Once the fireworks of early summer have fizzled out, you need a few tricks up
your sleeve to take the garden through to the first frosts. Rachel de Thame
wrote last week about summer-flowering bulbs, but annuals – those that
complete their life cycle within a year – are also an excellent way to plug
the gaps, adding drama and colour.
They are fantastic value for money: an inexpensive way to give a new garden an
air of instant maturity. And, for the price of a few packets of seeds, you
can dramatically change the look of the place every year.
Annuals are the market-stall tops of the flower world: cheap, cheerful and not
designed to last for more than one flamboyant season. Sow them between now
and the end of April: you can always have two batches of a particular plant
to give a longer-lasting display. Keep deadheading and they should flower
for weeks, if not months.
Hardy annuals (often marked in seed catalogues as HA) are the easiest to grow
and will survive light frosts, so they can be planted where they are to
flower. It is best to sow them in shallow drills (trenches), in straight
lines so it’s easy to spot weed seedlings. Don’t worry about them looking
regimented, as the lines will soften once the plants have been thinned out.
Half-hardy annuals (HHA) should be sown in pots or seed trays, as they need to
germinate somewhere warm, such as a heated propagator or a sunny windowsill
(turn every day so they don’t get lopsided). Hardy annuals can also be grown
in pots, but at this time of year, they can be left outside in a sheltered
spot or cold frame.
EASY PEASY
Cerinthe major ‘Purpurascens’ (HA) grows to about 2ft. The unusual steely-grey
flowers, laced with ultramarine, mauve or purple, are slightly drooping and
ideal for a pot or the front of a border.
Nigella damascena (love-in-a-mist, HA), an old cottage-garden favourite, came
to Britain in the 16th century, supposedly from Damascus, hence the species
name. Probably the best is ‘Miss Jekyll’, a pure, soft blue, named after the
19th-century gardener Gertrude Jekyll, who loved it. After the flowers have
finished, they are followed by handsome striped seed pods; as these ripen,
the plants will happily seed themselves around the garden.
Sunflowers (HA) can be sown singly into small pots or planted directly outside
where they are to flower, putting in two seeds and thinning to one. Larger
varieties may need staking. ‘Valentine’, at 5ft, has lovely pale-yellow
flowers with black centres. This one naturally branches from the base, so
you get more flowers over a longer period than those with a tendency to go
straight up on one stem (although they can be encouraged to branch by
pinching out the shoot tip at the fifth set of true leaves – the first set
of leaves are not counted as “true” on a seedling). The flowers of ‘Prado
Red’ are a wonderful deep red, and when pinched out, will produce up to 15
stems per plant and reach a height of about 5ft.
Tropaeolum majus (common nasturtium,HA) has parented a huge number of strains,
both dwarf and trailing, some with interesting leaves and in colours ranging
from the original bright red-orange to more subtle colours such as
‘Whirlybird Cream’, a buttermilk semidouble flower held well above the
leaves, and ‘Black Velvet’, a deep red-black on neat dwarf plants.
Nasturtiums are invaluable for sowing in pots, then plunging into flowerbeds
in July, where they can scramble over perennials that are past their best.
BEST FOR SCENT
Sweet peas (HA) are the most famous annuals grown for scent, and the old
cultivars are the best. One such is ‘Matucana’, which has relatively small
flowers of deep blue, with purple wings; another is ‘Painted Lady’, with
pink and white flowers. Many mixtures are marketed as “old-fashioned” or
“antique” sweet peas, all of which are small in terms of flower size, but
big on scent. Before you get carried away, remember that sweet peas need to
be picked regularly to prolong flowering.
Nicotiana sylvestris (HHA): at 4ft-5ft high, a striking and, I think, rather
glamorous plant, with long, tubular white flowers with a pleasing evening
scent. It is grown easily from its tiny seed, which should be started off
indoors and left uncovered. Unlike most annuals, it is happy in shade and,
as with all nicotianas, lasts a long time.
