Nicotiana for borders and containers

Great for adding for long-lasting summer colour and scent, and sometimes height and drama too, ornamental tobaccos can be sown now, says Camilla Phelps

-  Camilla Phelps

A SURE-FIRE way of ensuring you have a long-lasting show of flowers right through the summer is to use annuals, and if you sow nicotianas this spring they are the perfect plants for mixing and matching in borders and containers.

Nicotianas are versatile and beautiful, and are great for filling gaps and providing colour and scent. They bring contrast, with flowers ranging in shades of elegant whites and greens to brilliant pinks, purples and crimson. They also add texture both subtle and bold – with airy stems and delicate flowers or larger leaved varieties. And of course, there is the lovely jasmine-like fragrance in the evenings.

Nicotianas in borders

Use nicotianas to meander in groups through borders, in containers or as part of a wildlife planting scheme. They combine well with many other summer favourites, such as verbena, cosmos, eryngiums, salvias, dahlias and grasses. Although sometimes, being good self-seeders, they might surprise you by bursting out of a crack in the paving – just go with the flow and enjoy the random effect!

The nicotianas we are most familiar with are ornamental tobacco plants. They derive from the wild tobaccos that were used for smoking and ritual by the indigenous tribes of the Americas and then brought to Europe. However, outside of the tobacco industry, nicotianas are generally grown for their ornamental properties.