AS August is now upon us, it seems the months are passing so quickly – and Christmas feels like it’s just around the corner!

Still, August is a strange month for the garden as this is the month that the garden is at its peak. For me personally, it’s also a reflective month as I can easily recall all those annual and half-hardy annual seeds I was busy sowing in the early part of the year which are now in full flower and looking very colourful.

I must admit there is something very rewarding about growing plants from seed to full bloom, and looking at my floral baskets this year it’s not only me enjoying them – my neighbours seem to get as much enjoyment from my floral baskets as I do.

I may be enjoying the benefits of all the hard work and the nurturing I gave them in the earlier part of the year but I’m afraid I can’t rest on my laurels as it’s time to be thinking about the spring displays, which will be replacing the current summer displays in a few weeks’ time.

For these displays it’s now far too late to be growing primroses or polyanthus from seed – these should have been sown much earlier in the year. However, many growers are promoting their autumn catalogues which seem to be offering a wide range of primrose and polyanthus plug plants that they will be dispatched from end of the month for growing on in pots or trays.

And it’s not too late to sow spring-flowering pansies and bellis, and I would even try sowing a few wallflowers, even if it is a little late in the season. If we have a mild winter again, they should make good plants come the spring.

I have already received a number of catalogues promoting a wide range of flowering bulbs, from the early-flowering snowdrops to the late-flowering cottage tulips and everything else in between.

It seems each year we have more types and varieties of bulbs to choose from. One fairly new bulb which has caught my eye is Tulip ‘Ice Cream’ on which the flower’s shape and form resembles a scoop of white ice cream in a red dish – you need to see the flower to see why it is so aptly named. But at £2 each they are not cheap.

Taking about new plant introductions, one which I am impressed with is my foxglove Digitalis Illumination Pink which is unlike the conventional foxglove you see growing in the sides of hedgerows. This recent new introduction is a hybridised form of the Canary Island foxglove, which is why it has striking markings. From my photograph you may agree it’s a very stunning plant, which is why it was the RHS Chelsea flower show winner of the Plant of Year 2012.

I have been growing this plant since its introduction that year and despite it being described as a half-hardy plant, due to its Canary Island parentage, it has nevertheless managed to over-winter quite well. The foxglove flowers spikes are not very tall, only reaching around 50cms, and over the last three years the plant has continued to get bushier and is now producing many more spikes than when I first obtained it. I must admit it does look like a tropical plant.

Unfortunately, it also produces sterile seeds so it cannot be propagated this way. Although this is a benefit as it produces its tropical-looking flowers over a longer period. Commercially the plant is propagated by meristem culture; however it can be propagated at home through root cuttings.

Since its introduction, other flower colours have been developed by the breeders; the family now includes Illumination Raspberry, Illumination Gold and Illumination Flame. Regardless of flower colour, the markings are on the flowers and habit is all similar. It’s an interesting and easy plant to grow, but it can be expensive. Still, it’s a plant I would recommend, even if it has some associated risk of not surviving a severe winter.