coloured, disc-shaped flowers, often with contrasting centres. Superb when in full bloom but the flowering season can be brief. ‘Phlox of Sheep’ is an excellent series, with flowers in sunset hues; ‘Silver Blossom’ has mauve, dusky pink and even beige suffusions; and the petals of ‘Twinkle Stars’ are white-edged picotee types.
Soil preference: Free-draining but fertile
Aspect: Sun
Season of interest: Summer
Height and spread: Variable to 30cm × 30cm (1ft × 1ft)
Companion plants: Best when backed up by the strong characterful foliage of Plectranthus or when planted with such annual grasses as Briza maxima and Lagurus ovatus.
Sanvitalia procumbens
Creeping Zinnia Tender Annual
Trailing stems with simple, deep-green leaves and a summer-long succession of abundant small daisy flowers with broad, orange or yellow sterile ray florets and deep green or dark centres. The variety ‘Irish Eyes’ is golden yellow with glowing green flower centres. ‘Orange Sprite’ is dwarfer, with bright orange semi-double flowers whose centres are dark.
Soil preference: Any fertile and free-draining
Aspect: Sun
Season of interest: Summer
Height and spread: 15cm (6in), spreading 30cm (1ft)
Companion plants: Good in a bold colour scheme with perhaps compact varieties of nasturtiums and purple-leaved basil. Excellent contrast with dark blue trailing lobelia.
Dorotheanthus bellidiformis
Livingstone Daisy Tender Annual
A South African member of the ice plant family with small, fleshy leaves, mealy in texture, and a long succession of bright, daisy-like flowers in day-glow colours. ‘Apricot Tutu’ has pinkish sunset-hued flowers, but ‘Sparkles’ has a wider range including pale cream, purplish pink and orange, many flowers being bicoloured. The flowers will only open in full, direct sunlight.
Soil preference: Free-draining, not rich
Aspect: Full sun
Season of interest: Summer
Height and spread: To 15cm × 25cm (6in × 10in)
Companion plants: Good on their own in a hot, dry container in the sun or to add colour to such succulents as echeverias, sedums or sempervivums.
Annuals good for cut flowers
Rudbeckia hirta
Half hardy perennials grown as annuals
Dwarf, intermediate and tall hybrids of this North American genus have dark stems and simple leaves, lightly covered with short hairs. The daisy flowers, with their conspicuous ray florets and dark central cones, come in warm tones from yellow through to mahogany. Good cutting varieties include the double-flowered ‘Cherokee Sunset’, spidery-bloomed ‘Chim-chimenee’, and the green and golden ‘Irish Eyes’.
Soil preference: Fertile, moisture-retentive and heavy but drained
Aspect: Sun or part shade
Season of interest: Summer, autumn
Height and spread: 15–60cm × 30cm (6in–2ft × 1ft)
Companion plants: Use these plants to extend summer displays and blend with late flowering blue and purple salvias and perennial asters. They are also bewitching with soft, flowing grasses or sedges such as bronze leaved Carex and Stipa arundinacea.
Antirrhinum majus tall varieties
Half hardy to hardy perennial, usually grown as an annual
Familiar snapdragons such as ‘Axiom Series’ which have been bred to grow as tall plants, each with a straight, single stem ending in a long spike bearing the flowers in a broad colour range, including red, pink, yellow and bicolours. Plant in a sheltered spot or raise under glass.
Soil preference: Fertile, well-drained
Aspect: Sun, often raised under glass
Season of interest: Constant, depending when planted
Height and spread: To 75cm (30in)
Companion plants: Pretty plants for a summer kitchen garden, along with such cutting flowers as marigolds, larkspurs, dahlias and Gladiolus.
Helianthus annuus
Sunflower – pollen-free varieties Hardy annual
Single or branched stems may grow from a single seed, furnished with broad, slightly hoary, simple leaves and massive flowerheads with bright yellow, orange or maroon ray florets. Selections for cutting include pollen-free ‘Bees Knees’, whose flower colours include orange, lemon yellow, rich gold and deep reddish brown and orange, as well as the powderpuff-like ‘Double Shine’.
Soil preference: Fertile, free-draining
Aspect: Sun
Season of interest: Summer
Height and spread: Variable to 2m × 30cm (6ft × 1ft)
Companion plants: Too dominant to harmonize with other annuals, but very effective when planted as short-term screens or along walls or hedges. Pollen-free varieties are NOT GOOD for wildlife.
Dianthus barbatus ‘Summer Sundae’
Annual Sweet William Hardy annual or biennial
An annual form of the familiar sweet William described here. Although spring-sown seed will produce flowers the same season, autumn-sown plants will grow a little larger and flower for longer. A valuable variety, though,
