Planning perennial borders for summer
We have very much enjoyed our first month of the 2022 season. April’s brilliant weather and the joy of seeing and welcoming visitors to the garden again.
As the spring bulbs slowly fade into the start of summer, we turn our attention to creating a kaleidoscope of colour across the gardens for the rest of the season. This is done with planning perennial borders, and using tubs and baskets to create pockets of colour – which is a quick win if you have a small or patio garden.
We’ve been planning to add plants to the Long Border, just the other side of the walled garden. The aim is to add lots of warm colours, gorgeous reds and vibrant yellows to give this selection colour from June through to October.
Tips for planting perennial borders of colour
When planting a border, it is important to think about colour, what works and what clashes, but ultimately it is a matter of taste. I was taught to never have primary colours together but I love bright colours! So a top gardening tip is to ‘do what makes you happy’. Also consider having plants of different heights and shapes to show off the colours. If everything is the same height, some plants may get lost.
Here are a few perennial plants you will find in borders at Houghton Lodge Gardens:
- Helenium ‘Moorheim Beauty’ and ‘Waltraut’ – red/orange/yellow, June-August
- Crocosmia ‘Emily Mckenzie’ – red/orange, August-October
- Veronicastrum ‘Fascination’ – lilac, July-August
If in doubt here are a few summer bulbs that can help transform a summer border: Dahlia, Allium, Tree Lily, Gladiolus.
Some favourites, but not perennials.
My favourite Summer plants are Sweet Peas (I can’t wait for our sweet pea bed to be in bloom, the smell is amazing) and Cosmos (ours are seedlings waiting to be potted off at the moment). These are also full of colour and such a joy.
What to plant for late autumn colour
Here’s a selection of late flowering perennials from our garden partners, the RHS, but any variety of the plants below will add colour during autumn:
Chrysanthemum ‘Mei-Kyo’ has brilliant pink pompom flowers in early to mid-autumn.
Hylotelephium (Sedum) ‘Red Cauli’ flowers in summer and autumn, this one has rich deep pink clusters of flowers.
Aster x frikartii ‘Monch’ will flower from July to October and is a lavender blue ‘daisy’ with a yellow centre.
For more information, see their website.
