GROW GETTERS

ECHINACEA

ONE of the best perennial flowers for late summer and early autumn is the coneflower, or echinacea. The daisy-like flowers come in a variety of colours, including purple and creamy-white, that surround high brownish-orange cones.YOU will enjoy a more fruitful garden if your flowerbeds attract pollinators such as butterflies and bees, so make sure you include bee balm or monarda in your planting scheme. The variety Cambridge scarlet is a good choice as it produces bright, scarlet flowers growing in a whorl-like cluster on top of tall stalks during July and August.Last spring I divided several grass plants that had been in my landscape for a few years. When I dug out the root mass it was much larger and more dense than I expected. Using a very good digging spade and some real elbow power I was able to chop the root mass into quarters, and I replanted the quarters back into my landscape. That still left many clumps that I wanted to divide into very small plants that I could pot up in 2 quart containers. The root mass was too dense to tear apart with my hands, so I literally got a hammer and a 4� wide mason�s chisel and chiseled off pieces. It worked and I now have a couple of hundred beautiful little grass plants in 2 quart containers.Expert tip: Coneflowers combine especially well with ornamental grasses and achillea or yarrow in a natural prairiestyle planting scheme, and in flowerbeds with globe thistles and bee balm to attract bees and butterflies.Since then I have talked with a friend of mine who works for a large wholesale grower, and he told me that you never want to let an ornamental grass plant get that big if you intend to divide it. He said they plant small divisions in the field in the spring, and dig them up the following spring and divide them again. He assured me that if you get them just 12 months later, they can be easily torn apart by hand.TALL and imposing, these plants are traditionally yellow with red tips but they also come in other colours, including dazzling yellows.HollyhocksExpert tip: Although echinops are perennials, it is best to plant new globe thistles every four years.BEE BALMOne of each variety is good for a start. I find that the best time of the year to divide them is in the spring, just before the new growth emerges. If you buy the stock plants in the early spring, you might be able to divide them right away. If you buy them at any other time of the year, just plant them in your garden or other suitable location, knowing that you are going to dig them up in a few months, or a year or so.Expert tip: Grow these drought-resistant perennials from seed - they thrive in corners and narrow beds.Their fiery, torch-like flowers lend height, vibrancy and drama to any garden, and they work particularly well in planting schemes based on "hot" colours and featuring Heleniums, achilleas, crocosmia and day lilies.Expert tip: Although echinops are perennials, it is best to plant new globe thistles every four years.BLUE flowers will give the garden a welcome cool feeling. Make an instant feature with echinops, partnered with Perovskia atriplicifolia and Sedum matrona.BEE BALMThese tough plants repeat bloom throughout summer, even when there is a drought.They also look fantastic when planted against a background of ornamental grasses and also in dainty, prairies-style planting schemes.They also look fantastic when planted against a background of ornamental grasses and also in dainty, prairies-style planting schemes.pounds How much? Three plants from pounds 18 (www.hayloft- plants.co.uk, 01386 562999).That sounds like a lot more fun than what I went through!ONE of the best perennial flowers for late summer and early autumn is the coneflower, or echinacea. The daisy-like flowers come in a variety of colours, including purple and creamy-white, that surround high brownish-orange cones.

Red hot pokers

Author: Adrienne Wild