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Plants for pollinators ... in July

7/7/2025

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Clockwise from top left: Aster, Nepeta, Nicotiana, Verbena, Salvia

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Say hello to Hydrangeas!

6/7/2025

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Hydrangeas are shrubs that know how to put on a show.

They can do bright and breezy, they can do head-turning, and they can also do exquisitely elegant.

So if you are one of those people who has written them off as “not for me,” take a second look.

The paniculata types have upright habits and delightful Mr Whippy ice-cream shaped blooms, while arborescens Annabelle is a firm favourite of garden designers.

Climbing Hydrangea petiolaris has loose lacey flowers and is great for north-facing walls.

You will also find many new Hydrangeas in captivating colours and tones.

The best known Hydrangeas are the mopheads and lacecaps, named for the style of their outsized blooms.

They make spectacular cut flowers - and dried flowers too - although it is best to leave the majority on the plant until spring, so they can protect forming buds from winter frosts.

Hydrangeas can have a vexatious habit of not flowering in their second year: this is usually because they are concentrating on developing their root systems, and is nothing to worry about.

Blue-flowering varieties are best grown in ericaceous composts but others will grow in any soil as long as it is not too dry or poor.

Finally, avoid planting Hydrangeas in spots where they will get the midday sun as they have a tendency to get hot and bothered in the heat.

Find a varied choice of Hydrangeas this July at Katie’s Garden Plant Centre

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Plants for butterflies

5/7/2025

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From mid-July a butterfly-friendly garden will be in place at Katie’s Garden’s Newbourne nursery to coincide with the Big Butterfly Count.

Results from last year’s count led to Butterfly Conservation declaring a butterfly emergency.

You can do your bit to help these precious pollinators by adding beneficial plants to your borders.

Find lots of suggestions at www.katiesgarden.co.uk/advice

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Got hot for summer!

4/7/2025

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The magic of garden design isn’t simply in the plants you choose, it is the way you combine them in the borders.

Numerous plants native to South America, South Africa and other parts of the world have been happily adopted by British gardeners and are now considered classic cottage garden plants.

Among them are Fuchsias, Dahlias, Agapanthus, Alstroemerias, Salvias, Lobelias, Crocosmias and Kniphofias, all of which are superb for summer colour.

With a few tweaks you can set yourself apart from the crowd by going bright and bold and bringing a taste of the tropics to your own back garden for the summertime.

Keep pastels and whites to a minimum and embrace the varieties with stronger tones of reds, oranges, yellows, blues and magentas.

Planting will be less dense than in a cottage garden border but at the same time you want a feeling of lusciousness.

Hostas, Canna Lilies, Fatsias and ferns can all give you that big leafy effect. Add drama with sword-like upright leaves from Phormiums, Cordylines and Hemerocallis (aka day lilies).

Foliage from shrubs and perennials can provide extra impact if you use varieties with plum, gold and variegated leaves.

Choose some evergreens and you can have interest and structure all year round.

In this part of Suffolk we generally have free-draining soils - meaning roots, bulbs and tubers are less likely to rot in winter wet - as well as mild temperatures, which means most of the plants mentioned should survive our winters without any mollycoddling.

But if you really want to feel like you are on holiday at home, enhance the look with annuals that will take you through to the frosts.

Top picks include half-hardy Salvias, Rudbeckias, Lantanas, Osteospermum, Cleomes, Cupheas and Pelargoniums.

Get inspired at www.katiesgarden.co.uk/holiday-at-home

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Hampton Hacking

3/7/2025

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When you are still finding your green fingers it is easy to fall into despair in July, thinking all those beautiful plants you packed into your borders earlier in the year have now upped and died on you.

The good news is they very probably haven’t.

Many perennials that flower in May and June naturally run out of steam in midsummer, with first the flowers and then the leaves turning brown, giving the appearance the whole plant is dying.

However, it is very likely the root system is still going strong, and your job as the gardener is to cut away the old top growth.

It is known as the Hampton Hack as it takes place around the same time as the RHS Hampton Court Flower Show in early July.

Perennials that die back to the ground in winter, such as Nepeta (below), can be cut back hard in July. Those that keep a year-round framework, such as these woody Salvias should be cut by half

Sometimes it is done just for tidiness sake, but often it is to clear the way for new shoots, leaves and flowers that will reinvigorate your borders.

It works because flowers are all about reproduction.

Every perennial's New Year resolution is to make flowers to attract insects which will pollinate them so they can form seed, reproduce and then die down for the rest of the year.

If you cut off the old flowers before they have a chance to set seed, many plants will attempt the whole cycle again, meaning you get to enjoy a second flush of flowers - and so do the pollinators too.

Exact timing for hacking is down to personal preference, but the sooner you clear away tatty old growth the sooner you will get fresh flowers!

How to Hampton Hack

Plants that keep a woody framework, such as Perovskias (Russian sage) and many of the Salvias, should be cut back by about half.

For evergreens - those that keep their leaves all year round - you will be looking to cut out old flower spikes and any unsightly shoots. Evergreen perennials include Euphorbia, Dianthus, Bergenia, Geum and Heuchera.

But for the majority of perennials you are looking for a wholesale clearance down to just a couple of inches, mimicking what the plants do in wintertime.

Geraniums, Nepetas, Campanulas, Delphiniums, Verbascums and Lupins are some of the very many perennials that can benefit from the treatment in July.

Watch pruning tutorials at www.youtube.com/@katiesgardenplantcentre2533

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July issue of The Flourishing Garden out now!

1/7/2025

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Plants for pollinators ... in June

11/6/2025

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Perfect for pollinator plants for June include, clockwise from top left, Cirsium, Astrantia, Cistus, Digitalis (foxglove), Dianthus (garden pink), Campanula, Cosmos, Salvia nemorosa

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Long flowering perennials

10/6/2025

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In small gardens in particular you need plants that will earn their keep.

Some provide year-round interest with their colourful leaves while there are a good number of border perennials that will give you months of flowers to enjoy. Many of these have flowering periods that start this month and continue through well into autumn.

You can find lots of suggestions at www.katiesgarden.co.uk/advice

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Greener garden choices

9/6/2025

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Water is a precious commodity and one we should always use wisely in the garden.

Using rainwater on your plants is better for the environment, better for your wallet, and here in East Anglia with our hard limescaley tap water, it is also better for the health of your plants too, particularly those in pots.

Don’t wait too late into summer to fit water butts - you need some rain first to get them filled for those hot, dry spells!

Put saucers under pots in summertime to stop water escaping away out the bottom, and add bark to stop it evaporating from the top.

Except when newly planted - and during heatwaves - plants in borders shouldn’t ever need watering. If they do it is a sign they are in the wrong place.

If you don’t have any areas of naturally damp soil to move them to, light shade can reduce the strain instead.

For drought-tolerant plants take a trip to Katie’s Garden Plant Centre

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Salvia focus

7/6/2025

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Towering Salvia Amistad has won many fans for its striking blue flowers on virtually black stems

Large planters need large centrepieces, and the half-hardy Salvias are perfect for the job.

Tall spikes of flowers will keep going throughout summer and often right up to wintertime with very little tidying necessary.

They are well suited to container life as they don’t have high watering demands.

Salvias such as the Salmia and Wishes ranges can effectively fill pots on their own but you can take things up a notch by surrounding them with smaller summer annuals. Petunias, Calibrachoas, Verbenas and Diascia are some of the many suitable options. In sizeable troughs pair up with Dahlias, Fuchsias, Osteospermum, Cosmos and similar.

Go tastefully colour co-ordinated or go bold with clashing colours!