These beautiful plants (which are related to the banana and plantain plants) bring a touch of the exotic to your garden and, despite their exotic appearance, can be grown easily . They grow to about 180cm, depending on the variety, with a spread of something like 60cm and need full sun. They work particularly well in pots and containers: rhizomes can be planted up in late spring and will flower in the same summer and well into autumn. Plunge the pots into borders for a splash of dramatic colour and remove them to a sheltered spot for overwintering.

Cannas will grow in almost any soil but they are greedy plants and will flower best when fed a regular diet of well-rotted manure and compost - and in dry spells they need copious amounts of water! The huge purple-brown veined leaves of 'Wyoming' make a bold statement and then, in late summer, warm apricot orange flowers with slightly frilled petals appear on long stalks above the striking foliage: they look very striking next to purple lupins.

In very mild districts plants can be grown permanently in a warm sheltered border or protected in winter. But in our frostprone areas, the leaves and stem should be removed when they have been blackened by frost. Lift the rhizomes and store in a frost-free place.