Plant Solutions. Nigel Colborn

      A huge group of highly popular perennials, originating almost exclusively from Africa but hybridized and grown all over the world. Sizes vary from miniature hybrids and dwarf species to the largest kinds such as P. papilionaceum which can exceed 2m (6ft) in height and width. The single or double blooms occur in sprays or small clusters. Colours include most shades excluding blue and yellow. Zonal types have darker or lighter banding on leaves.

      Soil preference: Any free-draining

      Aspect: Full sun

      Season of interest: Summer

      Height and spread: Variable

      Companion plants: Traditionally bedded on their own with contrasting ‘dot plants’. Red zonals look good with pale blue Plumbago or purple Cordyline; pink or violet can be set off with standard fuchsias or Abutilon.

      Verbena hybrid cultivars

      Tender perennials

      Plants have lobed leaves and flattened flower umbels which attract butterflies. Those with a spreading habit include the vigorous ‘Homestead Purple’ which may overwinter, the old cultivar ‘Sissinghurst’ with abundant pink blooms and the popular ‘Tapien’ and ‘Temari’ series which offer a wide colour range. ‘Quartz’ is an excellent upright bedder from seed.

      Soil preference: Well-drained

      Aspect: Sun

      Season of interest: Summer

      Height and spread: Up to 30cm (1ft), spreading

      Companion plants: Spreading or trailing types work well as temporary summer groundcover spilling onto the patio or in containers. Try dotting with taller plants such as Lobelia ‘Compliment Series’. Upright bedding verbenas contrast nicely with petunias.

      Dahlia hybrid bedding varieties

      Perennial

      Variable range of tender perennials developed from Central American species. These hybrids vary in height from dwarf, compact and bushy forms with smaller blooms suitable for containers and low bedding to tall upright types, often with spectacular flowers, that add colour and drama to the late summer border. Bedding dahlias are usually raised from seed and discarded at the end of the season. Lift dahlia tubers after first frosts.

      Soil preference: Fertile, well-drained but not too dry

      Aspect: Sun

      Season of interest: Summer, autumn

      Height and spread: From 30cm to 1.75m (1ft to 5ft)

      Companion plants: Taller, large-flowered dahlias are excellent in a mixed border with late flowering perennials such as asters and crocosmias. Compact, tuberous or seed raised dahlias combine well with red bedding salvias and Solenostemon (Coleus).

      Antirrhinum majus

      Snapdragons Short-lived perennial

      Herbaceous plants with simple leaves and spikes bearing lipped flowers which, when squeezed, open like jaws. Colours range from white and pale yellow through pinks and crimson to scarlet red or orange. Prone to rust disease. More resistant seed strains are available but to reduce rust problems remove surviving plants at the end of the season. Series include the dwarf ‘Chimes’ and taller ‘Liberty’.

      Soil preference: Fertile, well-drained

      Aspect: Sun or part shade

      Season of interest: Summer, autumn

      Height and spread: To 45cm–1m (1ft 6in–3ft 3in) for cutting varieties

      Companion plants: Excellent as link plants between spring and summer bedding, since they can be planted out in very early spring before the frost risk has passed. Try them after tulips or polyanthus.

Bedding: summer flowering, dappled shade

      Salvia splendens

      Scarlet Sage, Bedding Salvia Tender perennial

      Shrubby perennial with angular stems and toothed, nettlelike leaves. The flowers are sheathed in colourful bracts and, in the wild species, are vivid red. Garden forms, which come in red, pink or purplish hues, include ‘Scarlet King’, ‘Empire Purple and ‘Vista Salmon’. The ‘Sizzler’ series are smaller, more compact plants in a similar colour range.

      Soil preference: Rich, not too dry, but well-drained

      Aspect: Part-shade or sun

      Season of interest: Summer, early autumn

      Height and spread: Up to 1.2m (4ft), but usually grown shorter

      Companion plants: A good choice for part-shaded bedding schemes or for high rainfall areas. The strong colours work well with sombre heliotropes or with the rich foliage patterns of Plectranthus or with Solenostemon (Coleus).

      Impatiens walleriana hybrids

      Busy Lizzie, Balsam Tender perennial

      Shrubby perennials with thick but brittle stems and smooth, glossy, slightly toothed leaves. The flowers are flattened, asymmetrical and come in a broad range of hues from red, through mauve, pink or salmon to white. F1 hybrid seed strains offer single colours. Some types are picotee edged, striped or have ‘eyed’ flowers, for example ‘Dazzler Merlot’.

      Soil preference: Fertile, not too dry

      Aspect: Part shade or sun but not too hot

      Season of interest: Summer

      Height and spread: 20–30cm × 20–50cm (8–12in × 8in—1ft 10in)

      Companion plants: Best when encouraged to form dense mats of colour by planting in groups, but softened by foliage plants such as Senecio ‘Silver Dust’ or with taller dot plants such as Eucalyptus gunnii or Plumbago.

      Limnanthes douglasii

      Poached Egg Plant Hardy annual

      Vivid emerald green, feathery leaves create a dense ground cover persisting through winter, where seed has germinated in autumn. In late spring, the bright foliage is all but blotted out by even brighter, disc-shaped or shallow cupped flowers, each about 3cm (1in) across, with brilliant yellow centres and white petal margins. An excellent plant for attracting wildlife, especially beneficial hoverflies. Self-sows copiously.

      Soil preference: Any, not too dry

      Aspect: Sun or part shade

      Season of interest: Spring, summer

      Height and spread: