Select your sunshine loving plants
By Margaret Griffin
With the wonderful sunshine this week, I have chosen some of the best plants that thrive in full sun and long warm nights. Many of our customers ask what's best for full sun? Well truthfully, most plants but the following plants will give you a showstopper if planted in full sun.
Trailing Verbena
These look sensational in hanging baskets with clusters of tiny flower balls giving vibrant colour to your summer displays. These have a brilliant flowering season and are maintenance free. There’s an array of colours to choose from vibrant reds, purples, pinks and whites. I love the two toned varieties.
The Verbena Voodoo Pink Star has large clusters of pink flowers accented with a white centre star. Stunning when combined with vibrant pink surfinias, Million Bells and white bacopa.
Pelargoniums (commonly known as geraniums) make beautiful summer displays and are simple to grow - the tougher you treat them, the better they flower.
These are the best plants if your baskets and containers are in a windy place that tend to dry up fast. Planting geraniums on your patio will instantly bring a Mediterranean feel to your garden. These are the wonderful plants that are mass planted across the Mediterranean due to their low maintenance and because the need less watering that many other plants.
Plant in block colour and tones to create a strong vibrant statement. The trailing ivy geranium is a proven winner for baskets and containers. With its waxy leaves and beautiful blossom, it’s ideal in baskets and planted with upright geraniums in containers.
There are dozens of scented geraniums with an array of fragrances. The one thing they all share is that their scent comes from their leaves, not the perfume of the flowers. Scented geraniums have glands at the base of their leaf hairs, where the scent is formed. Crushing the leaves releases the oil and the scent. I love the citrus fragrant leaves, it will transport you to Amalfi coast in a moment.
Plant along your garden path, on the patio, in the window or in specific areas in the house they’ll spread their pleasant scent. Did you know they help repel insects that love to bite us in summer evenings? So these should definitely be in pots on our patio furniture or near the BBQ.
Trixie white wedding are a beautiful and serene blend of white calibrachoa (Million Bells), white lobelia and pure white verbena all brought together by the attractive mid-green foliage and one of our favourites for 2019. If you would like a romantic white and silver container, plant this wonderful trixie with Dichondra Silver Falls or Senecio Cineraria Silver Dust. I love this combination in large urns, baskets or tall pots at your front door!