Colour that lasts
As the fields and verges take on those familiar biscuity bronzing hues, heralding late summer, our gardens can sometimes feel rather flat and monochromatic. The colour drains and we're left with just the greens and faded blooms, facing one of the biggest challenges for all (non equatorial) gardens...
How do we have colour throughout the seasons? Rather than having all the colour in spring and early summer. How do we keep that summer party alive with rich and vibrant planting?
It has taken me a few years to work this out, but after visiting the world renowned Great Dixter for a course on Succession, with Head Gardener Fergus Garrett, I was very pleased to discover I was most definitely on the right track, As Fergus says "it's a little like conducting an orchestra and keeping the music in time."
It all begins very early in the year. Winter-flower bulbs kickstart the new season, then layer by layer, plant by plant, the garden continues its rhythms, with each seasonal shift bringing more plants to succeed their neighbours. As one plant fades, others take the baton and run!
Flowering their socks off!
Unfortunately, space is often a finite limitation to our gardens. Wouldn't it be joyous if we could just keep planting, more and more!? Sadly, very few of us have such expansive gardens as to designate a distinctly 'Spring Border' or 'Summer Border'. But we demand colour and interest for as long as possible. When space is at a premium, we need to make tough decisions on the planting and every plant needs to bring something to the party! No excuses!
Long-lasting interest throughout the seasons does involve sacrificing some space (and colour) early on, but you can mitigate the loss with a careful selection of plants. I'm very pleased (relieved) to say that there are key plants which just flower all season long and I use them everywhere:
- Geranium 'Rozanne' (‘Gerwat’) is a monumentally floriferous plant. This hardy geranium is a sterile hybrid, so it just flowers its heart out with large blue simple blooms from May, right through to November without even deadheading. It's also a magnet for honey bees, in particular. No wonder it won the prestigious accolade of "Plant of the Centenary (2013)" by the RHS. In part shade is scrambles through shrubs. In full sun it makes a terrific mound of blue - some of ours are over 1m across!
- Geum 'Totally Tangerine' is semi-evergreen, flowering with wonderful, soft orange airy blooms from April through to October, potentially longer if it's a mild autumn. You just need to deadhead by snipping out the entire flowering stem, right at the base of the plant. The colour is strong enough to work as a 'pop' to draw your eye along a border, but also subtle enough to meld with blues, pinks, and reds. Plants can grow about 40cm across, with wiry flower stems reaching 90cm in height. Prefers sun and moisture in the soil, but very tolerant once established.
- Erigeron karvinskianus, the Mexican fleabane, is a pretty little daisy, very floriferous and is in flower all year. (here in Southern England). I really love this plant as it gently self seeds around the garden, but it's also very easy pluck out any seedlings that pop up in the wrong place. I use it to underplant all our containerised bay trees, olive trees, and many roses. It somehow gives the effect of age and heritage, softening hard lines, and the gaps in steps and paving. It creates small cushions of loveliness, roughy 30-40cm across.
This is by no means an exhaustive list, but collectively, these three plants make a strong foundation of colour. They ensure that from April to November, there is always something to catch the eye. I use them extensively to tie the rest of the planting together. For example, Geranium 'Rozanne' provides continuity between the Cottage Garden and the Flower Garden as it gently scrambles through the border as the most beautiful ground cover. Geum 'Totally Tangerine' is used as an accent, a repeating pop of colour that draws your eye down the Flower Garden borders.
Geranium 'Rozanne'
Geum 'Totally Tangerine'
Erigeron karvinskianus,
Plugging early gaps
You're looking at your garden and thinking hard about how to extend summer colours right through Autumn. But which plants do you remove and which plants will remain? It's a tough one! Just remember that plants need to add something. They need to earn that space. It's valuable real estate! Something I am always telling myself is "Be objective! This is no time for sentiment!"
It's slightly easier if you have multiples of the same plant as you may not mind removing the odd one here, potentially a wonderful present for friends, family, and neighbours. If you have room, you could also lessen the pain by potting-up some of those you remove... 'just in case'. (It's ok. I completely understand the pain and anguish)
Once you've tortuously, but resolutely chosen the plants to cull, what follows is the really exciting bit... New plants! Whether bought, or raised from seed or bare root, the choice is utterly vast. But, before we get there, how do we satisfy our need for flowers early on, when these stars of summer are yet to shine. How do we plug the gaps and mask the patches of green or, perish the thought, bare earth (Gasp!) The easiest way is with spring-flowering bulbs, carefully chosen and optimally placed in between perennials - so their leaves don't flop over the emerging plants. Let's run through the bulb-cession:
- December & January: The dainty whites of Snowdrops (Galanthus) and pinks of the diminutive Cyclamen coum really shine out amidst a dull landscape of dark greens and browns and they both overlap with earliest yellow and white Daffodils (Narcissus) in February.
