Time to get summer ready
Every January and February, gardeners are already thinking of the summer ahead. Last autumn, we planted our spring bulbs, like daffodils, tulips, muscari and bluebells.
The work is done with them, they’re in the ground and preparing for their show over the next few months, nothing to do now but sit back and wait for these to burst into a vibrant display of colour!
In Griffins and all garden centres, you can see the large displays of summer flowering bulbs arriving daily. Our top job for late winter should always be to plan and plant our summer bulbs. This is a cost effective way to bulb up you garden borders with long flowering perennial colour.
Agapanthus
Add height and structure to your garden with these fabulous agapanthus. A real jewel of the summer garden, it bursts into bloom from midsummer onwards with dozens of tiny lavender blue trumpets on short spikes, gathered into a large ball of colour. These dreamy Agapanthus flower heads are held on upright stems at a useful mid-height, perfect for planting in borders with smaller plants in front and taller plants behind.
Peonies
It’s been said that a peony plant can last for a century. While the stunning and often fragrant peony flowers, which open in late spring or early summer, are the main attraction, the plant itself makes an attractive hedge or bush, even when the flowering is done. The glossy green foliage of peonies lasts all summer long, finally changing to a purplish or gold colour in autumn. Peonies like deep, fertile and moist soil with good drainage.
Karl Rosenfield is exceptionally eye-catching! Widely considered one of the best red double peonies, this mid-season variety boasts huge, cherry-red blooms that are showstoppers in the early summer garden and stunning in bouquets. With sturdy stems and a long vase life, these fragrant flowers are excellent for cutting.
An award-winner peony, Sarah Bernhard is outrageously beautiful in bloom! Introduced in 1906, this longtime favourite blooms dependably year after year and presents a healthy amount of emerald green foliage to add interest to the garden throughout the season. Also known for its fragrance, Sarah Bernhardt makes a great cut flower - try it in arrangements or float it all by itself in a simple bowl.
Shirley Temple is the famous fully double white, named after the super-popular child star from the 1940s, and still a big favourite.
It is later flowering than many peonies with large, pale pink to white, double flowers, gently fading to buff-white, and mid green leaves. The centre of each beautiful, scented flower is full of small, loosely arranged ruffled petals.
If you would like advice on your summer garden display, bring photos of your garden or patio on your phone to the design team and Griffins will help choose what will grow best for you this summer.