Garden Answers July 2022

ALL THINGS BRIGHT AND BEAUTIFUL: Create a garden fizzing with colour on p16; grow succulents with super style, p24 I do agree with this month’s contributor Lucy Bellamy on colour – it feels like the old rules are begging to be broken. Whereas a few years ago I would have tried my best to choose a tasteful, subtle palette of shades for my garden borders, nowadays I just want to throw off the shackles and be free to go wild with bright colours. I might mix pink with clashing yellow and orange, purple with red. Maybe it’s because we are feeling uplifted after two years of pandemic restrictions, but I just want to be free to paint my plot with a pick-and-mix of brilliant shades. We’ve upped the ante on…

1Spikes of violet-blue Salvia sylvestris ‘Viola Klose’ shoot through the verdant planting, with deep maroon aquilegia ‘Black Barlow’ adding sultry richness and depth. 2In contrast to the dramatic blooms and bright walls and planters, a sprinkling of Stellaria graminea (lesser stitchwort) and other white-flowered plants shine out as pops of light. 3Bright plastic trugs (with holes for drainage) make brilliant planters – both in colour and because they are extremely useful, being easy to move and inexpensive.…

Patio Project Seaside Inspiration Celebrate the seaside this month with a coastal-themed display of plants that thrive in full sun and well-drained conditions, arranged in a vintage rusted metal bucket. The fragrant purple spires of lavender ‘Hidcote’ (H50cm/20in S60cm/2ft) add height and sea lavender (Limonium perezii) (H40cm/16in S45cm/18in) blooms continue the purple theme. The buds of Erigeron karvinskianus (H40cm/16in S50cm/ 20in) will open into a froth of dainty pink and white daisies tumbling over the edge of the bucket. Silvery Jacobaea maritima (formerly Senecio cineraria; H and S30cm/12in) foliage alongside the slender blue-grey spikes of Festuca glauca (H30cm/12in S35cm/15in) complement the purple flowers. Style the pot with a collection of cobbles around the base.…

The National Garden Scheme’s (NGS) Great British Garden Party is back this year to raise money for social and healthcare charities across the country. “We’ve been so inspired by previous party hosts and their ingenious variations on the garden party theme, tailoring their events to their outside spaces and to their families and friends,” says NGS President Dame Mary Berry. “Some simply threw open their garden gates and invited neighbours for afternoon tea, making new friends. But your garden party could be a barbecue or family bake-off, prosecco by candlelight, a coffee morning and book swap or even a plant and produce sale by the front gate – the choice is yours and everyone can get involved.” The official garden party dates are Saturday 16 to Sunday 24 July but…

Love the Glove oak leaf £20 Kew Gardens 020 8332 3124; shop.kew.org Watering can in duck egg blue £24.95 Annabel James 0345 548 0210; www. annabeljames.co.uk Belle Group Warrior pneumatic wheelbarrow £249.99 Screwfix, 03330 112112; www.screwfix.com Outsunny portable charcoal grill barbecue £38.99 Robert Dyas 0333 103 6677; www. robertdyas. co.uk Carmen planters £139.99 set of 3 in honey Hortology www.hortology.co.uk Forget Me Not garden trowel & fork set £22 Cath Kidston 01480 424477; www.cathkidston.com Louisiane metal bench in pepper £619 Made in Design 020 7692 4001; www. madeindesign.co.uk Papaya Outdoor Cushion in aqua from £12 Furn 0113 543 1381; www.furn.com…

BIDENS FERULIFOLIA ‘HOT & SPICY’ Tender perennial with a profusion of fiery-coloured blooms all summer and into autumn. ✿ Hand S30cm (12in) £13.50/3 x 9cm pots, Sarah Raven 0345 092 0283; www. sarahraven.com ANTIRRHINUM MAJUS ‘POTOMAC ORANGE’ Hardy annual with tall, sturdy stems studded with orange, pink and yellow flowers loved by bumblebees. ✿ H75cm (2½ft) S30cm (12in) £3.75/56 seeds, Chiltern Seeds 01491 824675; www.chilternseeds.co.uk EREMURUS BUNGEI ‘TAP DANCE’ Long-lasting spires of zingy yellow summer flowers for the back of sunny borders, from bulbs planted in autumn. ✿ H1.5m (5ft) S20cm (8in) £12.75/3 bulbs, Farmer Gracy 0330 808 7304; www.farmergracy.co.uk RUDBECKIA TRILOBA ‘PRAIRIE GLOW’ Late-flowering, bushy perennial with petals in burnt umber and golden shades. ✿ Hand S60cm (2ft) £5.50/9cm pot, Sarah Raven 0345 092 0283; www. sarahraven.com SALVIA…