Seasonal Bedding for Winter/Spring Flashcards
first
first
Name

Nigella damascena
upright, bushy annual with feathery foliage. Pale blue flowers 4cm across are borne in summer followed by decorative, inflated seed capsule. Flowers surrounded by ruff of ferny foliage
H 50cm S 20-30cm
H3
Name

Lathyrus oderatus
An annual that climbs to about 2m using tendrils. The flowers, produced in summer and early autumn, are 3.5cm across, strongly-scented, with wine-red standard petals and purple wings and keels (hundreds of cvs available)
H climbs to 2m S to 0.5m
Uses: City/courtyard, container, cottage/informal, borders and beds, wall-side, cut flowers
Sun/partial shade, not north facing
Well drained (not clay)
H3
City/courtyard, container, cottage/informal, borders and beds, wall-side, cut flowers
Name

Helianthus annuus
A tall, fast-growing annual with broad, oval to heart-shaped, roughly hairy leaves 10-40cm long. In summer it bears huge flowers up to 30cm across with bright yellow petals and dark brownish or purplish centres. The flowers attract bees and the seeds that follow provide food for finches
H up to 4m S up to 1m
H4
Name

Gypsophila elegans
An erect, branching annual with narrow, grey-green leaves. Loose sprays of star-shaped, white or carmine-pink flowers on long slender stalks are produced in summer
H 60cm, S 50cm
Uses: cottage/informal, gravel garden, cut flowers, borders and beds
not acid pH, full sun, well-drained (not clay), not north facing
H5
Name

Calendula officinalis
A fast growing annual or biennial with a spoon-shaped softly hairy aromatic leaves and heads of vivid single or double orange daisy-like flowers, borne in long succession in the summer and autumn until the first hard frosts
H 50cm S 30cm
H5
Name

Centaurea cyanus ‘Blue Boy’
An upright annual with simple or slightly lobed leaves and solitary deep blue daisy like flower-heads 3-4cm across in late spring and summer
H 75cm S
Uses: Wildlife/wildflower meadow, coastal, container plants, cut flowers, beds and borders
S/W facing
Full sun, well drained, loam or sand
H6
Name

Salvia viridis ‘Blue Monday’
An annual sage, grown primarily not for its insignificant flower, but for the colourful bracts borne on upright stems in summer. Seeds of cultivars are available in single colours or blends
H 50cm S 50cm
Full sun, S/W facing
Uses: Cottage/informal garden, Wildlife gardens, Low Maintenance, borders and beds, Cut flowers, Underplanting of roses and shrubs
H5
Name

Papavear rhoeas
An erect annual with pinnately lobed oblong leaves and solitary, bright scarlet bowl-shaped flowers in summer
H 75cm S 30cm
Uses: Wildlife/Wildflower meadow, coastal cottage/informal, low maintenance, borders and beds
Well drained, not clay, full sun
Any aspect
H7
Ten hardy annuals
Nigella Damascena
Helianthus annuus
Lathyrus oderatus
Tropaeolum majus
Calendula officinalis
Salvia viridis ‘Blue Monday’
Lavatera trimestris
Gypsophila elegans
Papaver rhoeas
Centaurea cyanus
Name
Eschscholzia californica
A vigorous bushy, spreading annual, with finely divided blue-green leaves and orange, yellow or red flowers to 7cm across in summer
H 30cm
Full sun, well drained
Name
Ammi majus
An upright annual with 2 to 3-pinnate leaves and compound umbels of creamy white lace-like flowers in summer and ferny foliage
Full sun, partial shade
Well drained
Name

Crocus Tommasinianus
Early spring bulb. Long-tubed flowers which appear in early spring, as the narrow leaves emerge; the flowers vary from lilac to deep purple, sometimes paler outside
H 10cm S 5-10cm
Uses: Naturalising, gravel/rock garden, container plants, wildflower meadow, flower borders and beds
Full sun, otherwise not fussy
H6
Name

Tulipa ‘Queen of Night’
Late spring bulb. Bears glossy, dark purple to maroon goblet-shaped flowers in late spring
H 60cm S 10cm
Uses:
City/courtyard, Cottage, container plants, borders and beds, cut flowers
Not north facing, full sun sheltered
Well drained, not clay soils
H6
Name

