GO CRAZY FOR A DAISY
These sunny yellow blooms will cheer your plot into autumn
Had each month an official flower, my choice for September would be yellow daisies. You can see them all year, from tiny lawn weeds to late chrysanthemums. But as summer slips gently into autumn, cheerful yellow daisies bring more gold to a garden than you’ll find in Fort Knox.
Varieties can be as tiny as Sanvitalia or lofty as sunflowers with frying-pan blooms. Some grow taller than head-height, others create colourful domes and almost all provide excellent cut flowers.
Yellow can be a strong colour, difficult to harmonise with softer hues. So you might prefer primrose or lemon for blending with the soft pinks, mauves or the purple- blues of other autumn flowers. You can create bold yellow planting daisies. schemes with big
Colourful dahlias, penstemons or border chrysanthemums would make sparkly companions. In small- scale container gardens, it’s wiser to select fancy varieties with exquisite flower colours or special shapes.
BE PREPARED
SprIng is the best season for planting late-blooming daisies. But you can buy containerised perennials at any time, thereby enjoying an instant show. garden centres usually stock popular varieties, but specialist nurseries might offer a wider choice. Try claireaustinhardyplants. or ashwood nurseries.com.
plants in flower are easily damaged so put your purchases in as soon as you can. Support any with tall stems and water often until they’ve settled in.
perennial daisies are great to swap with friends. Though, to avoid spoiling this year’s show, it’s better to dig up and split established plants later in autumn or next spring. Like most perennials, daisies should be routinely lifted, divided and replanted every few years. almost all are easy to grow in full sun or partial shade. Most perform best in soil which drains but does not dry out too much.
The most popular yellow daisy groups include rudbeckias, perennial sunflowers and heleniums. golden rods are also in the family, but their blooms are so tiny that they’re difficult to recognise as daisies.
PICK OF THE BEST
In LIMITed space, it’s doubly important to select only the best varieties. Lofty Rudbeckia
laciniata grows 3m high — too tall for most gardens. But its hybrid, R. Herbstsonne, has broader, reflexed ‘petals’ and gives a glorious show.
The golden yellow flowers of slower- growing Rudbeckia
fulgida var. sullivanii have dark chocolate central cones.
Tender Rudbeckia hirta varieties are grown as annuals. raise them from seed or buy plants in spring for colour well into autumn. Some have maroon or mahogany tints, others are yellow with green cones.
For longer-term colour, perennial sunflowers are tall and bright, though inclined to spread. Varieties including pale yellow H. Lemon Queen and notch-petalled Capenoch Star are handy for a border back.
Yellow daisies are by no means limited to autumn. From april, doronicums are good companions for spring tulips.
In June, anthemis tinctoria and the lemon a. ‘e. C. Buxton’ contrast beautifully with silverblue catmint or blue cranesbills. There are also inulas for golden glory in July and august. MORE GARDENING — Page 92