Achillea filipendulina ‘Cloth of Gold’ is an easy to grow plant which tolerates a fair amount of neglect which makes it a very versatile plant for use in many situations. It does require full sun for best flower production, but this is little to ask for such a grand reward. Achillea ‘Cerise Queen’ is a carefree and generously blooming perennial which requires little maintenance to create an explosion of late summer colour. Irresistible to butterflies they also make excellent cut flowers.
Achilleas are traditional border flowers valued for their feathery foliage and striking flat, circular heads of flowers ‘F2 Summer Berries’ is a compact variety growing to only 60cm tall at maturity. This beautiful improved mixture includes the richer tones of red, cerise and pink in addition to many pastel shades.
It is only within the past decade that a number of new noteworthy members of the genus Agastache have emerged from botanical obscurity. ‘Apricot Sprite’ is an outstanding perennial that provides a sizzling blast of tubular, peachy-apricot flowers. Compact and quick growing, they flower in the first year from seed.
Originally bred by and developed in Japan, Agastache ‘Golden Jubilee’ was named to honour Queen Elizabeth II’s 50th year of rule, celebrating the Golden Jubilee in 2002. This bright gold-chartreuse beauty has one of the most remarkable leaf colour of any plant. Offering late season punctuation the flowers are a powerhouse source of nectar and pollen for bees, butterflies and other beneficial insects.
Agastache ‘Liquorice White’ has tall spikes of white lipped flowers and like all Agastache produces copious amounts of nectar for bees and butterflies to feast upon. Flowering late in the season, it is a boon for building up bees’ honey reserves before winter and will produce a honey surplus where drifts are grown.
Hollyhocks are almost as easy to grow as sunflowers and would probably be grown as often if gardeners were aware of their good nature. Alcea ficifolia ‘Happy Lights’ is a beautiful strain, reliably perennial they produce many upright stems, resulting in a bushy form.
This gorgeous award winning Hollyhock has the distinction of being the shortest in the Alcea rosea family. ‘Queeny’ is a dwarf Hollyhock that reaches only 60cm in height with fully double blooms. Unlike the tall varieties, it is a perennial that can also be used as an annual as it will bloom in its first year.
Hollyhocks are a mysterious and prolific flower with a long and rich history. Traditionally associated with cottage-style borders, the dramatic, near-black flowers of Nigra work equally well in a contemporary, minimalist garden. This unique variety creates an impressive impact against most backgrounds.
This is a stunning fashionable plant, with globes of rosy-purple crowded spherical umbels, and strap shaped leaves. The flowers are very long lasting and help fill that awkward gap between the later spring bulbs and the perennials.Ammi visnaga ‘Green Mist’ is a new variety of Queen Annes Lace, with larger, darker green and more mounded umbels than its cousin Ammi majus. It flowers from June to September the blooms are initially flattened and lime green, turning white. The textured flower heads are a flower arrangers dream.
Ammi lends a delicate airiness to any border and is often used to create a cohesive flower bed. It associates well with both annuals and perennials and makes an excellent addition to wildlife gardens, luring bees and butterflies to the nectar rich flowers. Organic Seed.Anchusa ‘Dropmore’ is a 1905 selection that is still available today. They will thrive in a sunny border, are much loved by almost all bee species and make a great companion to rich plums and purple tones.
The Semi-Tall Flowers Mix is a richly flowering mixture of that produces large quantities of 50cm (20in) tall annual flowers for the border or for cutting. As well as being ornamental, they will provide nectar and pollen for bees, butterflies and other insects from early in the year to late in the season.
Composed of a finely balanced selection of annual flowers designed to provide a long succession of flowers from June to September, the Tall Flowers Mix grows 60 to 70cm (24 to 28in) tall and produces large quantities of flowers that are ideal for the border and for the vase.
Asphodeline lutea is an easy to grow perennial that has great architectural form. The overall impression is distinctly upright, so it is good for adding vertical interest to the garden. In early summer leafy stems arise that bear dense, unbranched cylindrical spikes of gorgeous yellow, star-shaped flowers.
The beautiful blue star-shaped flowers of Borage are edible with a cool cucumber flavour. Use them as garnish in fruit cups, summer drinks, wines and Pimms. Garden visitors can be converted to herbal advocates simply by offering a taste of its flower! Organic Seeds.Cheerful and bright, use Calendula in beds, borders or containers. Calendula is prolific and durable, and like most hardy annuals it is easy to grow, simply sow where it is to flower. It is currently one of the top herbs used for medicinal use. Sprinkle salads and decorate cakes with the edible tangy petals.
