THESE pint-sized, delicate-looking annuals or tender perennials make a pretty addition to summer containers and hanging baskets. They flower prolifically all summer.

Shear the spent stems after their first flush of flowers to promote new growth and they will continue to bloom into autumn. Most are annual but there are a few perennials including Diascia personata which produces stiff stems that grow 90cm (3ft) tall from early May.

Diascias do best in fertile, moist but well-drained soil in full sun and their trailing habit makes them ideal for hanging baskets. Colour scheming is easy with varieties such as ‘Coral Belle’ and , ‘Ruby Field’.