I’m a woman of simple tastes in the garden. I stick with the tried and trusted. That means snowdrops, daffodils and tulips at a push. Add in hydrangeas, ladies mantel, nepeta, alstroemerias, peonies, poppies, sedums and astilbes and if all these perform, well, I’m a happy woman.

Over the years I have added dicentra, angel’s fishing rod, astrantias and roses to my list of stalwarts. With the exception of the roses they have all thrived even when neglected. But by far and away the best of my new arrivals are alliums.

I used see then adorning the show gardens at Bloom. Great balls of colour held aloft on a single stem. They couldn’t be that sturdy I thought, one gale and they’d be flattened. But I was wrong. They are sturdy, long lasting and come back year after year.

They are great to bridge the gap between bulbs and herbaceous perennials. Like so many plants they favour full sun and free draining soil. Be sure to plant them nice and deep as some varieties have very large bulbs. An annual mulch of compost or well-rotted farm manure will do them the power of good.

Allium cristophii, Purple Sensation, Globemaster, Red Mohican, Album, Mars and Mont Blanc are all easy to grow. A favourite of mine is Allium spaerocephalon which instead of the usual purple or white is maroon red.

This year I planted about 50 alliums of various varieties free style in the orchard and they worked out very well and were a great attraction for the bees. I use them as cut flowers for the house and they remain attractive even when their colour has faded. Now is a good time to get planting and there should be a wide selection of bulbs in good garden centres.