The eyes of some are darker, others lighter, than the main tint of the petals. Some of the newer crimsons and reds are so bright that they are better placed among the brilliant yellows and reds of the earlier list. Unfortunately modern phloxes are overbred and succumb to the attacks of eelworm which is evinced by a twisting of the leaves. Another species, P. maculata, only available in paler colours, is not so prone. Taking them as a group they provide a splash of solid colour scarcely equalled by any other hardy perennial, and their fragrance is soft and rich. Even so their appearance is tinged with sadness for they usher in the late summer flowers. Give them good soil with plenty of humus and they will often thrive.Chrysanthemum maximum. The latter have yellow centres (except the true doubles) and thus are not so coldly white as the phloxes. We have seen dark purples among our earlier paragraphs, but little crimson. It is found best in Monarda didyma 'Cambridge Scarlet', and some of the other forms which range through pink and purple; also in phloxes and Knautia macedonica (syn. Scabiosa rumelica). This is best left to sprawl, covering some 3sq ft(im2), producing a long succession of true crimson scabious-flowers. (To make the most of the space they can be surrounded by spring bulbs.) With regard to pale yellow, so useful for contrasting happily with the softer colours, great value is found in Thalictrum speciosissimum; the fluffy citron yellow flowers appear on 6ft(2m) stems in late June, after which they should be removed so that one can enjoy the elegantly lobed glaucous foliage. There is also a light yellow sweet sultan, Centaurea ruthenica, whose deeply cut leaves of dark green contrast with the clear flower tint. And here and there among this assembly of soft tints one needs the silver-grey of Artemisia ludoviciana and its relatives-all colonisers, so beware!-and blue rue, the great glaucous leaves of seakale, with Anthemis cupaniana, Artemisia canescens and pinks in the foreground. are such an asset in any garden. June welcomes the purple spikes of hardy orchids, Dactylorrhiza elata, D. foliosa and D. latifolia; they are splendid perennials and assort well with the lemon-yellow hooded flowers of Roscm cautleoides. Nor the statuesque Gentiana lutea and Phlomis russeliana, both providing whorls of soft yellow flowers over handsome leaves. Nor, if a border were moist, could a Rodgersia or two be omitted, particularly the pink R. pinnata 'Superba'; and a home must be found for the spring-flowering fair maids of France, Ranunculus aconitifolius 'Flore Pleno' with its elegant leaves and white flowers in tight rosettes of petals; it overlaps with the early-flowering Doronicum species, or leopard's bane, which do so much to fill the gap made by the fading daffodils.