Eye-catching colours for summer

A handful of pinhead-sized seeds in January, a bank of sweet-scented colour in July...the 2006 seed catalogues have been a welcome diversion from the past week's sub-zero temperatures.

A handful of pinhead-sized seeds in January, a bank of sweet-scented colour in July...the 2006 seed catalogues have been a welcome diversion from the past week's sub-zero temperatures.

Take your pick from the tiny candytuft to towering delphiniums. I'm tempted by a brand new hellebore from Thompson and Morgan.

Helleborus Washfield Doubles promises breathtaking double blooms in a kaleidoscope of subtle shades such as pink, plum, yellow, apricot, green and black.

Ditto an ...