106 | Summer Collection

 

This year I grew some of my favourite annuals and perennials I grew last year and lots of new annuals that I’ve been itching to grow. I tried selecting plants that would flower all summer. Though I had a colour palette to work with, that soon became a rainbow palette and I ended up growing plants of all shapes, colours and sizes that weren’t part of the original plan because I found them too irresistible and because I’m slowly turning into a *DUN-DUN-DUUUN* plant parent! I also got a few store bought plants to add to the mix and I was also gifted with some perennial plants for my birthday. 

Although I wasn’t able to see all of them through to maturity due to time constraints, I was able to gain more experience with how to grow them successfully (or in some cases - how to kill them quickly). I also decided to add existing plants to this list to have a garden inventory in one place. 

All plants listed below are what I grew this year (unless stated as store bought or existing) but the plants I miraculously saw through to maturity from seed are denoted with a satisfying check mark (☑).

A now, without further ado, my 2021 summer collection: 

Buddleia

Store bought | This year, I grew lots of annuals from seed and bought a few plug plants simply to figure out my likes and dislikes. 

Buddleia | “Hot Raspberry”

JAN	FEB	MAR	APR	MAY	JUN	JUL	AUG	SEP	OCT	NOV	DEC
	Sow under cover
	Plant out / direct sow
	Flowers / harvest

Type | shrub (dwarf variety)

Position | container garden

Soil | broad tolerance 

Height | 60cm

Spread | 90cm

Moisture | moist but well drained 

Aspect | full sun

Growing advice | 

Busy Lizzie

This year, I grew lots of annuals from seed and bought a few plug plants simply to figure out my likes and dislikes. 

Busy Lizzie | Orange

Busy Lizzie | ”Rosa”

Busy Lizzie | White

JAN	FEB	MAR	APR	MAY	JUN	JUL	AUG	SEP	OCT	NOV	DEC
	Sow under cover
	Plant out
	Flowers / harvest

Type | half hardy annual
Position | container garden, front of border
Soil | broad tolerance 
Height | 45cm (18in)
Spread | 35cm (14in)
Moisture | moist but well drained 
Aspect | semi shade - full shade
Growing advice | sow Busy lizzie seeds from February to April on the surface of a good seed compost, and cover with a light sprinkling of compost or vermiculite. Place in a propagator at a temperature of 21-24C (70-75F) or seal the seed tray inside a polythene bag until after germination, which usually takes 14- 21 days. Do not exclude light, as this helps germination.
When Impatiens seedlings are large enough to handle, transplant into 7.5cm (3") pots and grow on in cooler conditions. When Busy Lizzie plants are well grown and all risk of frost has passed, gradually acclimatise them to outdoor conditions for 10-15 days with shade from direct sun before planting them outdoors in their final positions. Grow Busy Lizzies in sun or semi shade in any fertile, well drained soil.

Canna 

This year, I grew lots of annuals from seed and bought a few plug plants simply to figure out my likes and dislikes. 

JAN	FEB	MAR	APR	MAY	JUN	JUL	AUG	SEP	OCT	NOV	DEC
	Sow under cover
	Plant out / direct sow
	Flowers / harvest

Canna Tropicana | Gold
Photo by Easy to Grow Bulbs

“Creeping Jenny”

This year, I grew lots of annuals from seed and bought a few plug plants simply to figure out my likes and dislikes. 

Creeping Jenny | Chartreuse green | Store bought

Lupin

This year, I grew lots of annuals from seed and bought a few plug plants simply to figure out my likes and dislikes. 

Lupin Russell Chandelier | Yellow 
Photo by King Seeds

Petunia

This year, I grew lots of annuals from seed and bought a few plug plants simply to figure out my likes and dislikes. 

Petunia | ”Lambada”

Petunia (Climbing) | Purple

Petunia | ”Sparklers”
Photo by Thompson & Morgan

Petunia | White

Rose

There are three lovely existing rose bushes in the garden which compliment each other’s colours. I haven’t been able to identify their specific species so I’m unsure about their specs.  The two roses that I’ve named “Sun-kissed Pink” and “Sunset Orange” are both vibrant whilst “Sweet Peach” takes on a more pastel tone but I love how you can see shared colours amongst them which gives them a multi-dimensional effect. “Sweet peach” borrows tiny amounts of pink from “Sun-kissed Pink”, “Sun-kissed Pink has portions of yellow from “Sunset Orange” and “Sunset Orange” has tiny fringes taken from “Sweet Peach”. 

Each has its own problem (rust, spent stems) and I’m yet to successfully treat them so that they start flourishing to produce lush, healthy displays all season.

Nonetheless, the blooms that they work so hard to produce never fails to lift my spirits!

Miniature Rose | “Sun-kissed Pink” | Existing

Rose | “Sunset Orange” | Existing

Rose | “Sweet Peach” | Existing

Salvia

This year, I grew lots of annuals from seed and bought a few plug plants simply to figure out my likes and dislikes. 

