We love June

We're cruising towards midsummer: this is a month full of love and abundance. Wherever you look there will be something in your garden that lifts the spirits and makes you glad to be alive. We have colour to cheer us, we have leaves that still have the bounce and freshness of small puppies, we have the first berries fattening up, there are birds frantically parenting very demanding broods of chicks, the bees are all over the place, it's prime barbecue and picnic season, and we have lawns as lush and green as billiard tables. What a month to fall in love.

- JAMES ALEXANDER-SINCLAIR

STAR OF THE MONTH

Malope trifida 'Vulcan'

 As I was brought up in the 60s and 70s, I was occasionally in contact with those old science fiction films. Although the special effects were truly dire in comparison to today, they had the power to make me dive behind the sofa. So, unsurprisingly, I tend to get concerned by plants that have anything resembling 'triffid' in their name. But if you're expecting waving tentacles and sabre-toothed flowers, then you can relax, for this is a colourful and harmless hardy annual. Sow it in a sunny spot for flowers all summer.

Good for cut flowers. May need a bit of support. Sow direct outdoors in May or in seed trays in late March. Height x Spread 90cm x 45cm

TOP BANANA 

Many people are a bit scared of yellow: I think it's the brightness and attention-grabbing nature of such a strong colour. Interestingly, there aren't that many bright-yellow blooms at this time of year - daffodils are long gone, and sunflowers and rudbeckias are a few weeks further down the road. In midsummer, the yellows are softer and less intimidating, like this very charming little geum.

Geum 'Banana Daiquiri'

This is one of a series of geums named after cocktails. Divide every three or four years to keep plants vigorous. H x S 30cm x 30cm