‘Sunset Buff’ is a lovely, more subtle coloured calendula. It is the soft apricot-buff version of ‘Indian Prince’ with the same crimson petal backs. They grow to a height of around 60cm and a spread of 45cm, are an excellent variety for borders and make a stunning cut flower.
Centranthus ruber is a Cottage garden favourite that’s made it into the style books. Sweetly-perfumed, dense clusters of reddish-pink flowers appear from July to October. They are ideal for attracting bees and butterflies and other pollinating insects into the garden and lovely when used as a cut flower.
Centranthus ‘Snow Cloud’ produces airy clusters of white flowers that appear from July to October on tall, fleshy stems with glaucous leaves. Very long flowering, sweetly-perfumed and easy-to-grow from seed, given an early sowing Centranthus will flower from July right through to October.
Cephalaria gigantea is a gentle giant that has an informal look that is perfect for looser planting styles. Tall but airy with very pretty pale butter-yellow flowers, use it planted at the back of the border.
To the organic gardener, Comfrey is invaluable. It’s easy to grow, easy to use and incredibly beneficial to the garden. Used to make organic liquid feed, it is especially valuable on crops that benefit from high doses of potassium. Organic Seed.
Cosmos “Daydream” is a superb new colour, palest pink with a deep rose pink centre makes this a unique and delicate addition to any garden. The flowers are very early and are freely produced over a long period. Very easy to grow, making it a perfect choice for children or the less experienced gardener.
Introduced for the 2016 season, Cosmos bipinnatus ‘Xanthos’ is causing rather a stir in horticultural circles. Unique soft-yellow blooms are produced in profusion on compact dwarf plants.
Whether you are into the culinary arts or edible landscapes, you may want to put this plant at the top of your list. Chosen by the RHS as one of the top plants of the last 200 years, Cardoons are aristocrats in both the ornamental and the vegetable world.No other blue quite measures up to the almost iridescent hues of Delphinium “Cliveden Beauty”. The multi-branching plants grow to just 75 to 90cm tall so are suitable for most gardens and do not need staking in most situations. The many individual blooms are clear light blue, each with a white centre.
Didiscus caerulea is known as the Blue Lace Flower for its unusual colour. The delicate lavender-blue flowers, each composed of tiny, star-shaped, sweetly fragrant flowers are perfect for the cutting garden.
Recent developments of Didiscus caerulea have broadened the colour range. Didiscus ‘Lacy Mix’ produce the same lacy umbel shaped domes and finely cut foliage. In a pastel blend of powder-blue, lavender, soft pink and white, the plants branch freely, filling borders with a light, floaty feel and masses of stems for cutting.
Fullers Teasel a sub-species of the common teasel. The bristly flower heads were cultivated, matured and dried. Inserted into wooden frames, they were used to bulk up the pile on woolen cloth. The variant name ‘fullonum’ refers to the name of the trade of the ‘fullers’ to raise the nap on woolen cloth – to ‘tease’ it. Teasel is still used today by some who weave wool by hand.
Native to the central and south-eastern parts of the United States, Echinacea angustifolia is valued as a short-term stimulant to the immune system. This classic purple flower is easy to grow and continues to be a favorite in home and public gardens, a ‘tried and true’ classic sure to please any home gardener.
Echinacea pallida is one of the more rare members of the Echinacea family. They have much longer, ray flowers than those of the more familiar purple coneflower, the plants bloom earlier and continue to bloom sporadically through the autumn months.
Echinacea paradoxa is a true paradox – a rare and highly unusual yellow variety of the much loved “Purple Coneflower”. With large, yellow ray flowers and the classical raised cone, the blooms are slightly fragrant and make excellent cut flowers. Echinacea paradoxa is a beautiful, elegant and easy plant to grow.
Echium vulgare is a valuable native plant and is exotic enough to earn a place in a flower border. The plant is much loved by almost all bee species. If you don’t want plants that honeybees simply visit, but want to select plants that honeybees clearly love, choose Echium for your garden.
Producing a profusion of daisy like blooms from May right through till November, Erigeron is easy to grow and an amazingly versatile plant, being low-growing, happy in sun or partial shade and thriving in any well-drained soil. Eryngium alpinum Superbum is an elegant species, with metallic stems and large flowers that mature to an intense steel blue/purple in summer and autumn. A fascinating architectural plant for the border.
Siberian wallflowers are at their best in early to mid-May. With cheerful deep orange blooms, they are very easy to grow and combine well with other plants; indeed wallflowers demand companions and set the mind racing regarding potential planting combinations.
