Think pink
Whether it’s bougainvillea or Dianthus, pink flowers are a sign of summer, writes David Overend.
Pink doesn’t suit everyone or every place, so it’s a colour that should be used with care. Get it wrong and it can be a stomach-turner; get it right and it can be an eye-opener. Thankfully, there are numerous plants that give pink a good name; think certain buddleias, ornamental cherries, hydrangeas, rhododendrons, even bougainvillea, and, of course, roses.
Perhaps more down to earth are Dianthus, those border pinks which produces masses of fragrant flowers during summer. Most are ideal for the front of borders but they are also at home in rockeries.
Many are hardy, evergreen perennials that prefer sun but can tolerate light shade. Give them a well-dug, rich, well-drained soil and they should prosper. Dianthus rarely flower well in their first year, but once they’ve established, they can become stalwarts of the front of the border.
Dahlias, of course, are one of the great joys of the late-summer garden and come in a multitude of colours – including pink. These startlingly beautiful flowers are a joy to behold and, as an added extra, their foliage can be equally striking.
Dahlias like a sunny site and a welldrained soil, and are just as at home in a container as in a bed or border.
Dahlias come in a variety of shapes and sizes; most, with careful dead-heading, can produce blooms through till the first frosts. They are tender, so best to lift them and store them somewhere safe over the winter.
Thrift, Armeria maritima, is a growanywhere plant capable of standing up to some of the meanest weather that Britain – and the rest of the world – can throw at it. So this is a tough little thing.
It prefers a well-drained soil, but whether that’s chalk, clay, sand or loam doesn’t really matter because Thrift isn’t particularly choosy.
Such is its ability to cope with most soils and situations that it has become a must for drought-resistant flower borders and beds and, in particular, for coastal gardens where it laughs off the threat of salt-laden air.
And, finally, Phlox paniculata, one of the great late-flowerers of a traditional border. Give it full sun or just a bit of shade, and a moist but well-drained soil, and its shocking-pink blooms will brighten up late summer and early autumn.