KNOWN as the ice plant, because if you touch the leaves on a warm day they will be cold, sedum adds interest to the border in late summer and autumn.

Its flowers begin to colour in late August, lasting into October and even November. Sedum spectabile and S. telephium, which grow up to 60cm, attract bees and butterflies and thrive in well-drained soils in sun. Combine with asters or blue plants and ornamental grasses.

Good varieties include ‘Autumn Joy’, with flat heads of salmon-pink to coppery-red from August, while S.

spectabile ‘Brilliant’ produces pink flowers. Good ground cover varieties include S. spurium ‘Variegatum’, with its cream-edged leaves.

Sedums are easy to propagate by division or cuttings.