Choice plants in August
The Crocus Nursery
It’s still all go on the nursery. Nick and his team have been ‘potting up’ the last of this year’s young plants; ready for the Catalogue that comes out in September. Mark has started to ‘grow on’ the plants that he hopes will steal the show in our 2 gardens at Chelsea next year. And Sue and her team are cutting back the earlier season plants to encourage them to grow bushier, stronger and encorage a second flush of flower.
We are also trying to tidy the place up in readiness for our ‘open day’. (It’s still all a secret, and we haven’t got a date yet, so I better not say any more...)
Helen, plant doctor and designer
Although the summer is still in full swing, lots of plants have started to falter and fade after flowering away for months on end. Call in the cavalry and give your garden a late summer boost with these little lovelies, which are just coming into their prime.
Nick, Nursery manager
August is a time to relax in the garden and many of the colours on display this month complement the warmer weather. On the nursery it is calming down as the throng of Chelsea and Hampton Court has subsided and we are concentrating on fertilising and watering to keep everything looking good throughout the hotter days.
Top six choices
What it’s useful for:
Adding hot, late summer colour to a prairie-style planting scheme. It was originally bred with the intention of being used as a cut flower crop but was rejected because its stems were too short. This was good news for the garden though as it means it has long lasting flowers and a compact shape that makes it perfect for pots.
Why I like it:
A fairly recent introduction, this variety is very easy to grow and it hardly ever suffers from pests or diseases - and because it is short it rarely needs staking. The flower colour is very bold and it mixes well with grasses and other late perennials. Find a spot for it in full sun with a reasonable amount of water and it will carry on flowering for ages.
What it’s useful for:
Their exotic appearance make them ideal for planting at the front of a jungle or architectural themed border, but they are equally happy potted up and placed somewhere they can show off. Originating from South Africa, they are not quite fully hardy, but plant them deeply and they are pretty resilient in most parts of the UK.
Why I like it:
This plant has personality and everyone who sees it in your garden will want to have one. It will carry on flowering until the first frosts and will attract lots of insects and butterflies. They make good cut flowers and new plants can be propagated by removing offsets from the parent bulbs in the spring.
What it’s useful for:
Originating from rocky soil in the Himalayas and Central Asia, this plant will cope with drought and poor soils as long as it has lots of sun. The soft grey-green foliage, creamy-white stems and lavender flowers give the plant an ethereal quality and make it a great mixer with soft pinks and purples. Even in winter the bare white stems can look great if you plant it in big numbers.
Why I like it:
I love tactile plants and the foliage of this one will smell of sage when you brush past it. It is generally free of pests and diseases and will attract butterflies to the garden. This variety has bigger flowers than most other Perovskias, and they last well indoors after being cut. For those of you who live in wilder parts of the country it tends to be deer resistant too.
What it’s useful for:
A compact form, which still produces big blooms. The flowers will continue to appear over a long period, especially if you keep on removing the faded ones. When the petals fall off, the central cones look pretty striking. These can be cut and used in dried flower arrangements. Alternatively leave them on the plant as their seeds will attract birds (especially finches) into the garden.
Why I like it:
I love the funky colours of the scented flowers - bright pink petals with big orange centres. As they age, the petals fold backwards making them look like mini rockets about to take off. A relatively new variety, it is easy to grow and will often self-seed freely. It mixes well with grasses and other late flowering perennials such as Verbenas and Salvias.
What it’s useful for:
Providing vertical interest to the border. It has a strong architectural feel with the slender, elongated flower-heads jutting straight up above the rosettes of flattened leaves, which look like columns. Perfect for adding height to a herbaceous border or brightening up a lightly shaded spot.
Why I like it:
It is such an elegant plant and the lofty spires blend really well with grasses such as Pennisetum and other late flowering perennials. It is a good cut flower and will attract butterflies to the garden. You can often encourage a second flush of flowers by removing the old ones when they fade.
What it’s useful for:
A relative of the Gladiolus, they produce upright, strap shaped foliage that is perfect for adding structure to a border. The big attraction however is when these plants start to flower. They emerge in arching sprays up to 120cm tall, and as the name suggests their colour is red hot. This is a bold attention seeking plant that is hard to ignore.
Why I like it:
It is one of the earliest Crocosmias' into flower. Although the flowers are smaller than some of the others, it is one of the hardiest, so a good choice for colder parts of the country. It is easy to grow and fairly undemanding, and it is also good for using as a cut flower. It looks great planted with late flowering Kniphofias, Heleniums and Rudbeckias in a 'hot' bed.
