Wallflowers are biennial plants, which means they live for two years, producing leaves in the first, and flowers in the second. Buy them with bare roots and plant up in autumn, ready to bloom the following spring. These fragrant flowers come in many hot shades, and look stunning with violas and grasses.

When to start: Autumn.

At their best: Spring.

Time to complete: 30 minutes.

You will need: Wallflowers – Erysimum cheiri, winter-flowering violas, feather grass – Stipa tenuissima, frost-resistant container, broken clay pot pieces, multi-purpose soil, bucket, gravel.

Prepare wallflowers

Try to plant your bare-root wallflowers as soon as you get them home. If you have to store them for a few days, wrap the roots in damp newspaper and keep the plants in a cool garage or unheated greenhouse. Then, just before planting, plunge the roots in a bucket of water for about 15 minutes.

Add the plants

Place clay pieces at the bottom of the pot and fill to within 2 in (5 cm) of the rim with soil. Plant the Stipa at the back and violas around the front. Gently unwrap and separate the wallflowers.

Firm in and water

Plant the wallflowers between the Stipa and violas, making sure that they are upright. Firm in and water well. Place the container in a sunny position. Water during dry spells and remove faded flowers.