6.8 Hardy annuals for a variety of situations Flashcards
Name
Nigella damascena
upright, bushy annual with feathery foliage. Pale blue flowers 4cm across are borne in summer followed by decorative, inflated seed capsules
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 aromatic leaves and heads of vivid 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 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
Name
Orlaya grandiflora
a branching annual, 45-75cm tall with jaggedly divided leaves and white flowers in flattish umbels, the inner flowers small, the outermost with enlarged rays, giving a lacy effect. Floriferous, long flowering and attractive to insects through summer and autumn
H 50-70cm S 30-50cm
Uses: Cottage, Gravel garden, Wildlife, wildflower meadow, prairie planting, beds, borders, cut flowers
Full sun, south facing, well drained, not clay soil, not pH fussy
H7
Name
Ammi majus
Bearing dainty white flowers reminiscent of lacework, above finely cut, green foliage. Popular with flower arrangers, the blooms make a great, long-lasting addition to bouquets, and work well among a range of plants in a mixed herbaceous border.
Grow Ammi majus in well-drained soil in sun to partial shade. Allow seeds to develop to save and sow the following year, but leave some for goldfinches, which will come to your garden to feast on them in winter.
H 1m S 50cm
Uses: Wildflower meadow, Cottage, borders beds, cut flowers
Full sun, partial shade, not north facing, well drained, not clay, not pH fussy
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