Stocks (HA) have a rich, almost clove-like scent. The 10-week stock is an
annual strain that is easily raised from seed. Matthiola bicornis
(night-scented stock) is a scruffy plant with four-petalled flowers that
close during the day, opening at dusk. It has a fabulous perfume and would
be lovely planted under a window that was regularly left open on a summer
evenings.
BEST FOR CUTTING
Bupleurum rotundifolium griffithii (HA) is an elegant euphorbia lookalike. It
is one of the best lime-green foliage plants: you need only add a few
flowers (just about anything goes) to make a perfect bunch. Sow in situ in
spring, either in rows in the veg patch or in a flower border. Thin
seedlings to 1ft apart and, once established, keep picking.
Ammi majus (HA) should be treated in the same way as bupleurum. Ammi is
perfect for that “just picked from the hedgerow” look, with the advantage
that the flowers will last for a couple of weeks in a vase. It is tall, lacy
and quite lovely.
BEST FOR A LONG-LASTING DISPLAY
Cosmos (HHA) certainly give value for money, as they can grow to 3ft-4ft and
are useful for filling gaps in borders while you wait for shrubs and
perennials to establish themselves. One of the best is ‘Purity’, which has
pure white flowers, although it can swamp other plants and may need staking.
‘Dazzler’, at 3ft, is an intense carmine pink that fades to burgundy.
Zinnias (HHA) are difficult not to love, but they are temperamental plants,
prone to damping off (a nasty mould that affects seedlings) and various
wilts. If you can get them to the young plant stage and protect them from
slugs, they are worth the trouble. ‘Envy Double’ is a wonderful chartreuse
lime green that goes well with almost anything, but there is an amazing
range of colours available. They love a hot summer, so here’s hoping.
Cleome spinosa ‘Helen Campbell’ (HHA) is a white form of the spider flower;
‘Rose Queen’ is bright pink with a touch of mauve. Cleomes flower in the
second half of the summer and make large, branching, spiny-stemmed plants
about 4ft tall. Unfortunately, they can be hard to germinate; the key seems
to be a cool night temperature and plenty of patience.
CLIMBERS
Mina lobata (HHA) is a vigorous, exotic-looking climber that can reach 6ft.
The impressive flowers start off bright red and mature to orange, fading to
yellow, then white. The seeds have a hard coat, so it’s a good idea to file
a tiny notch into each – this will help them to absorb water.
Ipomoea ‘Heavenly Blue’ (morning glory, HHA) has individual flowers with that
rare pure blue colour that shines out. They last for a single morning, dying
in the afternoon. This is a plant that doesn’t like the cold, so don’t sow
seeds until early May or it may fail to germinate.
Thunbergia alata (black-eyed Susan, HHA) has orange flowers with a black
centre. Even more beautiful is ‘Blushing Susie’, which has soft red flowers,
fading to apricot and cream. It is easy to germinate, provided it has some
heat from the bottom, and reaches 5ft tall.
EXOTICS
Pennisetum ‘Purple Majesty’ (HHA). The young plants of this ornamental millet
are at first green, but when put outside in full sun, they soon turn a deep,
dark purple, bringing a touch of the tropics to your border.
Ricinus communis ‘Carmencita’ (HHA), a variety of the castor oil plant, grows
to 15ft if well fed and watered. It has large, luxuriant and deeply cut,
dark-red leaves and stems, with striking seed heads that are an even
brighter red. You don’t get many seeds for your money, but they germinate
well. If sown in March, they will need a propagator, but if you wait until
the end of April, they can be sown outside in a cold frame. This plant needs
a sheltered spot, as the leaves are easily damaged. It looks fabulous with
the grey leaves of artemisia, tall grasses such as miscanthus and against
the delicate leaves of Cosmos bipinnatus ‘Dazzler’ or the bold colours of
dahlias.
Seed suppliers: Nicky’s Nursery (01843 600972, nickys-nursery.co.uk);
Chiltern Seeds (01229 581137, www.chilternseeds.co.uk);
Thompson & Morgan (0844 248 5383, thompson-morgan.com);
Marshalls (01480 443390, marshalls-seeds.co.uk)
