If we've heard it once, we've heard it a thousand times!

It's all too easy to visit the garden centre and choose the plant with the biggest, most scented flowers. Take it home, plant it, and you'll be delighted with the display for the next few weeks.

But how many of you have been disappointed the following year?

We often get people asking where they've gone wrong with plants which simply aren't thriving in their gardens, even though they looked fantastic at the time of purchase.

Bear in mind, first of all, that flowering shrubs and perennials are often brought on slightly early for sale in the garden centre.

You will often find that the shrub you bought in flower in July doesn't flower the following year until August - if this happens, it's entirely natural, and reflects the weather as well as the normal time of year for those particular flowers to appear.

Secondly - please take the time to read the information given for the plant, or ask for advice. Care labels tell you whether the plant you have chosen needs a particular type of soil, whether it will cope in shade, how big it will grow and so on.

If you plant a sun-loving flowering shrub in a shady position, it will probably survive but may not produce any flowers. Similarly, shade-loving plants will often scorch in sun.

There are several groups of plants requiring an acid soil, and if planted in soils which are alkaline, their leaves will turn yellow and look thoroughly sickly.

Try not to cram too many potentially large shrubs into a small space - you'll just have to keep pruning them after a year and this may spoil the shape of many.

Be patient with gaps whilst the garden becomes established, and if you must have a densely planted effect, fill in for the first couple of years with annuals or perennials which can be discarded or moved later as the shrubs develop.

That shrub you've chosen may be small now, but check its final height and spread carefully before buying!

If you want your garden to be full of healthy and happy plants, make sure that you always choose varieties suitable for the conditions you can offer, and you'll be amazed at the way they settle in and reward you with a stunning display for years to come.

Happy Gardening!