African lily is superb for late summer colour
THE blue-flowered African lily, or agapanthus, has been exceptionally good this summer, a good year of growth last year and plenty of sunshine this summer saw it surpass itself for flowering. The blue, lily-like flowers are exotic on their own and even more effective when combined with flowers of other colours, each setting off the others. Blue goes well with a wide range of other colours: pink, yellow, orange, purple and red.
The blue colour is similar to the blue of wild bluebells but it can be quite variable and there are pale blue and dark blue forms, and some white. White is just as versatile as blue and combines well with most flowers, cooling the hotter shades such as red, orange, yellow and purple and brightening the cooler blues and pinks.
Agapanthus looks great with any kind of grassy plant, especially seed-heads such as those of the golden oat grass or the feather grass. It looks great, too, with silver foliage or purple foliage, even bronze or brown foliage is enhanced by the blue flowers.
Apart from the colour of the flowers, the structure of the flowers is attractive and distinctive. The flowers are held in a loose ball-shape at the top of the flower stem. Each flower is narrow-trumpet shape, flaring at the mouth, and often striped on the back of the petals with a darker shade of blue.
The flower stems are strong, rounded and smooth, capable of holding the relatively large flower heads in position in any wind. So agapanthus is an excellent plant for a seaside garden, and it likes the mildness of the climate in coastal areas, being of south African origin.
Mostly the available sorts are hybrids of Agapanthus campanulatus with a relatively open head of flowers. These plants are mostly deciduous, usually not being damaged in an average winter. In a cold area, it would be best to grow the deciduous kinds, which might also need to be covered in winter.
Occasionally available, there are forms of the species Agapanthus africanus which has a bigger head of flowers, more tightly carried. This has bigger leaves, too, broader in the leaf blade and evergreen which means it often suffers frost damage. Even though frosted, the damage rarely goes beyond the leaves. A distinctive species, Agapanthus inapertus has drooping dark blue flowers, the individual flowers are much more tube-like and hang straight down in a tight clump.
Agapanthus likes welldrained soil but not too dry. The soil should be fertile, but not rich. It likes a sunny spot near the front of a bed or border. It can be grown in a large pot but must be kept watered and fed in summer to ensure flowering.