SUMMER LOVING
It’s time to get to know your plants initmately
The cottage gardens display a fantastic jumble of plants this month. Heavily scented Damask roses combine beautifully with giant spires of Delphiniums and Hollyhocks. Malvas and Sidalceas bring smaller but, equally brilliant, spires set off by soft Lavenders or Nepetas.
This is the time of year to get to know your plants intimately by doing a little bit of tweaking and tying, a spot of dead-heading and perhaps a touch of weeding everyday that you can. However therapeutic this sounds, the best job to do this month is to simply sit down, light the barbecue and enjoy…...
Their flowers are just Sid-sational
SIDALCEAS, a member of the Hollyhock family, faintly resemble their big cousins. They produce many stems of spires, carrying clear pink cup-shaped flowers. Easy to grow in a sunny position, these plants are right at home in a cottage garden setting. Apart from some watering, they are fairly undemanding.
IF YOU have a wet heavy area that is difficult for many plants, you could try a selection of large-leaved foliage plants such as Gunnera, Peltipyllum or Rheums. Others to try, which produce flowers, are Aruncus, Rodgersia, Yellow-flag Iris, and blue Hostas. Zantedeschias (Arum Lilies) are also worth a go.
The land of the rising ferns
JAPANESE painted ferns are my absolute favourite shade-loving oriental plant. They look superb in a shady cottage garden setting alongside ferns, Pieris, Hydrangeas and Hostas. They are remarkably dwarf and compact, growing to around 30cm in height and spread. They love a moist, fertile and leafy soil. Their delicate fronds appear to be painted silver and delicate purple and last for most of the year, dying back only a little during severe winter weather.
Cut-priced roses (well, free actually)
DEAD-HEAD your roses, but don’t just remove the old flower. Cut a piece of stem (around 15-20cm long) and shove it in the soil where you find a gap. Forget about them and you may find they could root and grow into a new rose bush. They won’t be as vigorous, but at least they won’t sucker as their grafted parents might.
Thank you for the Days
DAY LILIES are invaluable as herbaceous plants. Their broad grassy leaves are fairly unremarkable but established clumps readily produce loose heads of vibrant lily-like blooms. Colours range from bright yellow, through various shades of orange, to red. Some of the oranges are a wonderful dusky peach colour with red throats and these are my personal favourites. Each flower only lasts a day, hence the name, but plants produce blooms over several weeks. They like sun and moisture-retentive soil.
Tovey’s Tips
• Spiraea ‘Gold Flame’ a popular, vibrant shrub with masses of pink florets above mounds of rosy-orange tipped golden leaves. After flowering, shear them over, and the display should come again later in the summer. In late winter, prune severely to 20cm, and wait for breath-taking young shoots next year.
• Hydrangeas are starting to look beautiful this month. They will look their best with plenty of watering and liquid feeding – this applies particularly to the ‘lace-caps’, which don’t like being thirsty. These are superior space-fillers for shaded beds or borders.
• If you like a taste of the tropics, it is not to late to plant up tubs of Cannas, banana plants, Fatsias, Palms, Coleus, and Agaves. These all need winter protection in a conservatory or cool room however.
• Sow seeds of Hesperis, Wallflowers and sweet Williams in a nursery bed, for planting out in the autumn. These will all bring a mass of late spring and early summer colour to cottage – style borders next year.
All you have to do is think Pinks
For sheer brilliance and old – fashioned charm, there are few plants that can rival Pinks. Their botanical name, Dianthus, is a large genus. The tallest are the carnations, often grown for the floristry trade. The most popular garden species are the communal pinks, of which there are many hybrids – including fantastic scented old – fashioned varieties, and the alpine pinks – again with delicious scents. Quaintest of all, are Dianthus Deltoides , which form little patches of leaves topped, quite suddenly with masses of tiny red, pink or white flowers. These are good for growing in gravel paths or rock gardens.
All Dianthus like plenty of sunshine and a sharply drained soil of moderate fertility. If your soil is heavy, add lots of grit and sand. In mid-spring, shear them over to keep them neat and compact. During the summer, liquid feed them once a fortnight.
Alright Pet?
Petunias are a real favourite amongst bedding plants. Their shiny trumpets bloom for months on end, and most modern varieties cope well with our cool, damp spells. For ground cover, the multiflora types are unsurpassed for their brilliancy. The grandiflora varieties produce larger blooms on more compact plants – excellent for tubs and pots. Relatively new introductions include ‘ Million Bells’ which display masses of blooms all summer and autumn – the ‘terracotta’ variety is particularly outstanding. The trailing Surfinias are also a knock – out in hanging baskets. All prefer full sun, frequent watering and feeding and benefit from dead – heading. The effort is well worth it.
A CHANGEABLE mixture is expected for this July – the best of the hot sunshine should occur in the second and forth weeks, but it maybe short-lived. Thunderstorm seekers may like the closing days.
August brings the flare of Montbretia and Crocosmias along with golden daisies of Rudbeckias. Phlox brings a cooler feel, alongside mauve Liatris. We will be planning last minute autumn borders and reaping the rewards of fruit and vegetables. Get your camera, pen and paper ready to assess the summer display, and plan for autumn rearrangements.
See you next month!
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