Helenium 'Wyndley'
sneezeweed
- Position: full sun
- Soil: fertile, moist but well-drained soil
- Rate of growth: average
- Flowering period: July to October
- Hardiness: fully hardy
Sprays of rich orange-brown daisy-like flowers up to 8cm (3in) across with prominent, brown centres appear earlier than many other sneezeweeds.This robust, upright perennial looks wonderful planted in bold drifts in a sunny, moist but well-drained spot. Providing a splash of colour when many other perennials are starting to fade, it makes a wonderful companion for ornamental grasses and yellow, white or earth-toned flowers. Bees and butterflies love it and it makes an excellent cut flower, too. - Garden care: Heleniums are versatile plants that love plenty of sunshine and moist soil. They rarely suffer from pests or diseases, however young plants do need to be protected from slug attack. Tall varieties need to be staked. To encourage the plant to repeat flower deadhead back to side shoots that have flower buds emerging. Cut back by half after flowering to help prevent mildew. Cut down to the ground in late winter. Every two or three years divide the plants in spring to keep them in top condition. When replanting add loads of well-rotted organic matter to the soil to feed them and keep them moist.
Anemanthele lessoniana
pheasant's tail grass (syn. Stipa arundinacea )
Versatile and colourful
Geum 'Mrs J. Bradshaw'
avens
Scarlet flowers and pretty, scalloped leaves
Rudbeckia fulgida var. sullivantii 'Goldsturm'
black-eyed susan
Large golden-yellow flowerheads
Geum 'Prinses Juliana'
avens
Fiery orange 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...
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Indulge a passion for ornamental grasses by creating a prairie- or meadow-style garden. They can be richly planted with native wildflowers or a selection of complementary perennials and self-seeding annuals to create a naturalistic planting effect. Prairie gardens often...
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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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Very early blaze of June gold with warm-yellow petals streaked in clean-red on the undersides, on a short sturdy stem, not at all sombre
Val Bourne - Garden Writer