Bedding plants were popular in the Fifties and Sixties and now they’re making a comeback
What is bedding? Bedding is the name given to a group of plants that are laid out for great instantaneous effect during summer. They come in bright, zany shades to create temporary colourful displays which we remember from our childhood, from visits to granny’s house and the local park.
Bedding brightened up dour Victorian estates and added sparkle to seaside towns around Britain. And bedding colonised every suburban garden from the 1950s to the 90s, with rows of blue and white – lobelia and alyssum – with dashes of red salvias and explosions of golden marigolds. And then they fell out of fashion as new styles of planting took over.
Because of this they can be easily dismissed, but bedding plants are beginning to find their way into mixed and even posh planting schemes. The plants are generally tender annual or biennials, meaning they don’t last all year outside so there is a ritual in planting them out after the first frosts, and clearing away their debris in late September.
They are incredibly versatile – to dismiss the bright orange of tagetes or not appreciate the exotic structure of nicotiana is a gardening sin!
The trick is to dream up imaginative ways of using them now. So whether you’re creating a hanging basket,
planting up containers and window boxes, or adding some zing to your borders, let’s have a look at which ones do certain jobs best.
CLIMBING
Ipomoea lobata, also known as Spanish Flag, is a vibrant fast-growing climber with red and cream flowers. It will quickly scramble over an obelisk or wigwam creating a vibrant display. Thunbergia alata, or BlackEyed Susan, is another delightful and vigorous climber which will cover a trellis with a profusion of flowers – these are yellow with a black eye in the centre.
FOLIAGE
Bedding foliage plants can provide as much colour and excitement as those grown for flowers. Plectranthus blumei, the flame nettle, is better known to gardeners as Coleus and has wonderful brightly marked leaves. Or go for drama in the shape of the castor oil plant – Ricinus communis ‘New Zealand Purple’ has striking deep purple leaves – but beware, all parts of this plant are poisonous.
Different effects can be achieved with more subtle textures such as the feathery foliage of Love-in-aMist (Nigella), fluffy annual grasses such as Hare’s Tail Grass (Lagurus ovatus) and delicate quaking grass (Briza minor).
TRAILING
Trailing plants that softly drape or dangle gently from a height are essential components for hanging baskets and to soften containers. Helichrysum petiolare brings a soft texture with its silvery-green leaves, a cool foil to the hotter plants.
Bidens aurea will provide masses of yellow flowers from July to the end of October, trailing from baskets or over low walls. I’d also recommend bacopa – this is an excellent little trailing plant which, depending on the variety of the flowers you choose, is white, blue or pink. It likes life in the sun but will also tolerate a little bit of shade.
SCENT
Bedding plants that bring fragrance to the garden add an important dimension. The flowering tobacco plant Nicotiana does a wonderful job in the evening, along with nightscented stock.
Nemesia is a hardworking bloomer – its small flowers are a bit like snapdragons, are usually fragrant, and are wildlife friendly. Heliotrope is a deliciously smelly plant with deep purple flowers that emit the scent of cherry pie.
And, of course, bedding plants bring flowers to a garden – lots and lots.
Salvias, begonias, petunias, fuchsia, snapdragon, marigolds, cosmos, celosia, verbenas and amaranthus – whether you grow from seed or pick up trays of plug plants in your local garden centre, make sure your plot this summer is a brilliant one!
Fashions change but don’t dismiss annuals. They can add vibrancy to your summer plot