- March is the main season of Narcissus in vivid yellows through to pure whites. We also have the first blue hues of delicate Scilla and the mini 'bluebell like', Muscari.
- In April, come the later Narcissus and the first truly rich colours from Tulips! A much welcomed smorgasbord in a range of forms, in every colour apart from blue. Early varieties flower from late March and early April with the later tulips finishing in late May, potentially even June. April is also the month of the striking Crown Imperial (Fritillaria imperialis), a stately plant, sporting orange or yellow bell-like flowers, with an unusual fox-like musky scent - admittedly, not to everyone's liking. Sadly, the Crown Imperial is most certainly to the Lily Beetles liking! Be warned!
- May & June sees the arrival of more architectural gems! Alliums, Camassia, and Nectaroscordum siculum, the Sicilian honey garlic. Together, they bring much needed height in the border. The typical 'lollipop' Alliums are available in whites, pinks, and purples. Camassia with spectacular spires of pure blue, pastel pinks and whites. Nectaroscordum (a bit of a mouthful) is a species plant with the most unusual flowerhead, like a collection of nodding bells. (Note: The leaves have a peculiar garlic smell, so best kept away from windows and doors)
The caveat for all these larger bulbs is that they all have substantial leaves that could inhibit the growth of neighbouring emerging perennials. Allium leaves will naturally die back before flowering. But, the leaves of Camassia and Nectaroscordum persist for weeks after. They all need careful consideration when planting as these leaves can smother plants and harbour slugs and snails sheltering underneath.
A word on tulips
Of all the spring-flowering bulbs, Tulips are the most ephemeral. There's a tome of information and articles explaining why tulips suffer such a marked performance drop-off the following year! Some cultivars are 'more perennial' than others and there's always a lively debate on which. However, the general consensus is that Darwin hybrids, Fosteriana and Viridiflora tulips are the most reliable cultivars for borders.
Most tulips will return the following year, but often the subsequent year's flowers are small and weak as the bulbs underground offset and 'divide'. Planting extra deep in very well-drained soil and deadheading immediately can help maintain a good bulb and good flowering the following year. Many gardeners use tulips for stunning, but temporary, spring displays in pots and planters, treating tulips as annuals and discarding after flowering. Considering their retail price and environmental cost in growing them, it does seem rather wasteful!
Stars of high summer
There are many excellent garden plants that appear to be nothing more than a small mound or rosette of leaves in Spring, before erupting into gorgeous summer blooms that go on flowering for months, some until the first frosts. Colour, form, and personal taste will all play a massive role in which plants you like. But more importantly, soil type preference (acid or alkaline, drainage, etc.), aspect, hardiness, will dictate whether they survive and thrive in your garden. So, without further ado, let me share a few ideas for high summer colour. These are all plants that I actually grow here and can personally recommend. In no particular order:
Herbaceous perennials
- Scabious 'Flutter Blue' and 'Flutter White'. The traditional cottage-style pincushion flower, that just flowers and flowers from June onwards. Simply deadhead the blooms to keep the show going. Very rarely seen without a bee or butterfly.
- Achillea millefolium 'Moonshine' but there are a many beautiful colours and pastel collections you can grow from seed, Flowering from June with flat umbels, crammed with hundreds of tiny flowers. Always a favourite with bees and hover flies and a multitude of other pollinators.
- Dahlias**Take your pick! The choice is utterly bewildering! I prefer the smaller cultivars as they're just so floriferous. Single (daisy), collarette, anemone, pom-pom and ball, The open singles and collorettes are very popular with bees. Totally Tangerine is truly superb. Very floriferous. I've grown many from seed with the best results coming from Bishop's Children. Sow the lot and grow them all, if you have space. Then cherry pick the best and propagate from basal cuttings in the spring. Deadhead regularly for a continuous supply of beautiful blooms.
- Salvias** from the shorter S. nemorosa 'Caradonna' which begins flowering in May/June, to the towering 'S. 'Amistad' flowering from July. The range of salvia cultivars is vast. They flower for months and neatly deadhead themselves. When a flowering stem seems entirely spent, cut down to where you see new shoots emerging from leaf nodes and they'll carry even more flowers. S. 'Amistad' is classified 'half-hardy' but it's survived for years in my garden without so much as a flinch. Very popular with bumblebees.
