this. A very handsome plant, but also needs control.

When my daughters were 5 and 6 they gave me a tiny pot of ivy for Mothers Day.That was 33 years ago.
Since then I have moved house 5 times,and each time I dig up a piece of the ivy and replant it in my new garden.....it is like bringing the children with me.
I dread losing that plant.

Any evergreen is useful,as they guarantee winter foliage.

Nigella (Love-in-a-Mist) seeds itself freely in my garden. Such a pretty flower. It was my mother's favourite so I would add it to bunches I'd cut for her when she was in a nursing home.

I'm another big heuchera fan; colour all through the winter and now they are looking fabulous with new leaves and flowers. A friend bought me "Southern Comfort" for my birthday last year which I have in a pot on the patio and the afternoon sun shines through it - gorgeous.

janeainsworth thanks for the advice. Will need to check the soil.

Oh yes! Cosmos! I get garden ready plugs every year. Really useful.

This is a really exciting thread. It's making me want to go and buy more plants.

#weloveourgardens

Yes. I get love-in-a-mist popping up everywhere merlot. So pretty.

ja yes, I think that is Wargrave. Although there are some other pink ones so can't say for sure. My Wargrave out-thugged my Johnsons Blue. But it very pretty.