The Top 20 best-value plants

Want a garden that looks a million dollars, but costs a lot less? Hazel Sillver reveals the 20 perennials, shrubs, climbers and trees that work hardest for your money

-  Hazel Sillver

EVEN a small garden can be a money sponge and it’s easy to spend huge amounts filling it with plants year after year. However, there are lots of ways to cut costs and still enjoy a fabulous display. The secret is to choose plants that perform over a long period – or in more than a single season.

Evergreens are always a worthwhile investment, providing colour year round. Many gardeners skip over them, deeming them dull, but their low-cost impact is unrivalled. Having lots of green in the garden can be both revitalising and calming, so don’t underestimate the value of a one-time-purchase evergreen shrub like Choisya ternata, which will perform for years.

When it comes to flowers, those that are in it for the long haul offer the best value. In spring, this means opting for the likes of Erysimum ‘Bowles’s Mauve’, Euphorbia epithymoides and Aquilegia chrysantha ‘Yellow Queen’ – all have unstoppable flower power.

Meanwhile, summer stalwarts include gaura, nepeta and perovskia. Geum ‘Totally Tangerine’ flowers from June to August; Helianthemum ‘Wisley Primrose’ blooms from April into July; and Penstemon ‘Andenken an Friedrich Hahn’ flowers from July to October.

Pick slug-proof plants