Gardeners Tips

Orange trees wont fruit in the open in the UK but you can still find the colour in flowers and plant combinations.

Orange was the colour of the 1970’s but gardens seemed to reject this colour as too gaudy and fit only for psychedelic record sleeves. Times have now changed and hot borders are fashionable with an exciting choice of plants including those from the Poppy family. Oriental poppies are big and blousy whilst the strong orange of Californian poppy on frail foliage can be startling.

Orange can be a hard colour to place but a strong purple leaf like Cotinus Royal Purple will offer a good contrast. However Geum Borisii will provide perennial blooms in any location without a backdrop. Acer palmatum Osakazuki is the autumnal orange leafed small tree variety to go for, underplanted with orange lilies Jet Fire, Orange Pixie or Tigrinum maybe.

Roses have a variety of orange colour schemes, choose from creamy pale Just Joey, floribunda Anne Harkness, clear toned Geraldine, apricot Pensioners’ Voice and patio rose Sweet Magic.

Canna lilies in pots with purple leaves and orange flowers can be titally stunning like Triomphe, Wyoming or Delibab varieties and for a Gladioli try Topaz or the reddish Hunting Song. Also amongst summer tubers you can do worse than give space to some Dahlias like Bishop of Oxford and Catherine Deneuve with dark foliage or the decorative Mrs Eileen.

Tip Winter is a good season to dream of those hot psychedelic orange colours and plan where to grow the plants that will catch everyone’s eye next summer.

Yellow and red make orange in some colour schemes.

‘All that glistens is not gold’ and all the colour in plants does not come from the flowers.
Anthuriums have coloured spathes in various shades but are particularly strong with red colours.

Begonias are generally grown for their brashly coloured summer flowers but the ‘Rex’ varieties have a great deal of leaf colour with interesting patterns, textures and shapes. There are lots of other plants to see with interesting leaves.
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Busy Lizzies are correctly called and often sold as Impatiens. To combat disease they have been crossed with ‘hawkeri’ a variety from New Guinea.
The bigger the plants you buy the less impatient you need to be but beware of frost, a sure killer.
I have just received 72 plug plants that were little more than germinated seeds but I have followed the instructions repeated below:

Pot up plug plants and grow them on in bright, frost free conditions.
While the plants are still small but with more than 2 sets of leaves, pinch the growing tips out to produce a well branched, compact plant.
When all risk of frost has passed I will acclimatise the Busy Lizzie plants to outdoor conditions over 7 to 10 days, prior to planting in their final positions.

Growing Habit
This robust New Guinea Impatiens is strong growing and mildew resistant so you can rely on a fantastic display from Busy Lizzie ‘Divine’.
Its large flowers in a mix of red, orange, lavender, white and magenta are perfect for adding colour to patio pots and garden borders
Plants should withstanding wet, dry, cold or hot conditions throughout the summer. I can’t help but think they will like a regular drink and some humidity so I plan on a couple of plants in pots in the house and greenhouse.
Height: 30cm (12″). Spread: 35cm (14″)
Busy Lizzie ‘Divine’ flowers endlessly in a bright mix of colours from June to November.