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Spring flowers for birds, butterflies, bees.… and you
If the garden is still looking a little drab after winter, there is no better pick me up than a garden centre splurge on new flowers to bring the garden alive.
None of us are immune to the fun of impulse buys, but it does help to take a walk around the garden beforehand and see where the gaps are and the colours you need. But if you arrive home with that impulse buy and realise it doesn’t fit in anywhere, just pop it in a pot. That’s the beauty of gardening in containers.
Landscapers always advise planting in groups of three, five or seven for show, rather than planting a single plant that doesn’t stand out. Or you can group by colour using different varieties.
Handy tips
It’s always a good idea to check the plant label. If it says the plant likes full sun and grows 1 m high, don’t think that just maybe it will be okay as a border plant in the shade because that’s the only space available. You will be disappointed. It won’t flower as well and growth will be long and lanky as it looks for the sun.
Along with your plant purchases invest in compost and fertiliser. Most garden flowers like fertile soil that drains well as well as monthly fertilising during the summer months.
Before planting, loosen the soil to a depth of 30 cm, dig in plenty of compost and the recommended amount of fertiliser. Water well and let the bed stand overnight so that the soil is damp and easy to work in the following day. Then you are all set for a fabulous summer flower garden.
Lady in Red
Sun loving and heat tolerant, Cuphea Sweet Talk ™ carries loads of nectar-rich flowers in shades of bright red, deep pink, or lavender splash on neat, mounded plants. The flowers provide a natural source of nectar for butterflies, bees and birds. Plant 20 to 30cm apart to create a neat and colourful border from spring to autumn. With a growth habit of 36cm high and wide they are also ideal as container plants.
Big Blue Eyes
Evolvulus ‘Big Blue Eyes’ also known as dwarf morning glory (not the invasive kind) is a heat tolerant trailing ground cover with larger than usual true blue flowers. It grows and flowers best in soil that drains well and in full sun but will tolerate partial shade. The low growing plants can spread up to 1m and should be trimmed if they get scraggly, to produce bushier growth and more flowers. The plant’s trailing nature makes it suitable for spilling over rockeries and raised beds, hanging baskets and containers. Water regularly when young; drought tolerant once established. Like all morning glories the flowers close at night and open in the morning.
Electric Rose
Osteospermum Serenity ‘Electric Rose’ amps up the intensity of the already vibrant ‘Serenity’ series that includes bronze, deep yellow, coral, red and the ‘magic’ colours that change as the flowers open. This dependable Cape stays compact and neat, growing 35cm high and 50cm wide. Good for both landscapes and containers.
Plant in a sunny bed, or on a slope as the strongly rooted plants are excellent for erosion control. Trim lightly after flowering to keep the plant in shape and to extend its lifespan. Once established plants are drought tolerant and like regular but not excessive watering.
Bee Happy
Echinacea Artisan is a striking garden flower with cone-centred, large daisy-like flowers in autumnal shades of soft orange, dusty golden-yellow, and red ombre. It is a sun-loving perennial that flowers beautifully in its first year and for many summers after that. The tall plants grow up to hip height and forms a substantial plant that adds height when planted behind low growing border plants or when planted its own in pollinator friendly gardens. Water new plants regularly but once established watering can be reduced.
Snow in Summer
Euphorbia hypericifolia ‘Flurry’ is a double-flowered euphorbia that looks like a snowball, with its compact, rounded shape covered by tiny snowflake-white flowers. This garden toughie, however, doesn’t melt in the heat, being water wise and drought tolerant. It grows in sun but is also shade tolerant and needs free draining soil. It flowers non-stop, even through winter in warm, frost free gardens as well as in sheltered containers. Water lightly and fertilise once a month.
Oh, so sweet !
Argyranthemum ‘Lollies’ Berry Gummy (raspberry
