Plant Solutions

Aspect: Sun

Season of interest: Summer

Height and spread: 30–60cm (1–2ft) × 20–40cm (10in–1ft 4in)

Companion plants: Other annual poppies work beautifully with Shirley seedlings, especially if allowed to naturalize in a gravel garden or sown at random in an annual border with such annuals as marigolds, clarkias, larkspurs and cornflowers.

Nigella damascena

Love-in-a-mist Annual

Lacy, filamentous foliage makes a soft and alluring background for the flowers, whose distinctive blue petals nestle among the feathery leaves. Garden series such as ‘Persian Jewels’ have purple and white flowers, as well as those in various shades of blue. The large, inflated, lantern-like seed capsules are almost as decorative as the flowers and last until autumn.

Soil preference: Any

Aspect: Sun or part shade

Season of interest: Summer, autumn

Height and spread: 30–45cm (1ft–1ft 6in) tall

Companion plants: A lovely annual to naturalize among roses, especially the older varieties. Also effective for gap-filling, in a mixed border or for lining a lavender hedge.

Lagurus ovatus

Hare’s Tail Grass Annual grass

Mediterranean species with grassy foliage and silvery grey flowers which are broadly oval and furry to the touch, resembling the tail of a hare or rabbit. This grass grows taller on rich soil but thrives as a smaller plant in harsh conditions. A dwarf form, ‘Nanus’, may be more suitable for gardens with rich soil.

Soil preference: Any free-draining

Aspect: Sun

Season of interest: Summer, autumn

Height and spread: 15–50cm (6in–1ft 8in) × 30cm (12in)

Companion plants: A worthy addition to a grass border, especially if planted with other annual grasses such as Briza maxima, but also lovely among flowering annuals. Scatter seed among pot marigolds, cornflowers or tagetes.

Annuals for sheltered sites (#ulink_e1d5c023-5382-5f04-841d-e62e4855185f)

Anagallis monellii

Shrubby Pimpernel Perennial grown as a tender annual

A low, straggly plant with semi-trailing stems and small, triangular leaves grouped in threes along the stem. At each leaf joint, buds form which open as conspicuous, five-petalled flowers in the deepest, most intense blue. Similar, but larger in all its parts, to the wild blue pimpernel, Anagallis foemina.

Soil preference: Fertile, well-drained

Aspect: Sun

Season of interest: Summer

Height and spread: 20cm × 30cm (8in × 12in)

Companion plants: An excellent hanging basket or container plant which is especially effective when contrasted with bright yellow Bidens ferulifolia or harmonized with variegated trailing Plectranthus or with red pelargoniums.

Cerinthe major ‘Purpurascens’

Honeywort Annual

Cornfield annual from the Mediterranean with curious, glaucous foliage and, in early summer, metallic purple bracts which are remarkably luminous and which half conceal the strange brownish purple and yellow tubular flowers. The seeds are large and stone-hard. Although when established it will self-sow, the species is not hardy in sustained frost.

Soil preference: Any well-drained

Aspect: Sun

Season of interest: Summer

Height and spread: 50cm × 30cm (1ft 8in × 12in)

Companion plants: A distinctive plant for a Mediterranean garden among grey and silver-leaved herbs such as lavenders, Teucrium and sages. Excellent in gravel, too, among brown sedges such as Carex buchananii and also with Californian poppies.

Brachyscome hybrids

Swan River Daisy Annuals

The narrow, fresh, often lacy green leaves on these Australian native plants are almost hidden behind a generous covering of bright daisy flowers, in mauve, pink or white. A neat, but semi-trailing habit, coupled with summer-long flowering makes them ideal for container use. Good varieties include ‘Blue Haze’, the lilac coloured ‘City Lights’ and the purple-blue ‘Toucan Tango’. Tender.

Soil preference: Any, reasonably fertile

Aspect: Best in full sun

Season of interest: Summer

Height and spread: 45cm × 45cm (18in × 18in)

Companion plants: Yellow-flowered Bidens ferulifolia makes a good contrast, but the silver filigree leaves of Artemisia ‘Lambrook Silver’ or ‘Powis Castle’ also blend pleasingly.

Convolvulus tricolor

Annual

A non-climbing, but somewhat lax plant with small, oval leaves and saucer shaped flowers, similar to those of morning glories, but 5cm (2in) wide. The typical species has dark, royal blue petals, fading white or creamy yellow at the throat. Selected varieties include ‘Ensign Mixed’, with pink, maroon, blue and white shades, and the pale ‘Light Blue Flash’.

Soil preference: Any

Aspect: Sun