Probably the most spectacular herbaceous plants are the big, brash lupins, which, in my opinion, should be in every garden.

They set the border off with their bright colours, and when they have finished flowering can be cut back when they will often produce more flowers.

I like to place something with pretty leaves in front of the plant, ready to grow and hide the place where the lupin was so prominent.

Another big plant which will dominate the border for a while at the beginning of the season is the oriental poppy.

These come in orange with a black middle, subtle pink and white too. They can be spaced along a border – not too close or they would tend to fight.

Like the lupins, they need something quite big which will grow up and hide the leaves when the flowers have gone.

For the front of the border I recently found a delightful new plant, hacquettia.

It is a low, lime green colour, with yellow centres to the flowers. It is well-behaved and does not spread too much.

The colour will mix with anything and it is perfect to set off other low things round it.

We need a different leaf shape in the border at intervals, and the big foliage of the red hot pokers is ideal.

The well known red hot poker is just like its name, shaded from red at the top of the flowers to yellow below.

What is not so well known is that they can appear in a mass of different colours. Orange or pale yellow all over, or many differing shades together.

Once the flowers have finished, the shape of the plant is still very attractive and will help to hold up plants that tend to fall about.

I left quite a few salvias in the ground over the winter this year but many of them died – the winter was not too kind to us.

The red Salvia fulgens has grown and is flowering, and I shall take some cuttings of it as it is so bright.

I shall buy some more to keep it company – maybe I could find a blue one that would stand the winter weather, or a white and red one.

Another plant that I would not be without is the perennial honesty.

It has slightly different seed pods to the annual one, being elliptical rather than round, but has the advantage that it always comes up again in the same place, instead of dotted all round the garden like the annual ones.