- Gaura lindheimeri (syn. Oenothera) is a beautiful light and airy flowerer with a low-growing leaves, baring long wiry stems of white or pink flowers, Like butterflies dancing, which is why it's called 'whirling butterflies'. May need staking in part shade or rich soil. Flowers for months! You can also deadhead by cutting down flower stems.
- Verbena bonariensis and V. hastata are both tall and upright, reaching 2m, but very light and airy at the same time. Practically a non-stop flower right up to the first frosts. Although they self-seed freely, I cherish the bounty of new plants after I lost many during a particularly hard winter. But, with so many seedlings they seem eternal. Adored by bees and butterflies alike! Deadhead if you don't want the seedlings.
- Echinacea 'Magnus' is impressively large and tall (1m) with large pink flowers. Echinacea has the happiest and sunniest disposition of any plant! The long bold pink petals surround a cone-shaped central boss that actually feels quite prickly to the touch. Flowering from July it's a firm favourite with bees and butterflies. Deadhead by snipping off the spent flowers, down to where you see more buds emerging.
- Helenium 'Morheim's Beauty' and H. 'Carmen' will flower for months with richly coloured flowers with prominent brown velvety 'button' centres. When they first open, these buttons are covered with golden pollen. Adored by bees! Deadhead by snipping off the spent flowers (when the button is pure brown), down to where you see more buds emerging.
- Rudbeckia is another 'coneflower' like Echinacea and Helenium, featuring a similar flower with bright petals surrounding a central brown button centre. There are double-flowered cultivars where the button is hidden. Perennials tend to be yellow, whereas annuals and short-lived perennials can be varied with rich burnt oranges and deep reds. I grow Rudbeckia hirta 'Cherry Brandy' from seed as it brings an unusually deep cherry-red colour to the front of the border.
- Anemone x hybrida or Anemone. hupehbensis. Japanese anemones can be thuggish and invasive. For example, I grow Anemone 'Honorine Jobert' and A. 'Königin Charlotte', and Anemone hupehensis var. japonica 'Bressingham Glow'. The latter two stay put, whereas 'Honorine Jobert' likes to wander.. a lot! Some Japanese Anemones spread far and wide through underground rhizomes and definitely need controlling! Easy enough. Just dig out the young plants with a trowel and relocate to where you want more. Thuggery aside, those tall daisy like flowers in white and pink will go on for months and moths. Another popular plant with bees and pollinators. Established plants produce so many flowers, deadheading seems unnecessary!
- Agastache seems to be short lived in my garden but I still want more. Agastache 'Blackadder' reaches 1.5m here with spires of dark purple/blue bottle brush flowers and is frequently smothered in bees and other pollinators. Agastache aurantiaca 'Navajo Sunset' and A. 'Tango' are much smaller and both a beautiful soft tone of orange with 'salvia like' flowers. Great for the front of a sunny border.
- Persicarias , Sanguisorbas, and Bistorts are the same family and share the same small bottle-brush flower characteristic. Persicaria amplexicaulis (syn. Bistorta) is a substantial plant, reaching well over 1m high and just as wide. I use it towards the back of the border to provide heft and I just love those mini-spires of pink. This plant slowly spreads forming a hard tuberous roots system exposed on the surface. I regularly chop clumps with a spade and replant. It's a tough plants! Sanguisorbas, on the other hand, form a low-growing clump of attractive foliage which bares tall wiry stems of floaty pink or red flowers. They're lightweight by comparison. Sanguisorba hakusanensis 'Lilac Squirrel' is a stand out eye-catcher with long, extremely tactile, pink silky tassel blooms. It's practically impossible to walk past and not to fondle!
The majority of the plants listed are all proven quality plants, many with the RHS's AGM accreditation.
**may need lifting for winter protection)
Shrubs and climbers
Many modern English shrub roses and climbing roses repeat flower. After their main flush of blooms in June, with diligent deadheading, they will flower repeatedly all summer long, some all the way through to November (here). I favour David Austin Roses and particularly roses with a stronger perfume. Why have a rose that doesn't smell gorgeous? Never understood that at all!
Then there are the Hydrangeas. Hydrangea macropelata (mophead and lace cap), Hydrangea paniculata (e.g. Limelight), Hydrangea arborescens (e.g. Annabelle). They all bloom from July, holding their fluffy cushioned flower-heads for months with many developing reds and greens as they age. Most hydrangeas will maintain form right through winter, albeit brown and crispy, but still beautiful. I've found the old flowerheads to be a haven for overwintering invertebrates. Even when they've been blown from their stems and are rolling around the garden like tumble weeds.
