THIS WEEK’S TIP FROM GARDEN GURU SUE BOTH

super summer annuals

The sun is shining, the birds are singing, and it’s time to start thinking about garden planning! While perennials come back year after year, you also need a few annual flowers that bloom all summer. They may require a bit more work, but they’ll reward you with an abundance of flowers and colour.

  • Alyssum – Carpet your yard with a fresh look of white flowers all summer long, or choose fancy names of summer colours like Royal Carpet, violet-purple, Bi-colour Pink, Easter Bonnet Deep Pink, Pink, Purple Shades, Purple, or Deep Rose as a nice ornamental plant. Great for borders and hanging baskets they are free flowering, self-seeding and will grow in sun to semi-shade.
  • Vinca – Add a pop of pink, white, purple, or red colour along borders, inside flower beds, or containers with these sturdy and strong options. Leave them alone in full sun, and water them frequently to enjoy their blooms all summer long. They absolutely love tons of sunshine.
  • Petunias – These big tubular bells tolerate heat quite nicely and bloom throughout the entire growing season. They do well in containers, flower beds, or to provide a lovely border of colour. Grow them best in full sun, though they also grow well in partial shade. Encourage more blooms as the flowers begin to fade by removing the parts that have faded (also known as deadheading).
  • Impatiens – Most Impatiens come in a soft pastel hue, but there are plenty of bright yellows or oranges as well as blue, purple, red, and white. They look great in mixed colours or in solid white. The foliage is blue/green and is almost shrub-like. These little beauties are sometimes called busy Lizzie, and they make beautiful flowers as bedding plants or for container gardening.Impatiens require filtered sun or shade.
  • Begonias – The most common are Begonia semperflorens varieties, also called wax, annual, or bedding begonias. These shade-loving plants bring mounds of colour when planted under trees or tucked in planters, hanging baskets, or window boxes.

Add a pop of colour anywhere with beautiful annuals that are easy to grow and will provide a burst of colour all summer long. Use summer annuals in flower beds and for borders of flower beds or vegetable gardens, in container gardens and hanging baskets, or as screens and hedges training them to grow on fences or trellises. Some even make great cut flowers.

Join us this Friday 26 November for our FREE online workshop on ‘Super Summer Annuals’, with Garden Guru Sue Both. 

Please use the following login details to join us at 11am sharp over Zoom:

Meeting ID: 861 1651 1136  Passcode: 899729  

or use the following direct link: https://bit.ly/3oP3IOp