Johannesburg - Summer is here. Now is the time to dream up exciting ideas for your garden. Start with the patio, which is a great place for entertaining family and friends – a place to dine, and a place to relax. If there is space for a fountain, the sound of spilling water will add to the ambience.
Make use of trellis panels as screens on the patio to provide privacy and protection from wind and to add vertical interest and support for climbing plants.
Add colour with hanging baskets filled with flowers and foliage. Position baskets, held on strong chains, so that water will not drip on people or furniture.
Add some plants in pots on pedestals to add height and interest. An old fashioned, tiered cooking pot stand is perfect in a corner for displaying potted herbs, while troughs of flowers will define the edges of the patio.
Summer perennials
Many of the flowers that bloom in summer are perennials, plants that re-appear year after year. Apart from a wonderful choice of flower colour, they offer great diversity in form and texture, both in their growth habit and in their flowers.
Perennials can be grown in mixed borders as major players or as fillers, in containers and rockery pockets, and alongside water features.
While the majority of perennials need well-drained soil and sunshine, there are others that will grow in woodland conditions.
* Day lilies are useful and reliable perennials. Choose by colour or by height of flower stems, depending on where you are planting them. Grow short varieties in the front of borders and edging paths, and medium to tall ones in the middle or back of a border.
In a small garden, one colour or those of similar shades have the most impact. Day lilies are also attractive near water features or among ornamental grasses.
* Blue flowers are always welcome in a summer garden and agapanthus flowers range from powder blue to blue-violet.
Grow dwarf agapanthus alongside pathways, in rockeries and in pots; those of intermediate height towards the centre of beds, and taller agapanthus in clusters at the back as strong accent points. Agapanthus have a strong fleshy rootstock, suitable for holding soil on banks.
* Angelonias and penstemons, with their spires of flowers, contrast well with the shapes of day lilies and agapanthus. Angelonias have snapdragon-like blooms in lavender, pink, purple and white and need fertile, well-drained soil, regular water and full sun, or morning sun and afternoon shade in hot gardens.
Penstemons will continue flowering into autumn if old flower spikes are regularly removed. Their tubular white, pink, red, lavender and purple flowers, some bicoloured, can be dainty or gloxinia-like, with leaves broad or narrow.
Gauras are tough, drought- and heat-resistant perennials with butterfly-like flowers of white and shades of pink, held on tall wiry stems that add a delicate effect in the garden.
Summer scents
Fill your garden and home with the scents of summer by growing plants with fragrant flowers and foliage on patios, under windows and near garden benches.
* Train star jasmine (Trachelospermum jasminoides) on trellis and walls.
* Roses are ideal in a summer garden and those that are fragrant are doubly welcome.
* Gardenias have white, heavily scented single or double flowers. They need an humus, rich soil and sun or semi-shade. Dwarf gardenias do well in containers.
* Lavender and rosemary release their perfume when their leaves are bruised or touched, making them ideal for planting along paths.
* Scented leaf pelargoniums are grown for their aromatic foliage that may have a rose, lemon, orange, nutmeg or peppermint scent.
Summer bulbs
* Berg hyacinths (Galtonias), with their tall spikes of pendant white bells, add an elegant statement when planted in groups in summer borders while the flowers of eucomis with their curious pineapple “topknots” make a dramatic statement in the garden.
* Dahlias are invaluable in the summer garden. Flowers vary from tiny pom-poms to large exhibition-type blooms. Given a sunny position, well-composted soil, excellent drainage and regular feeding and watering, they flower throughout summer and well into autumn.
* Summer-flowering arums (Calla lilies) do very well in pots, but may need extra watering during hot weather. Flower spathes are attractive in shades of yellow, apricot, pink, ruby and maroon.
* While the orange colour of crocosmias is dominant in many hybrids, there are others of scarlet and red, apricot, gold and yellow, and in some instances the foliage is bronze. They prefer moisture-retentive, rich soil and do well in light or semi shade.
Summer shade
While the majority of summer-flowering perennials and bulbs need well-drained soil and sunshine, there are others that will grow in woodland conditions.
* Astilbes have fern-like foliage and feathery white, pink or red plumes held above the foliage. Also with fern-like foliage, meadow rue (Thalictrum) has tall sprays of dainty mauve blooms.
* Hostas are dormant in winter, and their green, blue-green or variegated leaves mature in summer when mauve flowers appear. They need shade, moist, rich soil and protection from snails.
GENERAL GARDEN TIPS
* Bedding salvias in cream, salmon, pink, red, wine, lavender and purple are especially valuable because of their ability to cope with heat. They fare well in full sun or partial shade and just need good drainage to flourish, although many will grow in poor, sandy soil that has been well composted.
* Easy to grow annuals that need full sun and give a really bright show throughout summer include cosmos, bedding dahlia, marigold, nicotiana, vinca cultivars and zinnia. Place containers around your patio, pool and pathways for summer splendour. To colour up light- or half-shaded spots, pot up pink and blue wishbone flowers (Torenia); they’re especially ideal for patios.
* Grow begonia, impatiens, torenia or coleus on shaded patios. Plant white, pink and red bedding begonias along paths to make a broad ribbon of colour or a bold statement. Massed plantings will also define a curved border or add long-lasting colour in containers or hanging baskets, as long as they’re not in full sun. Trim begonias regularly for best results.
* Gardens are flourishing in the heat. Now is the time to control the growth of weeds, by pulling them out before they set seed. - Saturday Star