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Tag: biennial

Rose or Wallflower?

Rose or Wallflower?

Can you tell what this frosted yellow flower is that is starting to show colour and now getting into full scented blossom? It still thinks it is 2015 and our mild wet weather has contributed to a range of ongoing flowers.

wallflower

This picture with the low wall in the back ground will give the game away.

wall-and-flowers

Tips Growing Wallflowers

  • Plants are biennial growing one year and flowering the next
  • Select your seeds soon and plant them in June or July. As the plants grow pinch out the tops to encourage the plants to be bushy.In autumn plant in there final flowering position
  • Select individual colours rather than mixed packets for a blaze of spring colour. Cloth of Gold is a fragrant yellow, the Bedder series comes in Orange, Scarlet, Primrose and there are Blood Red and White varieties
  • Wallflowers are from the same brassica family as cabbages and it is advisable to plant in a new area each year to avoid club root disease.

Rose buds at Christmas are not all that unusual. This book however contains details of unusual and generally excellent roses.
Book Cover

Some types of Rose include English & Old Roses, Hybrid Teas and Floribundas, Patio & Small Roses, Species and Moss Roses, Shrub Roses, Climbing Roses and Rambling Roses. A rose by any other name would smell as sweet.

Growing Hesperis matronalis Alba

Growing Hesperis matronalis Alba

Hesperis matronalis Alba

Hesperis is a hardy biennial that flowers in blue, purple or white. It is easy to grow from seed and flowers through summer.

  • The main charm is the scent that you get in an evening from the masses of 18″-36″ high plants.
  • Ideal for the middle of borders, Cottage Gardens, Wild Gardens or a Wildlife Garden.
  • Charming large spikes of single flowers attract hoverflies and insects.

Sowing and Growing Instructions

  • Optimum Germination Temperature: 60-65F (15-18C).
  • Sowing Depth: 1/8 Inch (3 mm).
  • Sow in late spring/early summer  thin out or  plant out in their flowering positions in early autumn.
  • Space the plants 30cm (12in) apart in full sun or part shade.
  • Plants self-sow freely in good soil.

Seeds are available to plant now from Thompson Morgan