By the end of June, early-summer favourites such as iris, peonies, roses, foxgloves and salvia have gone over, risking a drab late-summer display. Here are some of the plants I grow to keep my garden popping with colour throughout July, August and beyond…
Aster ‘Mönch’
One of the first Michaelmas daisies to open, producing purple flowers in abundance for months to come.
60cm full/part sun
Rose ‘Sweet Wonder’
Repeat flowering roses will begin their second flush of flowers in July, especially if you deadheaded them following their main display in May.
H 80cm full sun
Agapanthus ‘Poppin Purple’
July is peak season for Agapanthus. Poppin Purple is one of a new reblooming varieties that flower for up to ten weeks.
60cm full/part sun
Echinacea ‘White Swan’
A sophisticated and elegant variety of purple cone flower. Available also in many art-shades. Echinacea opens in July and will be in bloom for two months or more.
70cm full sun
Fuchsia ‘Hawkshead’
Fuchsias come into their own from July. ‘Hawkshead’ is a hardy variety, forming a twiggy shrub with delicate white flowers which dangle like earrings.
120cm full/part sun
Geranium ‘Rozanne’
Many hardy geraniums (cranesbills) are in full swing in July, including the wonderful ‘Rozanne’ with its large purple-blue flowers that continue until the frosts.
80cm full/part sun
Kniphofia ‘Poco Citron’
The red-hot pokers begin blooming in July. Poco Citron is a short-growing variety in a lovely soft yellow. Suitable for coastal gardens.
50cm full sun
Erigeron glaucus
‘Sea breeze’
A wonderful fleabane — ‘Sea Breeze’ is much stronger purple than the species. Tough and easy to please. Long flowering season from late June/early July. Another plant suitable for coastal gartdens.
30cm full sun
Anthemis tinctoria
‘E.C. Buxton’
This gentle lemon-yellow marguerite is very free flowering from May to October. Flowers are held high above mounds of grey-green feathery foliage. Good for cut flowers. Can be short lived.
40cm full sun
Allium ‘Millenium’
A clump forming allium, with dozens of lavender-pink balls from mid-July. Decorative seed heads follow. Grassy green foliage looks good before and after flowering. To keep the show going, try Allium senescens subsp. glaucum , which is shorter and soft pink, opening from late July when Millenium is going over.
35cm full sun
Tulbaghia violacea
Like a miniature agapanthus, this garlic relative throws up violet flower heads for months from late June onwards. Hardy to -5C, helped by being planted in a well drained soil
35cm full/part sun
Eryngium planum ‘Blue Hobbit’
A dwarf form of the sea holly. Perfect for gravel gardens and front of border. Plant in free draining soil. Good in coastal gardens.
30cm full sun
Verbena rigida
‘Santos Purple’
Long flowering, compact and floriferous. Although only hardy to -5C, it self-seeds readily. Loved by pollinators. Good in gravel and rock gardens.
35cm full sun
Ceratostigma plumbaginoides
Blue-flowered leadwort is a low-growing, mat-forming herbaceous perennial, with clusters of rich blue flowers from July. In autumn the foliage takes on red hues. Good in front of taller shrubs.
40cm full sun
Anemone × hybrida ‘Honorine Jobert’
Japanese anemones don’t usually begin flowering until late august, but in my garden the white ‘Honorine Jobert’ typically begins in late July. The pink variety ‘Prinz Heinrich’ is noted for its early flowering. I like them close to the front of the border, so the flowers are at eye level.
120cm part sun/shade
Nymphaea ‘Gonnere’
Many waterlilies flower in July. Gonnere is a beautiful, variety with fragrant double white flowers 4-5in (10-13cm) across. A very elegant lily for any size pond.
13cm full sun
Asiatic Lilies
Asiatic lilies (pictured) flower in late June and early July, while trumpet lilies begin a week later.
60cm full/part sun
Dahlia ‘Melody Harmony’
A bushy dahlia, with dark purple foliage and waterlily-like flowers in magenta shades. Flowers for months from late July.
80cm full/part sun
Dahlia ‘Playa Blanca’
In my garden Playa Blanca (a gorgeous cactus dahlia which I leave in the ground over winter) began flowering on July 5th.
70cm full/part sun
Oriental Lilies
Oriental lilies – like this tree llily ‘Miss Feya’ – flower later in July. Beautiful for 2-3 weeks with huge, highly scented recurved flowers — a stunning sight. Good in large pots or borders.
120cm full/part sun
Galtonia candicans
The summer hyacinth, (now named Ornithogalum candicans) is a majestic flowering bulb with tall candles of dangling white flowers in July and early August. A bit tender, so best planted deep in warm well-drained soil. Mine have survived in the ground outdoors for many years.
120cm full sun
Eucomis autumnalis
Pineapple lilies are a late-emerging bulb, which come into flower in July. Eucomis autumnalis has pure white flowers. I grow them in pots which I overwinter away from hard frosts in my greenhouse.
40cm full/part sun
Campanula
‘Elizabeth Oliver’
This tiny, but tough, alpine campanula, known as ‘Fairy thimble’, spreads to cover the ground with a mass of fine stems and tiny leaves. In July it is smothered with hundreds of tiny double porcelain-blue bells.
10cm full/part sun
Sedum rupestre
Another alpine ground cover: a stonecrop with succulent blue-grey needle-like-leaves that look a bit like like blue spruce shoots. Geometric flowers appear on 6in (15cm) stems in July. Good in poor soil in pots, rockeries or on green roofs.
15cm full sun
Clematis ‘Princess Diana’
A long-flowering clematis, of the Texensis group. Profusion of pink tulip-shaped flowers from July-October Cut back close to ground in February.
240cm full/part sun
Clematis x durandii
One of the best summer-flowering clematis — covered in violet flowers from June to September. A non-clinging clematis: it needs tying to supports as it grows, or given an open shrub to scramble through. Easy and productive.
240cm full/part sun
Hydrangea ‘Annabelle’
Hydrangeas begin to flower in July. I love ones that remain a pure white throughout the season (no pink or blue here!) The flower heads of ‘Annabelle’ are stunning, but flop in heavy rain. ‘Incrediball’ is an improved variety with stronger stems.
120cm part sun
Potentilla fruticosa ‘Sunset’
The shrubby cinquefoil is a deciduous shrub with a long flowering period from May to September. The flowers of ‘Sunset’ are a warm yellow tinged with orange. Drought-tolerant once established.
80cm full/part sun
Vitex agnus-castus
The chaste tree is a large Mediterranean shrub or small tree, with pointed palmate leaves. From late July it is covered with silver-grey spires at the tips of each branch, from which open violet-mauve flowers beloved by bees. July-October
240cm full sun
African Marigold
Large double heads in golden yellows. A cheerful annual that brightens any planting. Good in pots alongside dark purple flowers, or with hot reds and oranges.
20cm full sun
Trailing begonias
Exotic annuals, grown from tubers. Good in summer planters, hanging baskets or greenhouse displays. Their trailing stems produce hundreds of flowers through the summer. Needs a spot sheltered from strong winds. Easy to overwinter given a frost-free location.
60cm wide, part sun
Gazania ‘Red Shades’
For masses of large exotic flowers, you cant do better than gazanias. ‘Red shades’ is a compact, short-stemmed variety that thrives in hot sun. Deadhead to keep it flowering from June-October.
25cm full sun
Incredibly beautiful photos. Thank you!