AUGUST PLANTS
A gentian-blue salvia, a favourite French marigold and a late-f lowering, delicate, pink umbellifer are among Fleur’s choices for the peak of summer
AGERATUM HOUSTONIANUM ‘DONDOSCHNITTPERLE’
Several breeders have tried to turn the long-stemmed Ageratum houstonianum into monster bedding plants, but the results have not always been great. This cultivar, however, is the exception. Its soft blue-purple buds in small umbels fit beautifully into our borders, and will also grow in shade. At Hermannshof in Germany, several square metres of the blue ageratum have been planted under a broad spreading Malus x floribunda, where earlier in the year the ground was blue with forget-me-nots. Heavenly. Height 80cm. Origin Garden origin. Conditions Moist but well-drained soil; full sun and shade. Hardiness RHS H2. Season of interest Summer to autumn.
ANEMONE ‘DREAMING SWAN’
Elizabeth MacGregor’s Anemone Wild Swan (= ‘Macane001’) was the eye-catching RHS Chelsea Flower Show Plant of the Year in 2011, but we had problems growing it in our garden. This seedling of Wild Swan has the same large, beautiful, semi-double white flowers with a soft-lilac streak on the back of the petals, but is very healthy and vigorous. Like all of MacGregor’s Swan series – which also includes ‘Elfin Swan’, ‘Dainty Swan’ and ‘Ruffled Swan’ – it is not invasive and fits well into naturalistic plantings. Height 60cm. Origin Garden origin. Conditions Moist but well-drained soil; part shade. Hardiness RHS H6. Season of interest Summer.
TAGETES ‘CINNABAR’
Just as chefs have their signature dish, so nurserymen and women have their signature plant, and this single-flowered, warm-orange tagetes is ours. It has everything we would could want in an annual plant – a beautiful, vivid colour, natural appearance, it’s easy to grow and to combine with perennials, has a long and abundant flowering period and works well in a pot. One of our trainees brought us the seed from Great Dixter, where it was known as ‘Dixter Strain’. In the Netherlands it is often sold under the incorrect name of T. patula Linnaeus. Height 60cm. Origin Garden origin. Conditions Well-drained, fertile soil; full sun to part shade. Hardiness RHS H2. Season of interest Summer to autumn.
SALVIA PATENS ‘GUANAJUATO’
Plants that have been introduced from subtropical Mexico always provide plenty of colour and spectacle to our cooler climate. This salvia, found by Jamie Compton, John d’Arcy and Martyn Rix in the Sierra de Guanajuato in 1991, is no exception. It’s tall with large f lowers that are an unlikely but beautiful pure gentian blue, and it always stands out wherever it is planted. In everything it is bigger than the regular Salvia patens. The palegreen leaf usually has a clear brown-red spot, but when propagated from seed some variation occurs in the markings. Height 1.5m. Origin Mexico. Conditions Well-drained soil; full sun. Hardiness RHS H3. Season of interest Summer to autumn.
HIBISCUS TRIONUM
This pretty annual is sometimes known as f lower-of-an-hour because its f lowers bloom for only a few hours during the day before wilting. Even so it is a must for lovers of annuals, as every day, over a period of months, new large (5cm) f lowers open, which are cream to soft-yellow coloured and have a dark heart containing a golden-yellow stamen and a dark-red pistil. It is a well-branched plant with deeply grooved leaves that combines well with perennials, but also looks good grown in a pot. The f lowers are followed by hairy, bell-shaped seed capsules and are best left to self-seed. Height 1m. Origin Central Europe, Asia, Africa. Conditions Medium moist soil; full sun. Hardiness USDA 2a-11. Season of interest Summer.
CALAMAGROSTIS EMODENSIS
Unlike many other grasses in the Calamagrostis genus, which have a more upright growth, this feathery flowering species has a more weeping habit with soft, fluffy, silver-pink flower stems that hang far down and spread out widely. It’s become a popular grass for New Perennial plantings but was first described in 1850 by the German botanist August Heinrich Grisebach (1814-1879), who named the species after the Emodus Mountains in Nepal. Although it’s happy in most soils, make sure the soil isn’t too fertile, otherwise the grass mound will collapse. Height 1m. Origin Nepal. Conditions Any soil that’s not too fertile; full sun to part shade. Hardiness RHS H6. Season of interest Summer.
EUCOMIS PALLIDIFLORA
Impressive and exotic, this bulbous plant from South Africa is the largest Eucomis in cultivation. Its flower torches alone measure up to 40cm and these sit atop sturdy stems of more than a metre with large, long leaves. The flowers are a modest green-white colour that can create a calm haven in the middle of a colourful border and combine beautifully with colourful echinaceas and grasses. On top of each flower is a small, green crest that looks a little like a pineapple; hence its common name of pineapple plant. It’s a great plant for pots but needs winter protection. Height 1.2m. Origin South Africa. Conditions Well-drained soil; full sun. Hardiness RHS H3. Season of interest Summer to autumn.
LOPHOSPERMUM ERUBESCENS LOFOS WINE RED (= ‘SUN-ASARO’)
A versatile plant that can work as a climber or for weaving through other plants in a border. Its triangular soft-green leaves have a quiet presence growing through other plants, and the large, trumpet-like, pink flowers appear on the tendrils in increasing numbers as the season progresses. If there are no frosts it will bloom until January. After flowering, it forms fresh-green seed capsules and can be overwintered in situ, provided it remains frost-free. Height 1.5m. Origin Mexico, Guatamala. Conditions Well-drained, fertile soil; full sun. Hardiness RHS H2. Season of interest Summer to autumn.
SESELI LIBANOTIS
Grasses and umbellifers are everywhere in nature, and so perfect for giving planting schemes a naturalistic feel. Luckily, there are so many umbellifers that you can find one to use from spring through to autumn. This one has small umbels, which are white with some shades of pink and red. The asparaguslike leaves are a very dark green and almost evergreen, and its airy and transparent growth is perfect for the front edge of a border where its beautiful leaf rosettes can be shown to full effect. Height 60cm. Origin Europe, Siberia, northern Iran, Caucasus. Conditions Moist but well-drained soil; full sun. Hardiness RHS H6. Season of interest Summer.