Nursery plant picks for 2013 - in pictures

Harriet Hardiman, a director at Hayloft Plants picked Phlox 'Purple Elite' and 'Ice Cream'. She says: "This plant has flower heads three times larger than usual phlox. And bigger blooms give so much more perfume to waft around in clouds, welcoming bees and butterflies to your garden. Excellent for cutting too. Happy in borders and containers and not fussy on soil conditions." Photograph: Hayloft Plants

Sarah Mackenzie, plant buyer for Crocus, picked Camellia rosthorniana 'Cupido'. She says: "It is a beautiful dainty new camellia which has pink buds opening to small white flowers that have a pinkish-red flush on the outer edges of the petals. The small leaves and slender stems give a light and airy appearance and the new shoots are red when they first emerge, giving an extra burst of colour. Growing to around 1.5m tall by 0.75m wide, this compact camellia has an upright pyramidal habit and makes an excellent specimen for a pot or will provide structure and colour in the shrub border." Photograph: Picasa/Crocus

Bleddyn Wynn-Jones of Crûg Farm Plants chose Cautleya spicata 'Bleddyn's Beacon'. He says: "With so many new and exciting introductions for 2013 I think this is the one that is going to stand out, hence the name 'Bleddyn’s Beacon'. It is one of the best forms we have grown, outperforming in flower any of our other collections. It is stocky with strong dark red stems bearing longer than normal terminal inflorescences of dark red overlapping bracts with sizeable protruding yellow flowers over a long period June to October. It is easily grown in any type of humus-rich but drained soil in sun to light shade: protect the rhizomes from freezing in cold areas, with a mulch. Hardy to -15C." Photograph: Crug Farm Plants

Rosy Hardy of Hardy's Cottage Garden Plants picked Nepeta 'Summer Magic'. She says: "This wonderful new compact growing Nepeta has been bred in the UK and is affectionately known by the breeder as Bertie! It has a very long flowering season from May to October and will make fantastic edging plants for pathways. Its dark grey green foliage compliments the large blue/lavender flowers held on bushy compact plants 40cm x 40cm. Even through the poor weather in 2012 it was reliably blooming throughout the summer. For those people who would like that Provence look but cannot grow lavender, this is an ideal alternative. Easy to look after in a sunny spot in most garden soils, with cutting back in autumn all that is required." Photograph: Hardy's Cottage Garden Plants

Colin Binny of Binny Plants chose Sambucus 'Black Tower'. He says: "This is an excellent subject for the smaller garden as the name suggests, the habit is very uprightrequiring around 1.2 to 1.5m of garden space. It will reach a height of around 2.5 metres in 10 years. New leaves emerge green and quickly turn dark purple to black, the flowers produced in summer are rose pink and followed by the typical dark elderberries loved by birds. 'Black Tower' will start flowering at an early age and is suitable for all but the wettest gardens. It is tolerant of wind and light shade. Photograph: Binny Plants

David Ward, plant propagation manager at the Beth Chatto Nursery, chose Pulmonaria 'Mado'. He says: "Discovered several years ago in the gardens, the nursery has gradually increased stock of 'Mado' to offer this spring. This selection produces clear sky-blue flowers that are reluctant to fade to pink, sometimes an issue with those who enjoy these reliable spring-flowering plants. Often grown as much for their striking leaves, P. 'Mado' has narrow well marked foliage, spotted and splashed silver. The plant forms a neat clump barely reaching 30cm x 30cm and enjoys a part-shaded position, perhaps under leafless shrubs which will give more shade during the summer." Photograph: Beth Chatto Gardens

Fergus Garrett of Great Dixter picked Verbascum 'Christo’s Yellow Lightning'. He says: "This is believed to be a hybrid between the biennial Verbascum speciosum and the perennial V. x chaixii, and has many of the good qualities of both parents, producing several upright dense candelabras of bright yellow flowers from a rosette of grey/green leaves. The flowering spikes are showier than V. chaixii and denser than V. olympicum, and certainly a showstopper for the front or middle of the border. Plants are perennial and are all propagated from root cuttings taken in October. Flowering time is late June into July at a height of 150cm. In my eyes, this is the best perennial verbascum: it received an Award of Garden Merit at the RHS Wisley trials a few years ago. Plants do need renewing after several years as they flower their hearts out." Photograph: Great Dixter Nursery