Plant of the week: Buddleja - butterfly bush

Buddleja (sometimes listed as Buddleia) is one of the back bones of the shrub border and there is good reason for its popularity. It is quick-growing and soon reached 2m (7ft) and is not fussy about growing conditions - it does however do best in a sunny spot.

Flowers come in a wide range of colours from white to pink, red, lilac through to purple and are the very best shrubs to, as the common name suggests, attract butterflies (and bees) by the dozens. Flowers appear from June to late summer for the ‘davidii’ varieties which include popular varieties such as White Cloud, Royal Red and Black Knight.

There are two more interesting Buddleja species for the garden - B. alternifolia, with willow-like leaves and clusters of lilac-coloured flowers in June and the B. globosa or orange ball tree, with round heads of orange flowers in May and June.