Adam Frost: 5 plants that deserve a place in your garden

All of us have favourite plants in our gardens that we cherish and turn to again and again. 

Gardener’s World presenter Adam Frost says he has a ‘toolbox’ of favourite flowers, shrubs and trees that he loves and have served him over the years. 

But when he downsized and created a new, smaller garden from scratch, he started to experiment and try different plants. 

His project was watched by 3 million viewers of the BBC2 favourite and now he’s released a new book For the Love of Plants, explaining and following that process, featuring 150 of his favourite plants. 

Adam told Saga Magazine: “I’ve loved discovering new plants, even though I have a smaller garden now. 

“When I had a big plot, I would often add  more of the same thing in, but now I am really focussed on what I want to grow. It’s meant that I have tried new plants and varieties of others that I may have discounted before. 

“I’ve also found some great local varieties. The best thing about these is that you know they will work in your garden, with the soil and the conditions. There’s often also a fascinating story behind them too. 

“Some of these five have been favourites of mine for years but may be new to you. However, they are all worth a place in your garden for a host of reasons.” 

1. Merk dahlia (Dahlia merckii) 

It’s a close call, but I think this is my favourite dahlia, it is hardier than most with a single simple flower that is produces en-masse until late autumn in a soft lavender pink with a gold rimmed centre. I have lost a good few hours in summer watching the bees in and around the open flowers.

They are fairly low maintenance but in a hot summer don’t let them dry out completely. Deadhead regularly and cut back in early winter and cover the crowns with a good layer of composted bark. 

2. Scots Lovage (Ligusticum scoticum) 

I’m surprised I don’t see this plant all over, it’s a cracker. It’s not lovage as we know it. This variety is quite unusual.

It’s a native perennial that’s compact, forms clumps of thick satin leaves and has umbrellas of tiny white flowers in early summer. The flowers and seeds are edible – it does carry a strong flavour.

It really brings something to the border, and you’ll see the flowers covered with pollinators. 

3. Apple Lord Burghley (Malus domestica Lord Burghley) 

This apple tree was raised in Stamford, Lincolnshire, just a few miles from my home. Think local and you can find something that has been raised in your area.

This one has a pinky-white blossom in spring and fresh sweet dessert apples which keep well into winter. 

4. Rose ‘Cardinal de Richelieu’ (Rosa Cardinal de Richelieu) 

I think this is one of the first roses that really wowed me so much I used it in my first Chelsea Flower Show garden. It’s a shrub rose with a relaxed habit and next to no thorns.

The flowers in June and July are velvety and dark purple and the fragrance is light.

It’s a versatile plant, happy in sun or part shade and grows in my soils.  

5. Requin’s larkspur (Delphinium requienii) 

This delphinium offers something a little different. You will do a double take when you first see it. Its biennial but don’t let that put you off as it can prolifically self-seed so it works like an annual.

I find them quite hardy, it is bushier than the perennial, the leaves have a real shine to them and it has masses of large spurred exotic-looking soft blue flowers. I have planted it around honey splurge (Euphorbia mellifera) and the foliage contrast is cracking.

For the Love of Plants 

Adam is a seven times gold winner at the Chelsea Flower Show, an RHS ambassador, he’s been on the presenting team for Gardener’s World since 2016 and prior to that worked with the gardening legend Geoff Hamilton. 

His new book pays tribute to the plants that shaped his life and the music that inspired his garden’s design. 

“Gardens aren’t about perfection,” Adam said. “They are about creating spaces to live and make memories from.” 

For the Love of Plants, by Adam Frost, £22 hardback, Penguin Random House.