Salvia Nemorosa | “Caradonna”

Snapdragon 

This year, I grew lots of annuals from seed and bought a few plug plants simply to figure out my likes and dislikes. 

Snapdragon | “Carmine”

Snapdragon | “Sonnet Carmine”

Snapdragon | “Orange Wonder”

JAN	FEB	MAR	APR	MAY	JUN	JUL	AUG	SEP	OCT	NOV	DEC
	Sow under cover
	Plant out / direct sow
	Flowers / harvest

Type | half hardy annual

Position | container garden, front of border, cutting garden
Soil | neutral - alkaline
Height | 60cm (24in)
Spread | 40-50cm (16-20in)
Moisture | moist but well drained 
Aspect | full shade
Growing advice | Sow under cover in early spring, pot on and plant out after last frosts. Or sow September-October for overwintering indoors or planting in a very sheltered spot. Do not cover seed with compost. Thin to 30cm (12in)

Trumpet Vine

Wisterias! I absolutely love them. Their foliage are the perfect colour of green and their cascading blooms sway gracefully in a gentle summer’s breeze so I was delighted to see that our rental property’s garden had a healthy wisteria vine climbing happily up a huge sycamore tree. 

I couldn’t wait for summer to roll around to see it in full bloom. That was 2018. Fast forward to 2021 and we were still waiting to see one measly bloom. I thought another year would pass without seeing anything but then something happened - ”things” appeared - on one vine, but they weren’t any of the lovely candy coloured blooms you’ll find on a wisteria (pink, purple, white), they were… seemingly BROWN! “The wisteria is poorly!” I thought as I snapped the picture below. In a haste to see how I could cure it of the horrible disease, I image searched “strange brown growth on wisteria” which brought up zilch. Then I stumbled upon the BBC Gardeners’ World forum, quickly signed up and reached out for help. 

An obvious gardening veteran with 71,500+ posts known as Dovefromabove quickly gave this gardening rookie the answer she wasn’t expecting at all - “Think that’s a Campsis radicans vine aka Trumpet vine… those are flower buds.” 

And just like that, “my” beloved wisteria full of potential, pomp and promise turned out to be a simple, quaint trumpet vine. 

Trumpet Vine | Orange | Existing

Trumpet Vine | Orange | Existing

JAN	FEB	MAR	APR	MAY	JUN	JUL	AUG	SEP	OCT	NOV	DEC
	Sow under cover
	Plant out / direct sow
	Flowers / harvest

Type | climbing vine
Position | trees, walls, structures (pergola, fences)
Soil | moderately fertile 
Height | 500cm
Spread | 400cm
Moisture | moist but well drained 
Aspect | full sun
Growing advice | grow Campsis against a warm sunny wall  and provide shelter from cold winds - they need full sun to ripen the wood if they are to flower freely.

Zinnia

I first encountered these flowers back in the Caribbean where I spent my formative years and each time I saw them, they were always a staple in the garden of the older folks. My great grandmother had them in her garden and for reasons I would never fully come to know - I wasn’t a fan. Perhaps it was because the colours were stark and incompatible or maybe it was that they took on a sort of weedy appearance under the unforgiving and relentless heat of the Caribbean sun and that jarred me.

Whilst searching for inspiration for middle-of-the-border annuals on YouTube I was reintroduced to them but this time they didn’t seem to offend me as much. The colours were a lot more sophisticated and they now came in double petal blooms as well as the classic single petal blooms. Maybe this was always the case but it was new to me. They were praised for their long vase life as cut flowers, their drought resistance once established, were relatively pest-free plants and were dubbed as go-to work horses because they prolifically bloomed for the entire season. I was sold and thought I’d give these oldie goldies a try - and I’m glad I did. 

The pictures speaks for themselves. The colours were rich and multidimensional and in some cases, the blooms full and showy - a far cry from the simplistic zinnias I knew from my childhood. What’s more, each bloom seems to march to the beat of its own drum. One plant can produce both single and double blooms - there’s no telling what you’ll get. They’ve grown on me and they’ll be part of my summer annual staples.

☑️ Zinnia | “Green Envy” | Home grown

Zinnia | Magenta

Zinnia | Magenta

Zinnia | “Orange Lime Queen”

Zinnia | “Polar Bear White”

Zinnia | “Purple Prince”

JAN	FEB	MAR	APR	MAY	JUN	JUL	AUG	SEP	OCT	NOV	DEC
	Sow under cover
	Plant out / direct sow
	Flowers / harvest

Type | half hardy annual
Position | container garden, middle/back of border
Soil | broad tolerance 
Height | 90cm (36in)
Spread | 30cm (12in)
Moisture | moist but well drained 
Aspect | sun
Growing advice | zinnias are best sown April-May under cover in modules to avoid root disturbance. Harden off before planting out after the frosts. Pinch out tips as you plant. Direct sow late May-June, zinnias hate cold nights.

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