Planting a traditional English garden
Friday, 11 May 2012 02:12The May bank holiday signaled the traditional start to the summer gardening season and the rose has been voted the most popular garden flower.
According to a survey from Hozelock the rose tops the popularity list followed by daffodils and lilies. Gardening writer and broadcaster Matt Biggs was not surprised the beautiful rose came out on top.
“With their classic style and timeless beauty, it is no surprise that roses continue to capture our hearts,” he said.
“Despite its traditional appeal, this quintessential English garden flower is currently proving its worth in contemporary designs and is certain to remain our favourite for many years to come.”
There is no better way to celebrate a great year for Britain, with the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee and the Olympic Games, then setting up your own English garden.
Matt gives us a breakdown of the Nation’s favourite blooms after the traditional rose.
Lilies : Wonderful in the woodlands, naturalised, or in borders. Lilies also create wonderful displays in pots, as ‘gap fillers’ between the seasons, add white flowered lilies like ‘ Casa Blanca’ and Lilium Longiflorum, the flowers of romance and it is easy to understand their wide appeal.
Daffodils: From robust varieties like ‘King Alfred’ to smaller species like Narcissus bulbocodium for naturalising in damp places, there’s a host of golden daffodils to choose from and other colours too. It is easy to understand why Wordsworth was inspired; daffodils bring elegance and colour, at a time of year when gardeners’ need it most.
Snowdrop: Delicate, dainty and demure, the snowdrop has long been a favourite winter flower. My must-have cultivar, ‘S Arnott’, with large flowers and grey-green foliage and a honey fragrance is robust yet beautiful and worthy of a place in any garden.
Chrysanthemum: This grand old stalwart still has its devotees among allotments and among gardeners looking for late summer colour. Those who treat them with disdain have obviously never seen old border varieties like ‘Chelsea Physic Garden’ or Korean Chrysanthemums, gorgeous hardy plants which deserve to be more widely grown.
Gerbera: When Gerbera is mentioned, vivid colours like bright orange and yellow spring to mind. This vibrant, fun filled plant, now has hardy relative’s Gerbera ‘Forever Daisies’ so you can bring their energising colours to the flower border too.
For more information on Hozelock’s range of contact its helpline on 0121 3131122.
