Is your garden looking a little bit ordinary? Maybe it's lacking a little pizzazz in the lead-up to summer.

Awapuni gardening guru, Tod Palenski's top tip for adding drama is to plant towering delphiniums to transform your garden from ordinary to extraordinary.

Growing to around 180cm tall, their regal colours and elegant stature create a real element of surprise that will give your garden a dramatic lift.

"The eye is drawn to irregularity so tall plants like majestic delphiniums help draw the eye upwards and provide great contrast in borders," Tod says.

With dense leaves at ground level and spikes of flowers ranging from traditional blues through to lilac, pink, yellow and white, delphiniums are among the easiest plants to grow.

"Delphiniums flower from late spring to late autumn and, because they are hardy perennials, they will flower again year after year."

The easiest way to grow delphiniums is from seedlings. Awapuni's Pop'n'Grow range makes planting easier because each seedling has its own root cell, so they don't get damaged when you remove them from the containers.

Choose a sunny, well-drained area with rich soil. Dig in a good quality compost and animal manure fertiliser or garden galore and add plenty of mulch.

"Mulching is essential at this time of year to stop weeds forming and to retain soil moisture," says Tod. "I use a soft mulch, like pea straw, which will rot down over time and feed the soil."

Tod also covers the mulch with a rough bark to deter snails, who love the taste of delphiniums but find it difficult to cross the bumpy terrain.

Because of their height, delphiniums should be planted at the back of the garden and, if you live in a windy area, tied to a bamboo stake to keep them upright.

Their colours and shapes work well both in pretty, country gardens and in modern or stately, sculptural gardens.

"People are used to seeing delphiniums in a more romantic setting, along with roses and lavendar, but planting them among more sculptural-shaped plants creates real drama."

For a modern setting that packs a punch, Tod recommends planting delphiniums with hostas for their large leaves, canna lilies for their height and cardoons for their uniqueness.

"Cardoons, or ornamental artichokes, have spectacular flowers and their spiky silver-grey foliage looks great with blue delphiniums," he says.

"Cardoons are available at all good garden centres, as are silver grasses and spiky aloes which also add a modern, dramantic look to delphiniums."

Throw in some large river stones and you can turn this traditional plant into a modern wonder. If you don't have the room, the time or the inclination to create a new garden, but want to add height and drama, Tod has the ideal solution.

"Try planting Awapuni's dwarf pure white delphiniums. They grow almost a metre tall, and if you put them in black lacquered pots, they'll liven up your outdoor table, patio or pathway, giving you extraordinary drama in no time."