Cannas are popular plants to grow everywhere

NOT LONG home from a holiday in Poland, I have to confess I

wasn't exactly knocked out by the quality and colour of its

public gardens.

Yes, the Poles revere their trees and I loved the way the

countryside was dotted randomly with trees of many species,

creating a beautiful patchwork of green shades.

Flowers, though, were not that memorable, though this

display of pink cannas caught my eye in a park in the Polish

capital Warsaw.

Unlike conventional cannas which can top 4ft, these

crowd-stoppers are barely half that size — and that surprised

me.

Back home, I checked through the catalogues and discovered a

dwarf strain listed by J Parker.

The pink hybrid, called Perkeo, closely resembled the massed

display in Poland and is a shade that's less familiar among

these half-hardy perennials from tropical America, that usually

flaunt red, orange or yellow blooms.

For even more variety, you can buy four other dwarfs from

Parkers — red President, yellow Louis Cottin, speckled yellow

Picasso and red edged yellow Lucifer. Treat yourself to two of

each and Parkers will charge you half price, a very tempting

£9.35 for ten plants.

Cannas relish life in the sun and, in our part of the world,

can be left alfresco all year, provided some protection is

offered — such as straw or fleece — in bitterly cold winter

weather. The rhizomes can be cut in sections if you need to

increase your display or give some away.

● To order cannas or request a Parkers catalogue call 0161

8481100 or click jparkers.co.uk