Scilla siberica
Early spring bulb. Dainty spikes of up to five nodding, bell-shaped, violet-blue flowers in March and April and slender, strap-shaped, glossy, mid-green leaves.
H 20cm S 5cm
Uses: naturalising in areas of semi-shade, under planting, containers, rock garden, city/courtyard, country gardens, low maintenance
Aspect any, full sun, partial shade, moist but well drained, pH any, soil type avoid heavy clays
H6
Name

Narcissus ‘Thalia’
Mid-Spring bulb. A triandrus cultivar, flowering in mid-spring, and producing two, milk-white flowers per stem. These are about 5cm across, with small cups and narrow, slightly twisted outer petals
H 40cm S 10cm
Cottage, container plants, city/courtyard, Low Maintenance, cut flowers, borders and beds, underplanting, Naturalising
Moist but well drained, Any aspect but North sunny or patial shade, any soil, any pH
Name

Narcissus Lobularis
Early-Spring bulb. Upright, grey-green leaves, up to 50cm long, and nodding flowers, up to 7cm across, with yellow trumpets and narrow, twisted, cream petals, produced in early spring
Any aspect, soil, pH, sunny, partial shade, moist, well drained
Uses: Good for naturalising
H6
Name

Iris reticulata
Later winter/early spring bulb. A dwarf perennial with narrow, stiffy erect leaves and fragrant, deep violet-purple flowers 8cm in width, each fall marked with a central yellow ridge
H 15cm S10m
Uses: front of borders/beds, containers, rock garden, city and courtyard.
Any aspect, full sun, any soil texture, non-acidic soil,
H7
Name
Myosotis sylvatica
Flowers between mid-spring and mid-summer, bearing small, bright blue, 5-lobed flowers with white or yellow centres. Nectar and pollen is enjoyed by bumble bees and butterflies
H 20cm S 15cm
Uses: spring bedding, container, cottage, borders and beds, banks and slopes, underplanting of roses and shrubs
Prefers partial shade, unfussy in terms of aspect, soil and pH
H6
Name
Viola x wittrockiana
They are larger than most species violas, and have heart-shaped leaves and colourful, often bicoloured flowers with darker, face-like markings in the centre. Most cultivars flower in spring and summer but some have been bred to bloom throughout winter, offering a cheerful display of colour when little else is in flower. Viola ‘Adonis’ bears large flowers in light shades of blue, with a darker blue centre over a white background
H 20cm S 30cm
Uses: cottage and city, container, borders and beds, underplanting of roses and shrubs, garden edging
Full sun, partial shade, unfussy in terms of aspect, soil and pH
H6
Name
Erysimum cheiri
a short-lived, evergreen perennial grown as a biennial, with narrow, dark-green foliage and four-petalled, sweetly-scented, bright yellow-orange flowers produced in short spikes in spring. Cultivars are available in a wide range of colours from cream to dark red
H 30cm S 40cm
Uses: city, coastal, cottage, container, banks and slopes, borders and beds
Full sun, not north facing, not clay soils, well draining, not acid pH
H5
Name
Bellis perennis Tasso Series
Grown as an annual, with rosettes of dark leaves and pompon-like, fully double flower heads to 6cm across, in shades of red, pink and white
H 15cm S 15cm
Uses: cottage, container, city, borders and beds, garden edging
Sun or partial shade, South or East facing, not clay soil, unfussy in terms of pH, well drained
Name
Erica carnea
A dwarf, spreading, evergreen shrub with tiny, narrow, dark green leaves. One-sided sprays about 8cm long of small, urn-shaped, pink, purple-pink, magenta or white flowers appear in late winter and early spring
H 15cm S 50cm
Uses: wildlife gardens, city, coastal, cottage, container, low maintenance, garden edging, ground cover, banks and slopes, borders and beds
Unfussy plant, full sun, partial sun, any aspect, any soil, pH unfussy
H6
12 plants for spring bedding
Erica carnea
Primula ‘Gold Lace Group’
Myosotis sylvatica
Viola x wittrockiana
Bellis perennis ‘Tasso Series’
Crocus tommasinianus
Tulipa ‘Queen of Night’
Scilla siberica
Narcissus ‘Thalia’
Narcissus ‘Lobularis’
Iris reticulata
Erysimum cheiri

