Have you ever bought something only to realise later at home that it’s a bit ordinary? It happens to us all the time simply because retailers do a great job making everything look fantastic and ‘must-have’. The same rule applies to plants: it’s too easy to grab a pretty little thing from the garden centre that ends up being disappointing. To prevent this ever happening again, arm yourself with these 5 tips for picking the best plants…

1. Look at the flowers: which you probably are anyway as most plants will be on sale at a time when they are in flower and looking their best. Ask yourself, is the flower interesting? Are there a lot of them on the plant and are there lots of unopened buds (aka future flowers)? Is there something special and different about the flower? Like lace cap Hydrangea Strawberries & Cream®; the mega-flowered Daphne Perfume Princess™; or the spotted throat of Alstroemeria Rock & Roll®. If you manage to tick just two of these boxes, you’ve found something that will hold its own once it arrives back at your place.

2. Look at the leaves: there aren’t many plants that flower all the time so it makes sense to check out the foliage. Again, ask yourself, what’s interesting about the leaves? Their color, shape, texture? If the plant has a good shape as well then it will keep you smiling year round. A list worth checking out: Hydrangea Tuxedo® for its purple black leaves; the glossy sunbursts of colour from the Pacific™ coprosmas; Tropicanna® canna’s rainbow of stripes.

3. Gift worthy-ness: take a hard look at the plant you’re considering and ask yourself, would I give this as a present to someone? If the answer is yes, then you’re probably making a good selection. Gift-worthy plants look good right now. They can be treated as living flowers to dress up the house.

4. A longer game plan: there is real satisfaction in bringing home a lovely plant, enjoying it in and around the home for a while and then being able to plant it outside in a container or into the garden where it matures into something even bigger and better. To spot those plants which will give you this option just take a closer look at the plant labels and punch any plant’s name into Google to find out everything you need to know about it.

5. Toughies are best: this is obvious, but why would anyone want to bring home a tricky to grow, fussy plant? Nope. Limit yourself to plants that are proven performers, healthy individuals that have a reputation for being bullet-proof to care for. Again, a quick squizz at the tag, a bit of online research, and you’ll know if you’ve spotted a toughie. Or check out any of the plants already mentioned above because they are all super easy to grow and are, quite simply, great plants.