The autumn-flowering gentians are wonderful plants, bringing colour - and very intense colour at that - to the garden at a time when there is not a great deal flowering. Most have trailing stems, each terminated with a large, trumpet shaped flower. They can be split in April, and a good patch can soon be established. Most dislike alkaline soil.

Gentiana ternifolia bears brilliant blue trumpet flowers over a low mat of leaves. Did you know that sino-ornata translated from Spanish comes out as but-ornate? Which suggests pretty bottom - and quite right, too. The pattern inside the flowers is stunningly beautiful.