Colour in the garden

[mammybear]

i have a small backgarden mostly in the shade with patio tubs and troughs, would love some flowers that have plenty of colour, are there such flowers and have i left it too late to plant them this year, any suggestions would be grateful. thank you

[Hayley1]

There are still plenty of summer bedding plants to be had in the shops mammybear. For a shaded pot I would suggest begonias, violas and Nicotiana.

 

For something with a bit of longevity I'd go for some ferns in different shapes and sizes for some depth in your planting, and maybe some hostas (rub vaseline around the rims to help protect from snails/slugs). There are some great colour variations in the leaves. They do flower, but they're grown mainly for their leaves. Another one for variagated leaves is euonymus. I have a few varieties some have green and white leaves while others have green and gold.

 

Mahonia springs to mind with scented winter flowers, but they can grow too large for pots eventually.

 

Bergenia (Elephants Ears) with varying shades of pink,red and white flowers in the spring.

 

Helebores are great in raised pots so you can appreciate their flowers in winter/spring.

 

Snowdrops for early flowers. These are usually best bought 'in the green' (just after flowering). pop them into your container and pop seasonal bedding plants above etc.

 

Primroses/polyanthus are a good filler. and very cheap to buy with loads of colour variations.

 

I would go for violas rather than pansies personally, as they withstand the weather better. You can have these in flower pretty much all year round and are great in hanging baskets by a door so you can appreciate their scent.

 

Lily-of-the-valley have white scented flowers in early summer.

 

If you choose ericaceous (sp) compost in a tub you can grow camelias. They are a good alternative for roses, but don't let them dry out (water with rainwater)and don't let them have the early morning sun as any frost on the flower buds will cause them to burn.

 

erm...what else...

 

I've managed to successfully grow hydrangeas in pots - great if you want to make sure of blue flowers in ericaceous compost.

 

The one thing to remember above all whatever planting scheme you go for is watering. Even if it's been chucking it down all day, a full planted tub will still need watering as the plants make a canopy over the compost. Try to water early in the morning and try not to get the leaves wet if it's sunny as it will scorch the plants. You probably already know this, but in case not, stick your finger into the compost as deep as you can. if your fingertip is dry, it's thirsty

 

I hope this helps

[mammybear]

thanks very helpful Hayley1