Hot stuff for summer

It is so easy to have a summer garden that is alive with colour.

Bedding plants like zinnias, dahlias, impatiens, and marigolds are continuously being improved to be vigorous yet compact growers, to flower more freely and to be more drought tolerant.

Plant them in containers for pops of colour, use them in mixed beds with perennials like daises, gaura or ornamental grasses, or as a colourful edging or border.

Summer planting tips

• Choose the right plants for sun or shade. Sun lovers need up to six hours of sun a day. Plants for semi-shade like some morning sun and afternoon shade, while shade lovers do best with light shade or dappled sunshine.
• Before planting, work generous amounts of compost into the soil, with additional bonemeal or superphosphate and a controlled release fertiliser. Well composted soil absorbs water but also drains well .
• Water well after planting and water regularly while plants are getting established. Once they are growing well, water deeply (40minutes) less frequently. Even drought tolerant plants need watering while they are settling in.
• For plants to flower well fertilise once a month with a granular fertiliser like Vigorosa 5:1:5 or drench with a liquid fertiliser like Margaret Roberts Organic Supercharger.
• Regularly remove dead flowers or trim after a flowering flush to encourage new flowers.

Zesty Zinnias

Zinnias provide brilliant colour all summer long and the new Zinnia ‘Zesty’ is a vigorous grower with large double blooms (like the zinnias of yesteryear). Plants grow to knee height (40 to 60cm) and the vivid blooms don’t fade in the sun. Plants like full sun and ordinary garden soil that drains well. Pollinators love their blooms.

Blazing Star Bidens

Enjoy masses of sunny blooms abuzz with bees and butterflies from spring to autumn. Bidens ‘Blazing Star’ is a low growing mounded plant that produces a profusion of yellow and orange star-shaped blooms.  It is useful as a quick growing annual filler or groundcover. Plant in full sun.

Angelonia Archangel Ruby Sangria

Extreme heat and humidity doesn’t faze this deep red Angelonia Archangel ‘Ruby Sangria’. It has larger than normal blooms that are vibrant against the glossy dark green leaves. Also known as the summer snapdragon, this heat and drought tolerant plant looks fragile but is as tough as nails. Plant it in full sun, in soil that drains well and do not over water.

Delosperma Ocean Sunset

Vygies can’t be beaten for knockout colour and they survive heat, drought and even neglect. Delosperma ‘Ocean Sunset’ is one such vygie and it has the largest flowers of all the Delosperma. It’s a vigorous groundcover for pavements or the hottest part of the garden and even in containers. Trim to keep it neat. Grows in ordinary garden soil and is very drought tolerant once established.

Glamour girl for shade

The highly disease resistant bedding Impatiens Beacon is made for  shade but its flower colours simply sizzle. Colours include ‘Lipstick’, ‘Bright Red’, ‘Orange’, ‘Coral’ and shades deep ‘Violet’. This fast growing impatiens does best in semi-shade and it flowers non-stop until the first frost. Plants need nothing more than basic care, and a dash of fertiliser once a month to keep them in flowering mode.

Dahlias by design

The knee-high dahlia ‘Dalaya’ series is ideal for borders or to fill a bed as well as being showy plants for containers that receive morning sun and afternoon shade.

Unlike older dahlia varieties, ‘Dalaya’ is highly resistant to powdery mildew. Their large blooms come in a range of vivid colours, some of which appear hand-painted or with darker coloured centres. They grow best with morning sun, in fertile soil that drains well. Fertilise when the buds are forming. Plants will die down in winter but come again in spring.

Marigold white gold

This is a  marigold that dares to be different. Marigold ‘White Gold’ has large, fully double white flowers, with a hint of lemon in the centre. They not only light up the garden but brighten other flowers planted alongside them. This tall African marigold grows neatly upright to a garden height of 40cm and is also suitable for pots. The white flowers are less prone to water damage.

For more inspiration visit www.ballstraathof.co.za

Article and images supplied by Alice Coetzee.

For more on gardening, visit Get It Magazine.