High summer brings with it peak colour. As the days go by, the garden gradually moves from pastels through to warmer colours. In this arrangement, a mix of pinks with subtle undertones of coral brighten up a simple zinc bucket. The blooms of a clear-pink shrub rose, Rosa ‘The Fairy’, are accompanied by daylilies whose bewitching smudgy tones make up for the fact that these flowers last for only 24 hours.
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How to achieve the look
Container and composition
The colours are everything in this arrangement, and so the simpler the container, the better. This kind of zinc planter is readily available in garden centres and online – if it doesn’t already have them, drill holes in the bottom for drainage.
This is a pot for a sunny location and works especially well against a plain wall or fence, the uplifting palette and range of plant textures brightening up the dullest of backgrounds.
Rosa ‘The Fairy’ is the key player here; planted at the centre of the container, it takes centre stage along with the daylilies, which sit to either side. The origanum goes in next, creating a foil of purple for all those pinks to shine out against.
Geranium Dreamland (= ‘Bremdream’) creates a delicate edging at the foot of the planting, its cup-shaped flowers pinking up the pinks of the roses and harmonising with the silver-grey of the container.
Cultivation and care
Rosa ‘The Fairy’ will bloom continuously: go in with small scissors to deadhead in order to keep the new flowers coming.
The same applies to the daylilies; at the end of the season, remove them and plant them in the garden, as they will soon outgrow the pot. Keep the pot watered; a daily drink in the morning will set it up for the day.
Plants
Hemerocallis ‘Chicago Silver’
Strap-like leaves and purple petals edged with silver, and a green throat. June – August. Height and spread: 75cm x 60cm. RHS H6, USDA 4a-10b†.
Hemerocallis ‘Pink Damask’
A perennial with strap-like green leaves and plentiful flowers of dusky pink with a yellow throat. June – August. 60cm x 60cm. AGM*. RHS H6, USDA 4a-10b.
Rosa ‘The Fairy’
A short, spreading rose with sprays of small, pink flowers and glossy, green foliage. June – September. 80cm x 90cm. AGM. RHS H6, USDA 5a-9b.
Geranium Dreamland (= ‘Bremdream’)
A compact herbaceous perennial with dark-veined, pale-pink flowers. May – September. 40cm x 40cm. RHS H7, USDA3a-8b.
Origanum ‘Rosenkuppel’
Clusters of tiny pink-purple flowers and red-purple bracts. Heavily scented leaves are flushed with purple. 60cm x 60cm. AGM. RHS H7, USDA 5a-8b.
Here's another of Jo Thompson's pots for spring
