JUNE PLANTS
This month Fleur selects plants for wildf lower meadows and prairie plantings, plus a gentle self-seeder that is favoured by butterf lies
GERANIUM NODOSUM ‘WHITELEAF’
This Geranium nodosum cultivar barely seeds itself, which means we don’t have to worry about weeding out thousands of seedlings, and can instead focus on its virtues, which are many. To start with there is its fresh, evergreen foliage, which is a lovely shade of dark green, and then there are the beautiful striped, purplelilac flowers with white edges that last for months. It’s also loved by butterflies. The name refers not to its leaf colour, but to the house where this form was found. It is a great addition for any difficult, shady or dry spot. Height 30cm. Origin Europe. Conditions Moderately fertile soil; full sun to part shade. Hardiness RHS H6. Season of interest Spring to autumn.
CYNANCHUM ASCYRIFOLIUM
Until it starts f lowering, this can seem a rather dull, albeit healthy looking, plant. But as soon as the deliciously scented, clusters of star-shaped, white f lowers appear it becomes a pleasure to behold. It looks similar to many other plants in the Apocynaceae or dogbane family, especially the climbing genus Stephanotis and is sometimes known as false bush Stephanotis. It was collected in 1995 in Yunnan Province, China, growing in rocky soil, but it performs well in our Dutch clay soil, where it has proved a very hardy perennial. Height 60cm. Origin Japan, China, Korea. Conditions Moist but well-drained soil; full sun to part shade. Hardiness RHS H7. Season of interest Summer.
DORONICUM PARDALIANCHES
This natural-looking plant is perfect for brightening up a shady spot. It belongs to a group of naturalised, non-native plants we call stinzenplanten in the Netherlands, and its dainty, brightyellow f lowers appear like tiny suns when they appear among spring foliage in the shade of a tree. Bearing hairy leaves on hairy stems it spreads by underground runners, and forms an effective groundcover for almost every type of soil. It f lowers continuously for three months, after which it dies down to prepare for the following spring. Height 70cm. Origin Europe, western Asia. Conditions Moist but well-drained soil; part shade. Hardiness RHS H5. Season of interest Spring to summer.