Perfume and petals come summertime
There will be many people salivating as summer draws near – eager to get to grips with the garden and what it can offer for months of colour and fragrance.
One man’s (or woman’s) favourite perennials may not be to the liking of everyone, so while the likes of rudbeckia may be regarded as a must-have in one garden, it won’t get a look-in next door.
Thankfully, there are plenty of perennials from which to choose, and as long as they are given the right soil and situation, they should bring months of colour.
Take salvias, particularly S nemorosa, whose bright purple flower spikes make a bold statement from summer to autumn. The aromatic foliage is a bonus. These salvias love hot, dry areas so they can thrive where many plants struggle to survive.
Dianthus is another family of plants with a lot to offer any garden. They come in a variety of shapes and sizes – from stately carnations to miniature rockery pinks
– but they all produce superbly scented flowers and lovely silvery-grey foliage.
Most are very easy to grow and, again, prefer to be in full sun. The smaller varieties are incredibly tough little things and are even happy to live their lives in the salt-laden air of the seaside. Their bigger cousins, carnations, are ideal for beds and borders, although many people also grow them in containers. In fact, with dianthuses, you’re spoiled for choice.
And phlox, of course are loved for their colourful, often fragrant flowers which are produced from late spring through to autumn. They tend to come in pink, purple or white and there are varieties for most sites – from a rockery to a shady spot.
And then there are the beautiful penstemons which can bloom for weeks on end in summer. Their tubular-bell-shaped flowers come in a host of eye-catching colours and there are even dwarf varieties for those gardens where space is at a premium.