Monarda 'Schneewittchen'
bergamot (syn. Snow Maiden)
- Position: full sun or partial shade
- Soil: fertile, moist, well-drained soil
- Rate of growth: average
- Flowering period: July to September
- Hardiness: fully hardy
- Garden care: Most monardas can be capricious, and do not like soil that is either too damp or too dry. These plants are susceptible to powdery mildew, and while this rarely causes long-term damage, it can look unsightly towards the end of the summer. You can help reduce this by applying a 5-7cm (2-3in) mulch of well-rotted organic matter around each plant. Resist cutting bergamot back in autumn, since the stiff, vertical stems look good all winter.
Whorls of wonderful, long-lasting, tufted, white flowers surrounded by a ruff of green bracts appear from July to September, above pointed, aromatic, mid-green leaves. This elegant bergamot associates well with other late-flowering perennials such as achillea and veronicastrum, or with ornamental grasses. It looks gorgeous planted en masse in the middle of a sunny, moisture-retentive herbaceous border, where it will be smothered with butterflies and bees during the flowering period.
Gaura lindheimeri 'Siskiyou Pink'
gaura
Long-lasting pink flowers. Copes wth drought
£8.99
2 litre pot
within 2-3 days excludes weekends
Nepeta 'Six Hills Giant'
catmint
A hardy catmint with lavender flowers
£7.99
2 litre pot
within 2-3 weeks
Deschampsia cespitosa 'Goldtau'
tufted hair grass (syn. Golden Dew)
Feathery grass for sun or shade
£7.99
2 litre pot
within 2-3 days excludes weekends
Echinacea purpurea 'White Swan'
coneflower
Glorious white flower heads
£8.99
2 litre pot
within 2-3 days excludes weekends
Astrantia major subsp. involucrata 'Shaggy'
masterwort ( syn Margery Fish )
Dainty white flowers with green tips
£9.99
2 litre pot
within 2-3 days excludes weekends
Achillea millefolium 'Cerise Queen'
yarrow ( syn Kirschkönigin )
Flat, magenta flowers on tall stems
£7.99
2 litre pot
within 2-3 days excludes weekends
Veronicastrum virginicum 'Album'
culver's root
Slender spires of white flowers
£7.99
2 litre pot
available to order from summer 2013
Prairie
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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Free-flowering white tufts on shorter soft-green stems - a gentle support for early asters like ‘Monch’ and ‘Violet Queen’
Val Bourne - Garden Writer