One of the classiest daisy flowers around, Echinacea ‘Kim’s Knee High’ has become a world wide, summer garden favourite in recent years. Hardly surprising, for it offers a compact habit and lots of high impact, deep pink flowers with prominent central cones over several months in mid summer. There’s often a second flush of bloom in autumn too. The flowers are carried on straight, strong stems and the sturdy petals stand up to wind and rain well, so no matter what the weather you get a great display.

This is a perennial beautiful enough to grow in a group on its own, or to grow among other perennials. It’s good in the herb garden too and quite appropriate, for in its native North America, Echinacea was widely used to treat wounds in times gone by. In the garden it looks stunning with blue flowers, such as the compact growing and striking perennial Salvia ‘Blue and Black’, Heliotrope ‘Baby Marine’ or ground covering Bacopa ‘Blue Showers’. It’s also effective with bold foliage plants, such as Canna ‘Tropical Sunburst’ and Cordyline ‘Sundance’. In mixed borders where the emphasis is on the casual-pretty look, arrange it with pink bush roses, wine coloured penstemons, Guar ‘Siskiyu Pink’, scabious, lavenders and deep pink marguerite daisies.