Bonnies Blog – Plants Used for Garden Gaffe Episode 7
Cosmos sonata ’Carmine’/’Pink’
Cosmos are seasonal plants that have a long flowering period; producing large daisy flowers from June onwards. This variety has a tidy, dwarf habit and is great as gap fillers between young perennials as the Cosmos will offer instant impact and then die in the frosts giving the perennials room to grow the following season. They are also great as cut flowers lasting between 7 and 10 days if kept in water.
Perovskiaatriplicifolia ‘Little Spire’
Russian Sage
Some Perovskias get large and floppy but ‘Little Spire’ only reaches 60cmx60cm. It forms a mass of delicate spikes covered with tiny blue flowers suspended above silvery aromatic leaves from August-September. They love full sun and are drought tolerant. The foliage colour serves as an excellent foil for other flowering plants. The best time to cut them back to their original woody framework is in March, and then it’s a good idea to cover the base of the plant with a thick mulch of bark or compost (5-7cm)
Achilleamillefolium ‘Summer Pastels’
Yarrow
This plant has attractive fern-like foliage that blends and softens other planting. It’s also a superstar in the flowering stakes, blooming from early summer through until the first frosts if it is deadheaded regularly. The meadow style flowers attract an abundance of beneficial insects into your garden.
Scabiosacaucasica ‘Fama’
Scabious
This hardy perennial is a favourite of butterflies and bees, with its big blue, silver centred flowers. They need a sunny spot with free draining soil, but will need staking to keep them upright if the site is windy. Deadhead them to encourage more flowers, snip back the stem with the dying flower to half way down the main stem so that two shorter stemmed flowers will spring from the bud axils. Top tip: they don’t like cold damp winters so improve drainage on the soil surface by adding a mulch of grit.
Hydrangea macrophylla ‘Teller Blue’
Hydrangea hortensia Bleu
Hydrangea
Hydrangeas are true show stoppers with their massive pompoms of smaller flowers. They are the chameleon of the plant world as they change colour depending on the pH and mineral content within the soil. The white Hydrangeas cannot change colour, but the Pinks and blues are interchangeable. For a Hydrangea to turn pink there must not be access to aluminium in the soil. If you are growing them in the ground you can help keep them pink by adding a phosphorus rich feed which minimises the amount of aluminium that creeps into the plant’s system. Hydrangeas also take absorb aluminium more readily when the pH is lower so if you add dolomitic lime several times per year, they are more likely to retain their pink colour.
To keep a Hydrangea blue you need to add aluminium sulphate to the soil and when buying fertiliser chose one that has low phosphorus content and high is rich in potassium. If you have got vey alkaline soil (chalky) it would be easier to grow them in a pot with ericaceous compost. If you really want to go the extra mile, use rainwater to in hard water areas, as the pH is likely to be more acidic.
Phlox paniculata ‘Goldmine’
This Phlox is a brave choice but if used wisely it will instantly lift a planting design asthe clustered magenta flowers stand out against the gold margined foliage. It is a supreme performer flowering from July to September, and attracts beneficial insects.To keep taller Phlox bushy you need to give them the ‘Chelsea chop’ by cutting them back in late May.
PenstemonIcecream ‘Juicy Grape’
Beardtongue
The cerise pink bell shaped flowers with pale throats of this Penstemon will make your garden look stunning from mid-summer – late autumn. It is easy to look after but needs to be deadheaded to maintain the strength of the plant, and should be chopped back to ground level in winter and mulched with bark for winter insulation.
Garden ER is brought to you by Anglian Home Improvements. Have you entered your garden into the Best In Show competition?
(PLEASE BE ADVISED THAT THIS PROGRAMME HAS NOW FINISHED!)
No Comments