Plant of the week
PHLOX PANICULATA BLUE PARADISE
TALL border phloxes come in a dazzling variety of colours from lurid red-pink to pure white. In the violet range, Phlox paniculata Blue Paradise is one of loveliest. The intensely perfumed flowers are violet-mauve with paler tones around each flower’s dark ‘eye’. They grow 60-70cm tall and carry the flowers in big panicles. Tall phloxes are excellent for cutting and last beautifully in water. Border phloxes — like so many summer perennials — are clump-forming. They thrive in fertile, deep soil which does not dry too quickly. Enrich with compost each winter and divide every few years.