This old English cottage plant is making a comeback, and no wonder. Blood Red’ is a favourite with gardeners, the astonishing, deep crimson, velvety red flowers they are sure to be a focal point. Ideal for borders and edging, they could also be used in large containers….and of course, walls!
‘Cloth of Gold’ is a favorite with gardeners, each plant wears a cloak of the finest gold and the large golden-yellow flowers are filled with a sweet fragrance, from mid-spring and throughout summer. They are a perfect foil for daffodils and many other spring bulbs.
‘Fair Lady Mixed’ is a classic tried and trusted variety. Reliably hardy, this uniform mixture blooms in a wide range of colours, both pastels and bright colours and includes the more unusual dusky-pink shades. This marvellous; fragrant, floriferous flower is extremely easy to grow and very rewarding.
Erysimum (formerly Cheiranthus) cheiri ‘Fire King’ is another old and tried variety, with striking, flame-like, glowing orange-scarlet flowers. A compact variety with a bushy habit and a rich fragrance, they will supply the household with an abundance of cut flowers for many weeks.
What spring garden would be complete without a bed of delightful, sweet-scented Wallflowers, harbingers of warmer weather to come? Erysimum cheiri, formerly Cheiranthus cheiri ‘Ivory-White’ is a fabulous form. A compact variety with a bushy habit which is ideal as an underplanting to tulips and other spring bulbs.
This is a classic Wallflower mixture, with the super rich colours you’d expect to see in a Persian Carpet (at a fraction of the cost!) purple, gold, orange, rose, cream and apricot. It is not without reason that this bushy variety so impressed the RHS judges.A favourite with gardeners, Erysimum cheiri ‘Scarlet Emperor’ is a classic wallflower with bold, fiery blooms in shades of rich scarlet and glowing crimson. Strongly scented, the flowers carry the sweet, spicy perfume that wallflowers are famed for.
Introduced in 2010, Eupatorium ‘Ivory Towers’ is relatively new to our gardens. This architectural plant bears generously clusters of ivory-white blooms which are long-lasting and beloved by butterflies. Given an early sowing, will flower the first year.
In the last decade, Gaura ‘The Bride’ has skyrocketed to popularity among gardeners.A graceful, hazy plant with airy spikes of white, star-shaped flowers with long anthers like daddy long-legs, held on slender stems from May to September. RHS AGMIf there’s one plant that can inject a little razzle-dazzle into the border during gloomy late summers it is Helenium. From late July ‘Helena’ blooms with masses of vibrant blooms. Very hardy and easy to grow, all this plant needs is sunshine and well-drained soil.
Helenium hoopesii is considered by some to be the most valuable of the species. It blooms with bright golden yellow disk florets that each form a kind of rounded knob that transforms the flower from your typical two-dimensional daisy into something much more interesting and sculptural.
Sunflower ‘Autumn Beauty’ produces numerous long-stemmed flowers from summer to late autumn in a variety of solid and bi-colour bright warm colours – golden yellow, bronze, brown and burgundy. The long stems are excellent for cut flowers and look absolutely stunning in a vase on their own.
One of the best loved summer flowers, ‘Vanilla Ice’ is one of the prettiest sunflowers varieties available. With clusters of delicate pale creamy-yellow flowers with dark chocolate centres this compact variety is suitable for the border or can be left add a naturalised charm to a wildlife friendly garden.
Perennial sunflowers typically don’t grow quite as tall as their annual friends, however Helianthus maximiliani is a wonderful exception. They grow slowly until late summer when the flowers bolt and head for the sky!
Most gardeners are familiar with the annual sunflower, however, it is the perennial varieties that coexist most happily with other garden plants. Helianthus mollis is a lovely perennial with butter-yellow flowers. It grows 120cm tall and requires little more attention than an annual cutting to the ground.
Gorgeously scented pure white flowers are held above rosettes of dark green leaves. Like all sweet rockets it is highly attractive to bees and other beneficial insects, the fragrant flowers perfume the air in late spring and early summer evenings. The night-scented stock is a close relative.
Dames Rocket produce flowers varying in colour from deep rich purple, through all the paler lilac shades to white. Highly attractive to bees and other beneficial insects, the fragrant flowers perfume the air in late spring and early summer evenings.
In spring, Dame’s Rocket lights up the woodland edges with her blossoms, providing nectar for hummingbirds, moths and butterflies, and fragrance for the soul. Sow seeds directly where they are to flower in early summer
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