Can’t Bare a Bare Spot
April
Borders: How to Knit it All Together
Opium poppies, nicotiana, snapdragons, nasturtiums, marigolds, cow parsly, superbells, and dill
Annuals are the trick to getting a full look to your borders. I grow my annuals from seed and plant them out in June to fill the gaps in the border. Alternatively, a good nursery should carry some pretty varieties of most of these beauties. I love tucking in annuals to add a bit of sparkle, height, and color to the border. If you’re by nature an impatient person (Hello! C’est moi!) using annuals to cover your pesky bare spots of soil will make your border look incredible in a very short space of time.
New Border
For a brand-new border with lots of bare soil, you could try sprinkling an annual meadow mix in the gaps - the ultimate quick and easy fix.
Nigella, Chamomile, Feverfew, Opiu,m Poppies and California Poppies are super easy to sow directly, and will self-seed forevermore.
Opium Poppy
Established Border
Even in established borders, there are always gaps that can be filled with annuals, allowing you to increase the species diversity in your garden and try out different color and flower varieties. For me, this is a huge part of the fun of gardening each spring: trying new annuals from seed for both pots and borders.
Camomile Flower
Many of my favorite annuals have a lax growth habit, but I prefer this style because it weaves and wanders, filling in spaces. I like to leave the power pole flowers, like zinnias, to grow in rows in my raised cutting garden.
THE LIST
These are my go-to annuals that I grow every year because I am a maximalist, and more is always better. Bare spots begone!
All the flowers listed below can be sown from seed now.
Ammi Majus Dara:
This is an absolute favorite of mine! It's beautiful, looks like cow parsley or lady’s lace, and has a beguiling meadowy feel. This is the stunning Dara variety, which is an earthy rich purple. It can look like a slightly ungainly plant if it’s not with the right crowd, so I always tuck it with other tall plants so it won’t look like a giraffe in the garden.
Calendula:
I tuck in Calendula everywhere - to edge the veg beds, in pots, and in the garden at the front where I want a pop of orange, which is usually everywhere, as I think orange goes with everything! They are super quick and easy to grow from seed and can be chucked into the ground wherever you want a bit of POW! There are so many lovely shades, from a rosy pale copper to a rich saffron orange.
HALF HARDIES
Nicotiana:
Oh this one I use with abandone. In pots and beds. Scent is so important in the garden and this delicious plant packs a punch. I grow the white one, and tiny tinker bell one and a true fav called, ‘Lime Green’ and if you deadhead them they will continue flowering until well into September.
Cosmos:
Without fail I grow cosmos every year as it becomes one of the late summer mainstays of the main back garden border. Bright magenta pink ‘Dazzler’ or ‘Rubenza’ are a must because they are strong growers that can compete with the big boys in the border. ‘Cupcake white’, is my new favorite. Gorgeous big blooms with an unmatched flower shape!
Tithonia:
Also known as Mexican sunflower, loves a baking hot spot. This bright and bold daisy-like flower is tall and strong, offering a plate full of nectar to insects, such as butterflies. Branching blooms grace your garden until the arrival of frost.
Plant Pairing #7
Lilly Pot
One of my favorite Pots last summer. The fragrance was incredible, especially intoxicating at dusk.
Ingredients:
3 Bubs: Oriental Lilly ‘Empress’-The Lilly Garden
3 Nicotiana Perfume Antique-From seed.
3 Calibrachoa ‘Over Easy’- Proven Winners
Get Dirty,…. and fill your gaps with goodies!