We love July

July is an island floating between the joy of June and the slightly fatigued month of August. It's a grown-up month: the year has shrugged off its adolescent exuberances, the weather is (hopefully) warm enough for ice cream to be one of your five a day, the sea should be swimmable without (too much) danger of hypothermia and thoughts will be of holiday shenanigans and family barbecues. School's out this month, the next tranche of glorious summer colour is washing across our borders and it's my birthday. Lots of reasons to give three rousing cheers for July!

- JAMES ALEXANDER-SINCLAIR

STARS OF THE MONTH

Pelargonium 'Lord Bute' and Achillea millefolium 'Balvinrose'

If you're a pelargonium enthusiast (and who isn't?), then this one should be high up your wish list. Lord Bute was Prime Minister for a year in 1762. More importantly for us gardeners, he was interested in botany and helped to create Kew Gardens. His pelargonium is sensational, with velvety petals the colour of tawny port, edged with a squeeze of fruity pink. It's at its best on its own in a mellow, well-aged terracotta pot or bringing a bit of aristocratic tone to a border combination. The achillea is a pretty punchy colour, which makes this a stop-and-stare combo.

Pelargonium 'Lord Bute'

Tender, with evergreen foliage. Keep in a greenhouse or conservatory over winter. Take cuttings in spring or summer. Height x Spread 45cm x 30cm

Achillea millefolium 'Balvinrose'

Excellent for pollinators. Grow in full sun. Tolerant of all soils except heavy, wet clay. H x S 60cm x 30cm

SHAPING UP BEAUTIFULLY

We all need a burst of colour in our lives, but for a mixed border with style and tone you also need all the different leaf and flower shapes. Here we have uprights and spires (the delphinium is the strongest), starry daisies and the ever-wonderful flat planes of the achilleas.