"The selection of plants can be quite limited down the market but the plants they do have are often the most popular varieties at knock down prices! Here is my definitive guide of what to look out for..."

"Topping my list is 'me old bamboo!' - Phyllostachys aurea or nigra. This is a very popular plant at the moment and rightly so as it is fantastic at providing height and movement to any garden and will fit in with most garden styles from ultra-modern to English country. If you're shopping at the garden centre, you should be prepared to part with anything from £40 upwards for a decent-sized one, but at the market you can expect to pay at least a tenner less than that!

"Second on my list are the ornamental grasses. There is a huge variety of these versatile plants available at the moment but the ones I recommend looking out for are Zebra Grass (Miscanthus sinensis 'Zebrinus'), Fescue (Festuca), Sedge (Carex), and my all-time favourite Quaking Grass (Briza). These are great for planting through gravel and also work well in ornamental borders.

"There is a really good selection of Acers available at the moment. These can vary in size as much as they can in colour but my particular favourite is Acer palmatum 'Osakazuki', a particularly colourful variety with rich green summer foliage and amazing autumn colour. This Acer is a good small-to-medium-sized tree for a small garden and will grow to about 3 to 4.5 metres tall.

"Finally another very popular plant at the moment is the Australian or New Zealand tree fern. This amazing fern looks as if it has come from prehistoric times with bright green fronds bursting from the top of its trunk. A stunning feature in any garden, it is quite fussy about its conditions and needs winter protection against frost. One very important thing to look for if buying a Tree Fern: do ensure that it has a licence. This may sound odd but the licensing system ensures that the environment in which they originate isn't stripped of these wonderful plants."

For more information, visit the Columbia Road Market website or East London Markets.