Lonicera × Brownii ‘Dropmore Scarlet’

This honeysuckle has a real wow factor, with long, trumpet-shaped, vivid scarlet flowers from July to September, followed in hot summers by small red berries. Although it is unscented (or with just a faint hint of perfume), the flower colour more than makes up for the lack of fragrance, and its handsome, semi-evergreen (or deciduous in colder winters) blue-green leaves provide valuable cover for a pergola or boundary wall. An unusual climber for a cottage-style garden.

Garden care: Cut back established plants after flowering, removing a third of the flowering shoots. Apply a generous 5-7cm (2-3in) mulch of well-rotted compost or manure around the base of the plant in early spring.