Village Voice AUGSEPT 22

Keeping
the
colour
going
This hasbeenafantastic year forroses and
earlyflowering perennials but as we move into
high summer, thegardeninJulyand August can
sometimes starttolookalittle tired andin
need of aboost. Cuttingbackearly flowering
perennialslikegeraniums,poppies andcatmint,
that have peaked, will sprucethingsupfor a
start. Give them aliquidfeedand they will send
up new foliage in afew weeks. If youhave
grownrepeat flowering roses,deadheading and
feeding will bringasecond flush of bloom.
But in themeantime,whatwill give some
instantcolour? It looksasthoughweare
headingfor adry spelland topofmylist are
salvias andpelargoniums. Thereare so many
different kinds of salviastochoosefrom. They
have lovely aromaticleavesand will flowerwell
into theautumn.
Thereare elegantspikedoneslikesalvia
nemerosa whichcomeinshadesfrompinkto
softpurpleand giveheight in theborder. Cut
theflower spikesdownwhen they have
finishedflowering andnew ones will come.
Then thereare thetallshowy ones like
“Amistad” whichisadeep purple,or“Loveand
wishes”arich burgundy,justtomention a
couple. Thereare plenty of others.Theseare
bigplants, andcan grow to ametre or more but
so worthhaving, andI’vehad Amistad
flowering rightintoNovember.
Then thereare bushy ones like “RoyalBumble”
or “Hot lips”togivealovely “pop”ofbright
redorpinkinthe border.The greatthing about
salvias is that they arehardy andbeeslove
them.Likeall newlyplanted plants youneedto
keep them well watereduntilestablished but
they will repayyou with alongseasonof
colour.
Theother groupofplantsIhave fallen in love
with is pelargoniums.You cangrowthemin
pots,orbaskets,orplant them in theborder
andagainthere is ahugerange of shapes,
coloursand forms.Theyare alsoverydrought
tolerant. Iparticularlylikethe oneswith
scentedleaves. Youcan’t always findthem
easily butI’veseen“Pink Capitatum” inthe
localnurseries andit’s afabulousplant for
flowering allsummerlong.
Agoodway of keeping thecolourgoing is to
grow things in pots so that youcan move them
around to fillgapsand have instantcolour
whereyou want it.
Lilies, alstroemeriasand agapanthus allbloom
in thecomingweeks.Theyoftencomebursting
outoftheir pots andIfindit’s worthrepotting
them into somethingthe next size up.
Alstroemeriasand agapanthus like thesun but
lilieswill lastlongerinsemishade.
Hydrangeas andfuchsiasare alsogreat for
colouratthistime of year.Fuchsiaswillflower
rightintoOctober.The more showy ones tend
to be tender butthe hardytypes will floweron
andon.
Thereare many differentvarieties of
hydrangeas,lace cap, mophead ,paniculata or
speciesand if youdoalittle homework youcan
have them floweringfromJulytoSeptember.
Thecolourisdictatedbywhether youhave
alkaline or acidsoil.
So my toptipfor keepingthe colour goingisto
grow things in pots fornow andmovethem
around to whereyou want colour.You can
plantthem in thegardenwhenconditions
improve. And,ifthisheatwave persists, don’t
forget to waterthem each day!
Pleasemention SueCrabb The,(Chair)MilfordGardeners’Club
Village Voicewhenresponding to adverts
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