Are you looking for brightly coloured plants? Or perhaps you are seeking perennials that will give your garden a more established appearance.

A visit to one of the autumn or winter Royal Horticultural Society shows is highly recommended. There are few better ways that gardeners can gain inspiration, while also benefitting from the experience of general and specialist nurserymen. The friendly atmosphere, helpful people, smiling faces, and general buzz of shared enthusiasm, have to be witnessed, to be fully appreciated.

At the shows, which are held at frequent intervals, nurserymen generously dish out advice with the change as they wrap their plants, or pop them into RHS bags.

Information from specialists, who have spent a lifetime working with plants, is eagerly sought by new gardeners keen to learn how to grow the plants they buy.

A visitor to a recent RHS Show at Westminster was overheard asking a stand-holder, whether it would kill her untidy dwarf hebe if she cut it back. The reply she received was: "It’ll be all right, as long as you don’t cut too far down – just snip the ends."

I liked the black-ish mauve leaves of Heuchera ‘Plum Pudding’ and the variegated foliage of Phormium ‘Yellow Wave’, on the stand of Burncose Nurseries, which was awarded a silver medal.

Moving to Philip Tivey & Sons’ gold medal-winning dahlias, I was amazed at the dazzling display of cut flowers in brilliant colours. The rolled petals of deepest red Dahlia ‘Dark Stranger’ caught my attention, as did the large coral pompons of variety ‘Amber Glow’ and the bright, pillar-box red ‘Kenora Valentine’.

On Avon Bulbs’ display of autumn-flowering bulbous plants, the deep blood red blooms of Dahlia ‘Ragged Robin’ would be a suitable choice for a mixed border. The smaller size blooms and dainty divided foliage would fit easily into a background of other plants.

Sunflowers formed an astonishing exhibit on the Three Counties Nurseries stand. Vivid yellow Helianthus ‘Double Shine’, as large as dinner plates, with green centres, and H. ‘Sunny’ - circles of gold around bold, dark brown centres - were two of the most outstanding varieties shown.

A gold medal went to Hampshire Carnivorous Plants for a spectacular display. A neat little rosette forming, red-flowering butterwort, Pinguicula laveana, was especially tempting to enthusiasts.

New ‘Crystal Beauty’ is on course to be another streptocarpus money-spinner for Dibleys. A pleasant shade of lavender-coloured flowers, with navy/purple centres, look better in reality than in brochures. ‘Crystal Ice’ - white with purple feathery markings – is a best-seller. According to the growers, both varieties are all-year flowering. Dibleys were also showing foliage begonias and gesneriads.

Salvias could be the next big interest

Ashwood Nurseries showed uncommon salvias. On the gold medal-winning display, particularly note-worthy were Salvia ‘Indigo Spires’ – strong purple flowers. S. microphylla ‘Tressick’ – cream flowers; S. greggii ‘Sparkler’ – variegated foliage, deep pink flowers – hardy. These and other plants, including hardy cyclamen, were shown alongside Plectranthus argentatus –greyish foliage, small blue-marked, grey flowers.

In a favoured site by the entrance, vivid blue gentians were arranged to best advantage, and drawing the crowds, but still there was demand for a different variety. "That’s the one everyone wants," said Cath of Edrom Nurseries, Berwickshire, indicating white-flowering Gentiana ‘Sontra’ – a hardy gentian that will thrive in acid soil.

Plan ahead for next year’s garden

Dahlias are delightful flowers in the early autumn border. They are also excellent for cutting. Visitors to this website might prefer Unwins Dwarf Hybrids mixture, which can be raised from seed - or ‘Border Beauties’, a tall mixture of double and semi-double blooms in many colours. Now is the time to plan what you would like to grow. Seed can be ordered directly from Gonegardening.

New Dahlia Mixture for 2003

Dahlia ‘Unwins New Century’ is the latest blend of the seed-raised dwarf hybrid mixture to be introduced for the 21st Century.