Geranium 'Orion'
cranesbill
- Position: full sun or partial shade
- Soil: fertile, well-drained soil
- Rate of growth: fast-growing
- Flowering period: June to August
- Flower colour: violet-blue
- Hardiness: fully hardy
A bigger Geranium, which is covered with clear violet-blue flowers, with red veining and a white centre, throughout the summer. Its spreading habit makes it ideal for quick growing, summer groundcover. - Garden care: In midsummer rejuvenate plants that are beginning to look jaded, by removing old flowered stems and leaves. Lift and divide large colonies in spring.
Phlox paniculata 'Franz Schubert'
border phlox
Wonderful, fragrant, lilac flowers
Cirsium rivulare 'Atropurpureum'
brook thistle
Deep crimson thistle-like flowers
How to get more flowers
Many flowering plants can be encouraged to produce better and longer-lasting displays with the minimum of effort. A plant produces flowers in order to reproduce and ensure the survival of the species. Once a plant has flowered and fertilisation has...
Read full articleMediterranean
Mediterranean gardens can take on various guises from the rustic and rambling to the formal elegance of an Italian courtyard. However, they all have key features in common, including the use of exotic, sometimes tender, drought-tolerant plants in pots and...
Read full articleGet more flowers
Deadheading will prevent them setting seed and so use their energy producing a further flush of blooms later on. Plants that respond well to deadheading include annuals such as Ageratum, Alyssum, Antirrhinum, Calendula, Centaurea, Cosmos, Dahlia, foxglove, Californian poppy, sweet...
Read full articleChelsea Chop and other methods of extending the flowering season
Many gardeners who are happy, even gung-ho, with the secateurs when pruning shrubs and climbers are surprisingly reluctant to take the shears to herbaceous perennials. Maybe this is because it just doesn’t seem quite right to be cutting back all...
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