Late-flowering clematis such as Clematis viticella, C. texensis, C. flammula and C. rehderiana are extremely useful for late summer colour, taking advantage of manmade vertical growing spaces like fences and obelisks, but also growing up through large herbaceous perennials, shrubs, ands trees. They also have silky seed-heads that provide interest through into winter. One of my favourite larger-flowered Clematis is 'Etoile Violette' a deep rich velvety purple and extremely floriferous. It's one of the few clematis that truly thrives here. One of Monty Don's favourites too. I can see why!
TIP: It may sound obvious but do visit gardens, nurseries, and garden centre throughout the year, especially around the time you're struggling for ideas, i.e. high summer. Most of us charge headlong into plant shopping mode in Spring (because we're entirely sick of winter and need some retail therapy or a shock of colour), which maybe why so many gardens looks great only for spring and early summer!
Echinacea 'Magnus'
Classic coneflower, grows to nearly a 1m tall if it's happy. Likes moisture at the roots. Echinaceas available in white, yellow, pinks, reds, tall like 'Magnus' or dwarfing cultivars. Loved by bees. Best in full sun.
Oenothera lindheimeri (Gaura)
Gaura is a wonderful airy plant with low growing vegetation and 1m tall sprays of white flowers like butterflies. Very easy growing, may need supporting if the soil is rich. Best in full sun.
Helenium 'Carmen'
Smaller coneflower compared to echinacea. Sprays of smaller blooms in reds, oranges, yellows. Loved by bees. Best with moisture and full sun. Will lean toward light if it's shaded out.
Dahlia 'Totally Tangerine'
Just one example of thousands of cultivars. All flowering from July/August through to the frosts. Smaller daisy, collarette, and anemone types are all loved by bees and very floriferous. Best in full sun but will tolerate part shade.
Getting every ounce of every bang of every buck
You’ve made your list. You've checked it twice. Decided which plants are naughty or nice... You've bought the plants or raised them from seed, planted them out and it all looks serene. Goooorrrrrrgeous, in fact! But now isn’t the time to just sit back and admire. You’re still needed in the garden and you'll want to get the very best out of your plants.
Don’t dread the Deadhead
Taking blades to living plants can fill some with an unmitigated palpitation-inducing dread. “What if I take off too much and kill the plant!?” Rest at ease. You cannot kill a plant just by snipping off its flowers, so get out there and snip off those faded blooms. As soon as they go over! Don't wait. You can do a little and often, or purge the plants weekly.
You can use a finger and thumb to pinch them off, snips or secateurs to cut tougher stems. There are nuances relative to particular species, but as a general and almost universal rule, always cut back to something. Whether it's down the stem to a pair of leaves, a stem joint, a leaf node, or another flower bud. You can read this article by the RHS for a grounding on how to deadhead particular plants. It is extremely useful, so save it as a bookmark on your phone. NOTE: If you're using snips and secateurs, do make sure you clean them regularly!
Why deadhead?
Technically, deadheading works by removing the reproductive organs of a plant, i.e. the flower. The plant senses the loss and generates more, i.e. more flowers because its whole purpose is to reproduce. Keep snipping them off and the plant keeps producing (up to a point where seasonality comes into play). You can deadhead anything from geums and geraniums, cosmos and dahlias, to repeat flowering shrub roses and clematis. At the very least, you’ll be tidying your plants, significantly improving the overall display. Best case scenario, you’ll be enjoying those blooms for months on end.
The other reason to deadhead (if more blooms isn’t enough) is to prevent excessive self-seeding. I have Verbena, Eupatorium, Valerian, Althaea, Cephalaria and many more prolific seeders. If I don’t deadhead them, the garden would be overrun. However, at the end of growing season, I will leave some seedheads for winter interest, as winter food for birds and cover for invertebrates... knowing I’ll be doing a little editing and weeding in the spring.
Fuel those flowers
Feeding your plants, especially those in pots can really benefit flowering plants. Use a high-potash feed, like liquid seaweed, to encourage greater flower production. You could use a generic tomato feed like Tomorite® but I feel a natural, sustainable seaweed feed is best, although more expensive. Avoid synthetic high nitrogen feeds (Yes, I'm looking at you Miracle Gro!) as these will promote lush leafy growth, potentially attracting aphids onto all those lush new leaves!
Water well
If anything is going to limit flower production, it’s a lack of water. During times of drought, often the first thing to go is flowers, then the leaves, as the plant seeks to survive. Flowers will drop off, or go over quickly and set seed. So keep up watering, especially those in pots! For more information and watering tips, take a look at my Watering Well post here.
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