Black Bamboo

The Passion Flower plant is a climbing plant that looks, if truth be told, a bit scrappy until the flowers appear.

But when they do appear they transform the plant - they are several centimetres across, and extremely attractive and unusual - and bring a touch of the unusual into your garden.

Such a big flower demands a big insect to pollinate it - and large bumble bees and beetles are the most common to be attracted to ours, to the slight concern of visiting children.

Although originally a tropical and sub-tropical plant, the Passion Flower will grow in much milder climates - see your local garden supplier for the species most suited to your region.

Perhaps the most interesting aspect of the Passion flower is how it got its name. When missionaries discovered the plant in the 15th century, they saw the crown of thorns (the 72 filaments making the corona), the ten petals and sepals as the apostles, the top three stigma as the nails, and the five anthers as the wounds of Christ.