The Crocus Nursery

In July it's important to maintain soil moisture levels by mulching between plants when the soil is moist, and tackle weeds as well as pest and diseases as soon as they are noticed. Any gaps in borders can be filled with new plants provided you prepare the soil well and keep the new additions well watered.

Helen, plant doctor and designer

Many gardens are at their best now, so July is the perfect time to invite your friends around, crack open the bubbly and show off all your hard work.

Nick, Nursery manager

I love July. The summer is in full swing (hopefully) and there are so many plants in flower on the nursery I find it difficult to resist the urge to plant more at home. Best of all the hayfever season is drawing to an end, so those of us that suffer can get out and really enjoy the garden, or nursery in my case.

Goes well with:

What it’s useful for:

Adding bold splashes of long-lasting, late summer colour into a mixed border. It will tolerate a little shade, but it flowers best in full sun. Originating in Switzerland in 1918, it is hardier and longer-lived than many other varieties.

Why I like it:

Penstemons are great, and this is one of my favourites. They flower for ages and often last well into autumn when most other plants have given up. Their delicious colour contrasts well with most things, but I like pairing it up with strong purples and plums.

Goes well with:

What it’s useful for:

Pot it up to add colour to a sunny patio, or plant it densely to create a low-growing, flowering hedge. Insects (especially bees) will flock to it and as it is so compact it can be clipped to form neat balls. Perfect for hot, dry spots once it gets established.

Why I like it:

A native of the Pyrenees, Switzeralnd and Northern Italy, this lavender is a compact form and one of the toughest. It will carry on producing its deep purple flower-spikes right through to the end of summer. It is a very tactile plant, and brushing your hand over the foliage as you pass will release its delicious scent.

Goes well with:

What it’s useful for:

A great architectural shape that looks very striking planted in really big pots and used as focal points. Alternatively plant it en-masse in bold drifts in lots of sun for major wow-factor. The flowers can last for a couple of weeks if cut and brought indoors.

Why I like it:

Agapanthus always remind me of home where they grow rampantly. This variety is a fairly recent introduction from New Zealand. The flower-heads are bigger than many other varieties and the lavender-blue flowers are perfect for mixing with pinks, deeper blues and purples.

Goes well with:

What it’s useful for:

A very versatile plant that looks equally at home in gravel gardens, prairie style planting or mixed into a border with other herbaceous perennials. The seed-heads can be cut and kept for dried arrangements.

Why I like it:

I love all the daisy shaped flowers and this one has really great colour. It is an easy to look after plant that will flower for ages if you remove the blooms as they fade. The flowers act as a magnet to butterflies, and birds and bees are also attracted to it.

Goes well with:

What it’s useful for:

They bring pollinating insects into the garden, and slugs tend to leave them alone, so plant a big patch next to your Hostas. They make excellent cut flowers and can be dried for longer-lasting arrangements. They will flower well in light shade if they have reliable moisture.

Why I like it:

I love the way the button-like flowers look like big floating dots above the foliage. They create textural variation to more upright plant forms like grasses.

Goes well with:

What it’s useful for:

Brightening up corners of the garden with much needed late summer colour. It will grow in either a sunny or partially shaded spot as long as it is kept well watered.

Why I like it:

There is nothing understated about this plant - it is a real drama queen. The velvety flowers are superbly shaped and the colour is sumptuous.