Earn some nectar points
Your borders are full of colour but it takes effort to keep them shining
HERBACEOUS borders are in peak condition this month with many displays of colourful collections looking wonderful in gardens throughout the country.
For many gardeners these carefully planned displays are the climax of green-fingered achievement with carefully judged arrangements of height, flower power, scent and colour.
Bees, butterflies and moths are busy foraging for nectar among the blossoms.
It adds up to creating a beautiful sight – the epitome of British flower gardening – but one which requires constant help and intervention... even while the display is in midperformance.
Happily, most of our midsummer tasks are enjoyable and allow us to appreciate our gardening achievements while tending to the borders’ requirements, ensuring our efforts don’t run out of steam before season’s end.
It’s good to remember that many herbaceous plants have a healthy appetite.
At the time of preparation of a border, you should add an undersoil seam of well-rotted manure to the space, deep enough so that it doesn’t burn the roots of the newbies.
Then, each spring, a good feed with chicken manure or slow-release pellets will ensure they have supplementary feed for the summer display.
If they look a bit listless, give them a boost with a mid-performance liquid feed.
This could be a seaweed type or a high potash variety, such as tomato feed, to boost flowering.
Regular watering during dry weather is essential.
There are lots of plants vying for a drink and while they won’t dry out as quickly as potted plants, they can still suffer, especially plants which are less mature.
A daily patrol to deadhead is enormously enjoyable and can reap huge rewards, and while you’re at it, foxglove spikes and poppies can be cut down (unless you’re saving them for seed).
Earlier flowering plants, such as lupins, can have stems removed after they’ve finished flowering.
If you’ve planted extremely densely, your border won’t need much weeding. However, keep an eye on rogue plants – a weekly tugging out of unwanted weeds is part of the plan.
Some taller plants, such as thalictrum and dahlias, may need a bit of support.
Some people like to stake at the beginning of the season but I tend to adopt a wait-and-see approach.
If I can get them to stand tall without any support, all the better, but there are some, such as the valerian, which will now need something to lean on.
Observation is key – what’s working, what’s not? Some plants are natural invaders and will take over if allowed – lysimachia is one such offender.
Is she elbowing out her neighbours? It’s a good time to tag plants that will need lifting and dividing in autumn or spring. You might want to do this to increase stock of a favourite plant or to rejuvenate an older one.
Very mature herbaceous plants tend to start to grow outwards in concentric circles like ripples in a pond, leaving a bare centre. So leave a marker in the ground beside these specimens so, come autumn, you’ll remember which ones need doing.
I’ve been spending time gazing at my herbaceous borders and analysing what I’ll change next year. I have lots of purples and yellows which are working well but I think my red astilbe in the shady corner is jarring with the colour scheme. I’ll make a note of that and move it somewhere else in the autumn. I can also see where it’s going to be a bit dull later in the summer, so I might get some latesummer colour, such as asters, heleniums and rudbeckias, to keep the show going until early autumn. It’s a time to imagine other possibilities. Maybe you’ve had the same scheme for years and you’re bored with your borders? Is it time to tear up your own rule book? Have you spotted something in other gardens you’d like?
Take photographs now – it’s all too easy to forget once it dies down.
I think I’m missing some zingy colours, including orange – great for adding pep to a scheme.
So next year, I’m thinking Geums, such as ‘Totally Tangerine,’ which will go to work early in the season providing sprays of delightful apricotorange blossoms. Tall Eremurus Pinocchio will add excitement.
I’m also going to include some orange Turk’s cap lilies for midsummer madness and maybe finish off the season with some vivid Crocosmia Emily MacKenzie.
Never stop dreaming or planning!