ALL THINGS BRIGHT AND BLOOM-IFUL
Mauve stars of Campanulas sit softly beneath the creamy spires of Sisirynchiums. The satiny petals of Opium Poppies add a romantic touch as they ‘pop up’ between other plants. Yellow Loosetrife displays its columns of buttercup yellow flowers and these look superb against blue Lupins. Allium Christophii is a superb early summer flowering bulb with muted, but gigantic pale purple flowerheads. These look gorgeous with the beautiful bearded Iris which produces its large exquisitely shaped blooms on tall stems above its sword shaped grey leaves. French Lavenders are suited to this sort of garden too.
In a more Mediterranean setting, try Cistus which produces blinding white or pink saucer shaped blooms along with Convolvulus Cneorum which displays equally brilliant white flowers. As much as there is to admire, there is a lot to do, particularly regarding growing tender vegetables such as tomatoes and courgettes. And now is the time to plant up patio containers of exotic bedding such as Coleus and New Guinea Impatiens.
Definitely top of the Pops
PAPAVER Somniferum (Opium Poppy) is a fairly familiar sight in gardens and is always admired for its giant blooms coming in shades of red, pink, mauve and white with rich black centres. The leaves are crinkly-edged, ovular and soft grey in colour, making this plant easily recognisable.
It self-seeds freely in a deep, well-drained soil in full sun. But don’t transplant the seedlings individually, as you will lose them. Soil disturbance in the winter half of the year should make them germinate very easily. Of course, one can only obtain them as seeds from other gardens. And seeds from Opium Poppies have a shelf-life of more than 50 years, in case you move house and want to grow these beauties again.
CAMPANULAS are very popular and very versatile, adapting to most situations. The most common is the spreading blue type with star-shaped flowers. But my favourite variety is the rather tall growing ‘Loddon Anna’ which has soft mauve, rounded star-shaped blooms produced in abundance up and down the stems. It looks superb in a cottage garden setting alongside Nigellas and Sisirynchiums.
Bring a Med-ley of colour to your garden
MEDITERRANEAN shrubs look dazzling in hot June sunshine. They are, however, well adapted to our own climate providing the soil is well-drained. They always look at their best when our weather is at its best and here are a few personal favourites that are guaranteed to make you put your sunglasses on.
Cistus ‘Silver Pink’ has soft greyish leaves and shiny large pink flowers with chocolate squares towards the middle.
The flowers of Lavandula stoechas ‘Fathead’ look like bees with purple wings from a distance. And they will certainly give your garden a buzz, as well as attracting real bees.
Convolvulous cneorum has shiny silvery leaves which are attractive for the whole year and displays blinding white trumpet-shaped flowers in June and July.
Phormium is a plant with architectural, rather sword-shaped leaves which conjure up a rather arid feel to the garden. They look superb planted in gravel next to Yuccas and Cotton Lavenders.
It’s the look of the Iris
BEARDED Iris are the absolute exotics of the cottage garden. Their massive blooms come in a range of colours from white, through shades of blue, and also some wonderful ambers and peaches. The flowers can reach up to eight inches in diameter and are exquisitely shaped with the centre of the flower displaying a twin beard of fluffy anthers. They grow to around 3-4ft tall and may need supporting when in bloom.
The leaves are dramatically sword-shaped and only briefly die down in the winter. These plants like a deep fertile and well drained soil and like a good baking in the summer to ensure the next year’s display. For this reason, plant them in full sun and leave the rhizomes exposed just above the soil surface. During the summer, scatter a little sulphate of potash around the crowns once-a-month and give them a good drench in dull weather. In hot spells, let them cook. My favourite varieties are ‘Bold Print’ (sumptious diffused blue and white blooms) and ‘Pinnacle’ (peachy orange and yellow heads).
The sunshine beckons for you budding Beckhams
JUNE will begin wet on the 1st, then soon settle down into good warm sunny weather apart from a stray thunderstorm. The middle of the month could see a short spell of more unsettled showery weather in cooler west or north-westerly winds. The majority of the last fortnight returns once again to a good deal of dry weather with very warm or hot periods. If England do well at Euro 2004, the weather should epitomise the feel-good factor of the nation – so why not get out in your garden for a kick around in the sunshine? Or even invite a few friends round to for a barbecue and a few drinks? Raise a toast to Sven’s men!
It’s veg time
Now is the time to set out tomatoes, courgettes and pumpkins into large pots of compost with plenty of chicken manure pellets. Position these in a hot, dry spot in the garden and water generously. From early July, feed twice weekly with alternate phostrogen and liquid tomato feed. Tomatoes are, in my opinion, best grown as a ‘bush’ and pumpkins will need careful attention to supporting.
It’s bed-time
Plant out summer bedding in pots and troughs. I always find using a simple blend of one or two colours per container works best. Try red Pelargoniums with silver Helichrysum, and Scaveola with Bidens aurea. If you don’t go out in autumn, try containers of Aster ‘Monch’ and red sedum in containers positioned close to the house for some late colour. If you love richly scented plants, try Nicotiana sylvestris with night scented stocks. Lavenders too, are extremely useful.
It’s easy-peasy, but an in-spire-d choice
LUPINS are the epitome of the early summer cottage garden – their spires of pea-shaped blooms on dense spikes come in a vast range of colours. They prefer a rather poor acidic soil in full sun and need to be dead-headed as soon as they fade to encourage more blooms. Don’t let new plants flower in their first year to allow their energies back into their roots, which will encourage a much stronger clump in years to come.
THERE is no weed that strikes more fear into gardeners than bindweed. It’s not so much their invasive nature that is a problem, it has a dreadful tendency to strangle the living daylights out of nearby cultivated plants. The best way to deal with this thug is untangle it and cut it back to ground level, then spray the new shoots with Round-Up weed-killer twice a week, avoiding spraying onto desirable vegetation. This can be made easier by training the new shoots up bamboo canes and wrapping cardboard around while spraying.
See you next month!
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