This plant featured in the Times Eureka garden and elsewhere is often a Chelsea favourite - and for good reason. Likes somewhere sunny but moist Photograph: www.alamy.com
Visitors couldn't escape salvias this year, from the clary sage (Salvia sclarea) in Bunny Guinness's potager garden to the trio of ornamental salvias in the Laurent-Perrier garden Photograph: www.alamy.com
The bell-shaped blooms of this allium relative looked great in the Laurent-Perrier garden. Ideal for a gravel garden Photograph: www.alamy.com
It was their wonderfully silvery, felted leaves that were the star of the show rather than their spire-like flowers. I loved the combination of Verbascums and Pilosella aurantiaca (fox and cubs) at the Hesco Garden for Leeds City Council. Another gravel garden stalwart Photograph: www.alamy.com
These were the unexpected star of Cleve West's garden, their lime-green blooms looking like fabulous cow parsley against the warm colours of the stone Photograph: www.alamy.com
This classic cottage garden flower was embraced by so many show gardens this year: some chose just the pink form, while others mixed pink and white. Once in your garden, it's hard to eradicate and grows anywhere, including on top of walls Photograph: www.alamy.com
Featured in Ann-Marie Powell's garden for the British Heart Foundation, Mexican tree spinach is an edible that looks great too. It self-seeds everywhere but it's worth the trouble Photograph: www.alamy.com
This strawberry-pink foxglove was everywhere at the show: Luciano Giubbilei's garden for Laurent-Perrier to match the shades of pink champagne, the Leeds City Council and in the Times Eureka garden Photograph: www.alamy.com
