New plants hit the nurseries every season, and while variety may well be the spice of life, there are reliable old-time favourites gardens simply can't do without. They are vigorous, trustworthy, long-lived and consistently deliver what is expected of them, often with just minimum care.

Include a few new releases in your garden, if they take your fancy, but don't overlook the plants that have stood the test of time. Here are our top seven tried-and-true garden performers.

1 Sweet peas (Lathyrus odoratus)

Easy to grow, fragrant and fun, sweet peas are annual climbers. Great for children, sweet peas grow quickly from seed, producing a wall of colour in months. You'll love the colour range, too. Tradition deems they should be planted on St Patrick's Day.

2 Azaleas (see picture above)

A type of rhododendron, there are many types available, all grown for their fabulous flowers. Available in all shades from white to yellow, orange, red, pink and purple.

3 Pelargoniums

Often called geraniums, pelargoniums are hardy plants with decorative, aromatic foliage, and colourful flowers which can continue year round.

4 Heliotropium arborescens

A cottage-garden favourite, there's nothing common about this heliotrope. It flowers reliably year after year while enticing butterflies, bees and birds into your garden. The flowers are clusters of purple and mauve flowers, which smell a little like stewed cherries, and are produced from spring to autumn.

5 Wisteria species

These deciduous, twining climbers are ideal for pergolas, where they can provide summer shade and permit winter sun. They need full sun and well-drained soil, as well as a strong support.

6 Euryops pectinatus

A hardy South African daisy bush with distinctive grey-green foliage, this attractive, bushy shrub is smothered with an abundance of cheerful blooms over an extended period. Flowers in bright yellow daisies from winter to spring.

7 Clivia miniata and C. nobilis

These majestic evergreen foliage plants have bright green, strap-like leaves and clusters of open funnel-shaped flowers.They are shade-loving plants; allow to dry out over winter, watering periodically over spring and summer.