Cleve West: The Saga Insurance Garden

This is a very striking evergreen grass that forms a spiky clump of arching deep green foliage from which a huge sheaf of very long-stemmed, oat-like flower-heads erupts in mid-summer, up to 1.8m (6ft) high. When mature, these splay apart to make a wide fountain shape that almost hides the plant. The seed-heads dry out naturally on the plant and persist into early winter, where they make a good architectural feature, especially when outlined in frost. This is an excellent alternative to pampas grass as a lawn specimen in small gardens, and perfect in a border or a gravel garden. It is found growing wild in Spain and Portugal. To propagate, divide plants from mid-spring to early summer. The Royal Horticultural Society has given it their prestigious Award of Garden Merit (AGM).

The bronze or purple form of garden fennel (not to be confused with sweet or Florence fennel, an annual vegetable grown for its swollen bulbs) is a handsome and popular perennial, often planted on its own for impact or combined with bergamot in flower borders. With plenty of humus and water in dry weather, plants develop into magnificent clumps of airy feather foliage, crowned in late summer with large heads of tiny flowers. The seeds are as useful herbally as the leaves, and may be left to ripen as a crop.

A rarely seen, extremely interesting South African, with star-like yellow summer flowers. Because it is very tender, it is best potted up and kept under glass over winter, where it needs a minimum of 5C. It should be kept quite dry, but plant it outside over summer, ideally in a rock garden where it is guaranteed a baking position and good drainage.

A small, native british tree which can grow in full sun or partial shade so its often found at the edge of woodland and in hedgerows. It rarely grows more than 15m tall and prefers moist, fertile soil. Young leaves are reddish-purple, turning dark green when mature, with clusters of yellow-green flowers in spring. Its winged seeds are similar to most sycamores.

Leptospermums are close relatives of myrtle, with similar small evergreen leaves and a dense, bushy habit. They come from Australia and New Zealand, and make large shrubs or small trees in seaside gardens and mild districts. Elsewhere, they are limited in size by winds and frosts, and grow best against a warm wall where they can reach 4m (13ft) or more. This variety, the New Zealand tea tree, is a variable species which has given rise to numerous varieties such as 'Martini', a fine dark-leafed shrub with rich carmine flowers.