LYCHNIS HAS BRIGHT MAGENTA FLOWERS AND SILVERY FOLIAGE
Mind the gap!
By Caroline Knight
Is your garden looking a bit lacklustre or lacking in flowers now that August is here? There are ways to fill it with colour.
August is a time of gardening contradictions. It’ s holiday season, offering gardeners a chance to sit back and enjoy what they have created. But it’ s also one of the hottest, driest months, so plants become jaded and stressed, foliage loses its vibrancy and there’ s often a lull in flowering between early-summer plants and the later flowering varieties. Pests and diseases can be active during this period, adding to the dishevelled appearance of perennials.
Changing times Gardens are organic, living places which evolve. Plant combinations that worked ten years ago might be less successful today. Species that previously seemed too exotic to survive in your region might now thrive in a sheltered spot. Now there are fewer extremes of temperature, you might want to experiment to see which plants will cope. They are likely to do one of three things: die, thrive or merely survive. It’ s a lesson in putting the right plant in the right place for the current climate.
Never be tempted to replace a young, dead plant with exactly the same species, planted in the same place and treated in the same way. The original died for a reason!
Drought resistant If you want to brighten up your garden during a bare period, try adding some drought-resistant species in sunny spots. Once established, these plants should be able to withstand just about any amount of sun without assistance:
• Lychnis coronaria, now known as Silene, is the highly reliable rose campion. As with many sun-lovers,
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