My Summer Garden Favourites
I love the summer
Sunny days, gentle breeze, warm rainy days... as long as there are beautiful flowers to see & enjoy then I will always love the British summer
Today I am sharing with you my favourite mid-summer flowering perennial plant varieties. These wonderful plants have beauty, provide great garden performance, some adding a 3rd dimension with their aromas whilst of course enhancing the richness of wildlife in the garden.
Anemone 'Wild Swan'
A Japanese Anemone with beauty & grace.
The simple and elegant white blooms of A.'Wild Swan' hold a little secret... hiding underneath these delicate, crisp white petals are brush-like strokes of almost violet-blue tones that teasingly show themselves when a gentle breeze catches the edge of each petal.
Such a pretty bloom that will keep on flowering from mid-summer all the way into early autumn if the weather is suitable.
This variety, like most Japanese Anemone will tolerate shade with dashing's of sunlight making it a great choice for a damp-well draining shaded spot in the garden.
A note on A.'Wild Swan'- do not let dry out, this variety much prefers to be damp, never dry and not too wet, too much sun can scorch the pretty foliage. Keep dead-heading to encourage longevity of blooming period.
Malva 'Primley Blue'
A gorgeous bloom with a compact growing habit, this Mallow is an easy variety to grow.
The flowers have a light blue petal, shaped like the top of a heart at the end of each petal tip. The light shade of blue is a pretty back drop for the electric violet blue veins running through each bloom. M.'Primley Blue' will flower throughout the whole of the summer and even into the autumn providing colour and garden interest for up to two seasons... that is serious flower power!
As this is a nice compact variety, it can be grown in a good sized pot or planted into the border, middle-back depending on which other varieties would surround it. Planting and placing in full sun will help give you the best blooms from M. 'Primley Blue'.
Mixing blooms together for the home, Anemone 'Wild Swan' and Malva 'Primley Blue' make a pretty display of calming summer colour. I like to take a few heads of each to float them in a shallow, pretty bowl of water for a lovely relaxing floral vibe in the home.
Now for a little contrast in colour and also a little sweet and fruity aroma to bring your garden, and your senses to life!
Agastache 'Kudos Ambrosia'
Vibrant & fruity- a little fun for the summer garden.
This variety reminds me of fruit salad sweets! For two reasons;
1) The colours are very much the same, vibrant coral-orange blooms that turn to bright pink creating a 'party' of colour on each flower stem.
2) The scent. Agastache tends to have quite a pungent menthol type of scent, but this one, A.'Kudos Ambrosia' actually has a sweet and fruity twist to its aroma which does have a little hint of fruit salad sweets! A touch of nostalgia in a bloom, without the guilt of eating a sweet, or two!
This variety is ideal for adding a blast of fun colour to your garden and adding an aromatic experience to your borders. Flowering throughout the summer and into early autumn especially if you remove the finished main flower stem to promote later blooms. Bees, butterflies and other pollinators are attracted to this pretty plant too. A lovely perennial plant for a sunny border or patio.
Sticking to the slightly aromatic theme, and again another hit of contrasting colour to Agastache 'Kudos Ambrosia' I have included good old Salvia 'Caradonna' into my summer favourites.
I know its not unusual or something unique.. however, in my opinion this is one of the best flowering upright Salvia there are.
The collection of little blooms that fill up each flower stem are beautifully strong in colour, and with so many flower stems per plant the effect can be outstanding in the garden especially when planted in large groups for impact. A very subtle minty-sage aroma comes from the foliage, however it really is all about the flower power with this variety.
Each deep blue candle stick-like bloom is a mini haven for butterflies and bees that love to buzz and flitter around the flowers. S.'Caradonna' is a tough and hardy perennial plant that is suitable for sunny patios or borders.
So we're now really beginning to pull together a nice selection of colour for the summer garden. As you can see, these varieties work so well together when cut, I've tried to put together a nice group of plants that would also provide decoration for your summer home in the form of cut flowers.
Now we continue onto the last two....
Something a little more traditional
Hardy Fuchsia 'Electric Lights'
A stunning and vibrant Fuchsia that is covered in flowers throughout the summer and in to the early autumn. A wonderful hardy shrub that will provide superb colour during the summer season whilst attracting bees and other pollinators into the garden too.
In the spring pretty ovate, bright green leaves unfurl, building a luscious backdrop for its gorgeously bright droplets of pink blooms that start from early summer.
The party pink outer petals open up creating a star shape that surround the deep pink/magenta delicately layered central petals. This combination of bright colour tones makes such an impact.
This Hardy, deciduous Fuchsia likes full sun or partial shade, a compact variety perfect for a patio pot or the front of a border.
White Flowering Hydrangea
No specific variety here, I just absolutely adore the crisp white flowering types. I think they can add class and elegance when planted alone or mixed with other white flowering plants & mixed tones of green foliage & flowers. They can also add a break in colour when planted in a mixed border, putting structure towards the back, a lush green backdrop for shorter flowering plants that are themselves topped with pretty blooms.
Hydrangea have long lasting summer blooms that will repeat flower, towards the end of the summer they look very pretty if left to dry on the plant, providing garden interest for longer way into autumn.
Hydrangea also perform quite well in partially shaded position, in fact they thrive more so here as hot direct sunlight can really scorch and damage a Hydrangea so its best to plant them somewhere cooler and partially shaded. In the autumn give them a good hack down to the basal shoots, this will keep the plant fresh in the following year, giving them a good growth boost and refresh for the next years flowering season.
Here they are, all placed prettily together.... all looking beautiful alongside one another as well as on their own. In the backdrop I have sprinkled the yummy scented seeds of lavender blooms which to me, really top off the quintessential summer garden.
Let me know what your summer flower favourites are via Twitter, Facebook or in the comments below, it's a great way to give plant ideas to one another :)
Thank you for reading my little floral blog all the way to the end!
Here's to a few more weeks of summer blooms before we head into the wonderful autumn season
Happy Summer Gardening All
Lottie x
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