Sun risers
Summer’s hot stars
Also known as dianthus, their pretty, nectar-rich flowers have all the charms of a carnation without its fussy demands.
Take your pick from an attractive range of solid and bi-colours.
And choose ones with fringed or deeply serrated edges that look as if they have been trimmed with pinking shears.
PACKING borders with punchy perennials is a great way to make an easy summer garden.
Bee balm, or monarda, is a top choice, attracting all kinds of pollinators. The popular variety Cambridge Scarlet reliably produces scarlet flowers growing in a whorl-like cluster on top of tall stalks until the end of August.
Monarda also has scented foliage and when crushed, releases a pleasant citrus-like aroma. Both the leaves and flowers are edible and can be used to garnish salads and deserts. The fresh or dried leaves can also be brewed into a refreshing aromatic and medicinal tea.
Make an instant feature at this time of year with echinops, which has thistle-like leaves and heads of pale blue globe-shaped flowers. It looks stunning partnered with Perovskia atriplicifolia Little Spire and Sedum Matrona.
Salvia is a special group of perennials that includes culinary herbs and exotic tender plants from the New World. Salvia nemorosa Amethyst has glowing purple stems and stunning spikes of lavender-pink flowers and is brilliant for drawing in butterflies. Plant en masse to keep borders busy until the frosts.
They combine well with bright yellow anthemis and cosmos.
Clary sage is another salvia, which is an excellent plant to grow if you want your garden to remain colourful in autumn. Pink, white and mauve bracts are produced on stiff spikes and attract bees and butterflies.
Phlox take their name from the Greek word flame, due to their ability to add light and warmth to any spot in the garden. The bright, vibrant colours of Phlox paniculata captivate gardeners and insects alike.
Varieties that have won the coveted RHS Award of Garden Merit include Miss Elie, with its large panicles of candy-coloured flowers, the purplish-pink flowers of Peacock and the weather-resistant pure white flowers of Danielle. Blooms have a sweet fragrance that is stronger on sunny days.
The velvety coreopsis-like flowers of Cosmos atrosanguineus produce an amazing chocolate fragrance, which you pick up more as evening approaches.
If you have a taste for the unusual, check out Astrantia major. Also known as masterwort, this much-used, easy-care perennial produces flowers made up of shaggy papery-like bracts that resemble a Tudor ruff.
They come in greenish-white and pink tinged as well as plum and claret shades around a paler-coloured pin-cushion-like cluster of tiny blooms, making them resemble a star or tiny firework.
There are hundreds of modern, long-flowering varieties.
Doris, a salmon-pink variety with semi-double blooms, is perhaps the most famous of all. Other favourites
Spikes
include the strongly scented Mrs Sinkins, which has been a frilly feature in gardens since it was introduced in 1868.
More blooms
USE a nylon line trimmer or
cut hover mower to
in down long grass areas where bulbs have been left to
naturalise.
To keep plants productive, pinks are always best trimmed back immediately after flowering.
But removing just the spent bloom is not enough to ensure a repeat display, as the plants always bush out from the base to produce more flowering shoots.