As we head into peak summer season there are still plenty of plants you can pop into your pots and borders to fill gaps for the next few months
The joy of pot-raised plants is that they can be planted, with care, at any time of the year. Keep them well-watered through the summer and they will reward you for years to come.
It’s roses’ time to shine as they fill our gardens with scent and colour. With so many to choose from, shop with your eyes, finding the perfect pairing for other plants in your garden. Roses make great pot plants, allowing you to position them exactly at the right height to appreciate their scent or tuck in behind other plants if thorns are a hazard.
Rosa BONICA‘Meidomonac’ is a beauty, a repeat-flowering modern shrub rose with fragrant rose-pink flowers from July to September. H to 1m.
These classic plants bring big blooms to the party. In shades of pure white to deepest pink and every pastel in between, they are generally easy to grow and are a long-lived shrub. The flowerheads age to a ghostly white and make delicate, dried winter flower displays and a great addition to a wreath. Buy them in flower to choose your perfect shade. They are also easy to propagate, to get even more plants for your garden for free.
Hydrangea paniculata ‘Silver Dollar’ is a compact shrub, growing to around 1.5m and has interesting conical shaped flower heads.
Verbena bonariensis has long been a stalwart of the summer border but there are many other verbenas which flower their socks off right through summer and beyond. They are tough, wiry stemmed perennials, which take to windy locations well and will weave through other plants to create pinpoints of intense purple. Many verbenas also retain their seedheads through winter, providing food for the birds.
Verbena rigida grows to around 40cm, and makes a great front of border plant, or is perfect for adding to containers.
Big balls of blue and white agapanthus are a summer plant to bring a smile and come in a range of sizes to suit your space. Perfect for containers, these spectacular globes will flower from July to September and then gradually fade to form spectacular seedheads which dry well.
Agapanthus africanus (African lily) will flower at around 60cm and is semi-evergreen so may retain leaves through winter in warmer areas.
The sage family is a large one and includes the edible variety we commonly use in cookery, but there are many beautiful ornamental sages, known as salvias, which make long-lasting border and container plants, through summer and into autumn. Regular will prolong flowering and some, such as Salvia ‘Amistad’ have been known to keep flowering into the winter if protected. Flowering at round 1.5m and the bees love it too.
There is often confusion around the naming of geraniums. ‘Geranium’ is the name many people use when talking about pelargoniums – non-hardy plants often used in pots and hanging baskets and seen on summer holidays to Mediterranean climes. Many people call these tender geraniums.
Hardy geraniums are tough stalwarts and can flower for months on end, making them essential perennials. From alpine to shade, there is a place in everyone’s garden for a geranium (and a pelargonium).
Geranium ‘Rozanne’ was voted RHS Plant of the Centenary at theRHS Chelsea Flower Show in 2013 and is a brilliant plant. Flowering from June to October, with a height and spread of around 1m, it reliably fills containers and borders year after year.
Bejeweled ballerinas, floral fairies or lady’s eardrops, fuchsias have many wonderful names to go by and there is a huge range to be enjoyed. A shrub which has a long flowering period, buy these in flower to find your favourite shape and shade.
Fuchsia ‘Mrs Popple’ is a tried and tested award-winning, upright plant with scarlet and purple flowers from June to October. H to 1m.
Another classic flowering beauty and great to choose in flower to suit your taste, dahlias are back with a burst and ideal for potting up now to last for the next few months. Keep them deadheaded and they will reward you with more blooms. Take your pick from every shape and size, from pompom to star. Dahlias can be potted now for flowers though to autumn and they are great for pollinators.
Treat yourself to a new container to fill with gorgeous plants. The RHS Plant shop has an amazing array of pots to suit every style and location, including houseplants and balconies.
By supporting your local nurseries, garden centres and online shops such as RHS Plants, you help them through the leaner shopping months.
About the author - Natalie Ashbee
Natalie grew up on an arable farm in North Cornwall. She was a Primary school teacher, then started a gardening business, moving into garden and planting design. She spent several years in Bristol, where she was a Horticulturist for garden tv programmes. She now lives and gardens in West Cornwall.
