Perennials in the Garden

A bumper selection of perennial plugs

If you read this column regularly you will have noticed that I’m not really one for filling the beds and borders with flowering perennials. Until now.  

Last week I was checking my phone notices and someone mentioned a special offer from a supplier of 72 perennial plant plugs in a tray for under €2 reduced from €72. As the message came through at four in the morning I was half asleep and just ordered it through Paypal and thought no more about it as I drifted back to sleep.

In the cold light of day it dawned on me what I had done. It’s one thing buying 72 baby perennials, but they will need growing on, replanting, finding somewhere to put the plants in between my vegetables and rusty incinerator bins and rusty car parts – and then there’s protecting the plants from slugs and snails. I do have a bed that is totally over run by perennial geraniums which I could dig up to make some room… more work!

I have made a lot of work for myself and have resorted to turning my phone off at night in case any more offers come through that I can’t resist when half asleep.

Looking on the positive side, the plants will give some much needed colour to my mainly green garden interspersed with some annual colour.  My seed order came this week and I have sown the petunias, pansies and lobelia so this year should be a riot of colour. I wonder if I can eat any of the perennials?

Bumper Collection

The Thompson and Morgan bumper collection I bought has plants that are ideal for patio, cottage gardens, wildlife gardens, and cut flower gardens according to the blurb. They also offer a broad range of colours, heights, textures and scents to delight my senses. 

Here are the varieties being delivered. I will confess that I have had to use Google images for some of these because I have never heard of them before.

The collection includes:

Aquilegia 'Mrs Scott Elliot' - The striking flowers come in a range of pretty colours and are perfect suited to cottage gardens borders and woodland planting schemes.

Verbascum 'Southern Charm' - Gorgeous pastel shades. Long spikes bear 1in flowers in apricot, dusky pink, cream and lavender-pink over a long period.

Lavender 'Hidcote' - With its compact habit and dark purple flower spikes, this must be one of the most widely popular  lavender.

Gaura 'Sparkle White' - Graceful, slender stems are topped with a flurry of dazzling white, starry blooms that still look fresh and airy at the end of summer.

Verbena 'Buenos Aires' - The long lasting blooms of the stunning variety great for attracting bees.

Doronicum 'Little Leo' - Heart shaped foliage makes an attractive backdrop to the abundant golden-yellow flowers of this hardy perennial daisy.

Delphinium 'Magic Fountains Mixed' - Spires of white, lilac and blue delphinium flowers in a blend of no less than seven shades. This compact dwarf variety doesn’t need for staking which pleases me.

Eryngium 'Blue Hobbit' - Eryngium are handy little plants for the border, as they'll grow in many different types of soil.

Foxglove 'Sugar Plum' - A reworking of a cottage garden classic. Foxglove 'Sugar Plum' is an improved form of old-time favourite 'Pam's Choice'. Apparently these are really poisonous so I won’t be trying to eat them.

Achillea 'Cassis' - Broad plates of tiny cherry red blooms are held on tall wavering stems.

Dianthus 'Arctic Fire' - Long lasting, white jagged-edged petals with a fiery red eye smother this dwarf hardy perennial throughout summer.

Echinacea 'Primadonna Mixed' - Echinacea blooms are ideal for cutting and adding to floral displays in the home. They are used in herbal medicine too.

They all promise to be easy to look after and only need a bit of annual upkeep. I’ll be getting six of each variety as well so I can play around with their seating areas in the garden and at least one of each will find their perfect spot.

I’m actually enjoying reading about the plants I ordered and must confess to being just a little bit excited about receiving them through the post. They are promised to arrive at the end of the month so I have a week or two to create places for them to go and make them feel welcome. I’m a perennial convert