Jewels of the summertime

It’s (almost) never too late to add more colour, says Ruth

- Ruth

IF you haven’t got round to planting your bedding, don’t panic, as there is still plenty of time and lots of choice available. In fact, the variety is so wide it can be quite overwhelming, if you also include perennials such as dahlias and cannas, lavenders and pelargoniums, as well as foliage plants and even edible varieties.

Trailing herbs and tomatoes grow brilliantly in containers. Their scent adds so much to a warm summer evening, and I have even added ‘Cavolo Nero’ kale to a pot as a dark and striking foil for the more colourful plants!

I also like to intersperse bedding with grasses and interesting plants bred for their foliage, as they provide a cool contrast to the colourful flowers. Silver-leaved plants including cineraria and the perennial stachys (lamb’s ears) are choice performers.

You can create a statement pot with just one large healthy plant, such as a rose, fuchsia, dahlia or cascading trailing begonia, or even a cluster of the same plants. A bunch of scented stocks potted up and placed in a seating area will perfume the air wonderfully.

If you have already done your bedding planting, it will need steady nurturing to keep it at its colourful best all summer and right through until the first frosts.

Many varieties are prone to pests (we have annoyingly lost a lot of lupins and delphiniums to slugs). If set too close together, plants can be beset by fungal problems such as powdery mildew, especially in ongoing dry conditions when their roots are neglected and gasping for a drink.