The 10 trendiest plants of this summer (and the five naffest that should NEVER be seen in your garden) revealed by a gardening expert
Plant trends tend to stick around longer than fashion and home decor fads.
For one thing, it takes years to breed a new plant, which involves testing hundreds of different varieties with only a few making the cut.
Those that do are launched on to the market and put up for prestigious awards such as the RHS Chelsea Plant of the Year. Matching colour trends, such as Pantone's Colour of the Year 'Peach Fuzz', can also give them a boost.
But then comes the real test of whether the public will fall in love with them.
As the Daily Mail's gardening expert, here are my ten trendiest new plants to make your garden look hort-couture in 2024, plus five that are just so last season.
TRENDIEST PLANTS
See You in Rosé: It has a vivid colour play of open cups, yellow buds and purple centre. It also has long lasting flowers and few thorns
See You in Rosé (rose)
This brand-new rose was the belle of the ball when it was launched at this month's RHS Hampton Court Flower Show. The small, sweet-smelling rose, which originates from Iran and Afghanistan, has semi-double flowers that are soft pink with a reddish eye and a white reverse. This makes it perfect for the front of a border or a patio pot. Bred by Kordes Roses as part of its insect friendly See You collection, it is loved by bees and butterflies. Highly floriferous, it will continue to bloom even without deadheading.
Apricotta: A stunning, almost 'iridescent' half-hardy annual with very finely-divided foliage
Apricotta (cosmos)
Who doesn't love a cosmos? These tall annual flowers are a staple of the late summer border.
Apricotta is a dazzling new variety with shimmering pink and orange blooms that perfectly match this season's hottest shade Peach Fuzz.
Continue to water and deadhead and it will provide colour well into autumn.
Black Jack: It has silky, purplish-black buds which open to shining, deep purple flowers
Black Jack (agapanthus)
This striking, nearly black agapanthus was trialled for five years by Hampshire's Fairweather's Nursery before being released on to the market last year when it won the coveted title of RHS Plant of the Year 2023.
The low-maintenance plant has spherical, purple-black florets on top of strong, upright green stems.
It grows well in a pot, is suited to a small garden or courtyard and won't mind if you leave it for a few weeks while you go on holiday.
Guernsey Flute: This new clematis has a habit of holding onto its flower buds a long time before they fully open
Guernsey Flute (clematis)
Also known as the 'king of clematis', this recently launched plant from Raymond Evision has large, star-shaped white flowers forming from May to July and continuing to bloom through to September.
It gets its name Guernsey Flute because when the flower buds are just about to open, they look like champagne flutes. Extremely versatile, it can be grown in a pot or a mixed border.
Clematis like to have cool feet, so grow with other plants for ground cover.
Beelicious Pink: Brings depth and drama to borders with its tall blooms, lasting up to five months from summer to autumn
Beelicious Pink (hyssop)
A magnet for bees and butterflies, this Mexican giant hyssop was one of the finalists for the RHS Chelsea Plant of the Year 2024. Its light pink, fuzzy, bottle brush flowers open in July and grow darker towards the autumn.
Fragrant and aromatic, it can be grown in a mixed border or on its own in a pot. Prefers full sun and well-drained soil.
Femme Fatale: It flowers with scores of overlapping red petals which appear, from February to April, to mark the end of winter and the start of brighter, warmer days
Femme Fatale (camellia)
This unusual camellia with bronze foliage and striking scarlet blooms was found languishing in the corner of a garden centre by Dutch nurseryman Stephan Snepvangers.
It was part of a delivery of new camellias from China, where it was considered unsuitable for development.
But Snepvangers saw its potential and, through a ten-year breeding programme, made it available to UK gardeners.
Plant in the autumn in lime-free soil for flowers in late winter. Prefers full sun with moist roots.
Praying Hand: An unusual succulent with its sculptural look that is happy indoors and out
Praying Hands (mangave)
If you are looking for something different to grow in a terracotta pot on a terrace or balcony, try this fashionable new teardrop shaped 'mangave'.
A cross between an agave and a manfreda, both from southwestern US and Mexico, it is small but architectural with fleshy, pink-tipped leaves that fold in on one another like a pinecone.
Grow alongside other succulents, or as a specimen plant by itself.
In winter it needs to be brought indoors or placed in a frost-free greenhouse.
Boucle: A unique new red-flowered variety of the popular ornamental grass
Boucle (ornamental grass)
Ornamental grasses are all the rage and this fluffy-looking plant with chunky green leaves is no exception.
Its name 'Boucle' comes from the French word for curly because its red tassels resemble a crimped ponytail. Hayloft Plants describes it as having 'a bouffant, upswept perm, worthy of the set of Dallas'.
It is fully hardy and can survive the coldest winters but is best planted in the ground as its roots need plenty of moist but well-drained soil.
Belle Epoque: This tulip has a vintage look and could be mistaken for a peony with its flamboyant multiple layers of petals
Belle Epoque (tulip)
It will soon be time to think about ordering bulbs to plant in the autumn for flowers next spring.
Follow the trend for faded shades with this dusky pink and coffee-coloured tulip with gorgeous full blooms on sturdy stems.
They are in limited supply so order soon to avoid disappointment.
Grow alongside dark purple Queen of the Night tulips for a dramatic contrast.
Sensational! Fill your garden with the scent of lavender - and bees will love it, too
Sensational! (lavender)
This new variety of lavender is more robust than others, with longer flower spikes and silvery foliage.
Branded Sensational! with an exclamation mark, the lavender is a small variety that will bloom from May to September in full sun and well-drained soil, growing to around 60cm in height and width.
Spotted as a mutation of another lavender growing on a nursery in Pennsylvania, it is ideal for a Mediterranean garden or along the edge of a path.
NAFFEST BLOOMS
Gazanias: The daisy-like composite flowerheads in brilliant shades of yellow will bloom all summer long
Gazanias (daisy)
Subtle is not a word to describe these African daisies which come in neon shades of traffic cone orange and high vis vest yellow.
Grown as wasteful bedding plants, you would be better off sowing calendula from seed or investing in a perennial aster such as Little Carlow.
Begonias: Surburbia wouldn't be the same without hanging baskets full of this colourful plant
Begonias
Nothing screams pub hanging basket like a begonia. With an abundance of waxy flowers in eye-watering shades of pink, orange and yellow, these half-hardy plants are usually grown in containers or as bedding.
If it's elegance you're after, avoid at all costs.
Petunias: Add a pop of colour to a front lawn with this sun-loving plant - and they look good in borders too
Petunias
There is a reason why Harry Potter's horrid aunt was called Petunia. These tender, trumpet-shaped annuals are the essence of prim surburbia. They became popular because of their long flowering season and bright colours, but they now look old-fashioned and rather obvious.
Cordyline: Add a touch of the tropics with this shrub as it displays its upright, sword-like leaves - and its low maintenance
Cordyline
At one time, these large spiky succulents from Down Under were considered the epitome of modern garden design. These days they just look tatty.
The fact they are low maintenance means most people just leave them to their own devices, and it shows.
Busy Lizzies: One of our most well-loved bedding plants, celebrated for its lush foliage and vibrant, continuous blooms
Busy Lizzies
These tender plants are grown as half-hardy annuals in the UK, which means they can tolerate cool temperatures and cool soil but will keel over as soon as they are touched by frost.
People tend to buy them as plug plants for pots or hanging baskets in the spring, then throw them away in the autumn when they have gone over, which is wasteful to say the least.