Guides / Flowering
Flowering
Plants grown mainly for their flowers.
B
Black-eyed Susan
Rudbeckia fulgida
How to grow rudbeckia, Rudbeckia fulgida. Black-eyed Susan for late summer, the difference between the perennial and the annual sorts, and leaving the seed heads for birds.
Bloody cranesbill
Geranium sanguineum
How to grow Geranium sanguineum. A native hardy geranium for hot dry ground, the shear that brings a second flush, and telling a true geranium from a pelargonium.
Borage
Borago officinalis
How to grow borage, Borago officinalis. Sowing, self-seeding, bee-friendly blue flowers and cucumber-flavoured young leaves.
Border phlox
Phlox paniculata
How to grow border phlox, Phlox paniculata. Scented heads through August, beating powdery mildew by thinning the stems, and the eelworm that kills whole clumps.
Butterfly Bush
Buddleja davidii
How to grow buddleja, Buddleja davidii. The hard March prune that keeps it flowering at eye level, deadheading to stop it seeding across the neighbourhood, and why it feeds butterflies but not caterpillars.
C
Carnation
Dianthus caryophyllus
How to grow Dianthus caryophyllus. The clove scent breeding lost and how to get it back, why the stems snap at the joints, and the difference between border and perpetual types.
Cassava
Manihot esculenta
How to grow cassava, Manihot esculenta. The root that feeds hundreds of millions, why it has to be processed before it is safe, and the difference between the sweet and the bitter kinds.
Catmint
Nepeta x faassenii
How to grow catmint, Nepeta x faassenii. The long-flowering edging plant for dry sun, why cats roll on it, and cutting it back for a second flush.
Chinese peony
Paeonia lactiflora
How to grow peony, Paeonia lactiflora. Why planting it too deep stops it flowering, how to support the heavy heads, and the ants that are not a problem.
Chokeberry
Aronia melanocarpa
How to grow chokeberry, Aronia melanocarpa. A tough shrub with brilliant autumn colour, and fruit so astringent it is named for what it does to your mouth.
Christmas Rose
Helleborus niger
How to grow the Christmas rose, Helleborus niger. Planting, soil, when to cut the old leaves, the diseases to watch for, and why it rarely flowers at Christmas.
Cleavers
Galium aparine
How to identify and control cleavers, Galium aparine. Seedlings, sticky stems, early hoeing and edible young shoots.
Clematis montana
Clematis montana
How to grow Clematis montana. Why it belongs in pruning group one, the size it reaches, why it shrugs off clematis wilt, and why hard renovation can kill it.
Columbine
Aquilegia vulgaris
How to grow aquilegia, Aquilegia vulgaris. Self-seeding, cultivar variation, cutting back after flowering and keeping the foliage fresh.
Common heather
Calluna vulgaris
How to grow heather, Calluna vulgaris. Why it needs acid soil and rainwater, when to shear it, and the difference between ling and the winter-flowering ericas.
Common honeysuckle
Lonicera periclymenum
How to grow honeysuckle, Lonicera periclymenum. Scent at dusk for the moths, keeping the roots cool and the top in sun, and beating the aphids and mildew.
Common Jasmine
Jasminum officinale
How to grow Jasminum officinale. Why it saves its scent for the evening, the warm wall it needs in a cool climate, when to prune it, and the three unrelated plants sold under the same name.
Common poppy
Papaver rhoeas
How to grow common poppy, Papaver rhoeas. The cornfield poppy of Remembrance, why it only appears on disturbed soil, and sowing it so it comes back every year.
Common Sage
Salvia officinalis
How to grow Salvia officinalis. The pruning cut that kills it, why a four-year-old plant stops earning its place, when the leaves taste strongest, and the thujone question.
Coral bells
Heuchera americana
How to grow heuchera, Heuchera americana. Coloured foliage for shade all year, why the crown lifts out of the ground, and dealing with vine weevil.
Cornelian cherry
Cornus mas
How to grow cornelian cherry, Cornus mas. Yellow flowers in February, sour red fruit in late summer, and waiting for it to drop before you pick.
Cow Parsley
Anthriscus sylvestris
How to identify cow parsley, Anthriscus sylvestris. The plain green downy stem that separates it from hemlock, when it flowers, growing it in a wild garden and keeping it in check.
D
Damask Rose
Rosa damascena
How to grow the damask rose, Rosa damascena. Pruning a once-flowering old rose, the difference between summer and autumn damasks, and where rose oil comes from.
Dandelion
Taraxacum officinale
How to identify, use and control dandelion, Taraxacum officinale. The taproot that regrows from a fragment, why bees need it in April, and eating the leaves and roots.
Delphinium
Delphinium elatum
How to grow delphinium, Delphinium elatum. Staking the spires before they need it, keeping slugs off the spring shoots, and the toxicity that has killed livestock.
Dog rose
Rosa canina
How to grow dog rose, Rosa canina. The wild hedgerow rose, picking hips for syrup, why the seed hairs were used as itching powder, and its role as a rootstock.
F
Fennel
Foeniculum vulgare
How to grow fennel, Foeniculum vulgare. The difference between herb fennel and Florence fennel, stopping the bulb bolting, and the yellow flowers that separate it from every poisonous lookalike.
Firethorn
Pyracantha coccinea
How to grow pyracantha, Pyracantha coccinea. Firethorn berries for autumn colour, training it flat against a wall, and living with thorns that puncture rather than scratch.
Florist's Chrysanthemum
Chrysanthemum x morifolium
How to grow chrysanthemums, Chrysanthemum x morifolium. Pinching for bushy plants, disbudding for large blooms, overwintering the stools, and the day length that sets the buds.
Florist's Cyclamen
Cyclamen persicum
How to grow florist's cyclamen, Cyclamen persicum. Why central heating kills it, watering from below, summer dormancy, and the danger in the tuber.
Foxglove
Digitalis purpurea
How to grow Digitalis purpurea. Why it flowers in its second year and then dies, how to keep a colony going, the plant it is dangerously confused with, and the drug it gave us.
French Hydrangea
Hydrangea macrophylla
How to grow bigleaf hydrangeas, Hydrangea macrophylla. The soil chemistry behind blue and pink, why spring pruning costs you the flowers, and the difference between mopheads and lacecaps.
G
Garden Dahlia
Dahlia pinnata
How to grow dahlias, Dahlia pinnata. Starting tubers, staking, deadheading the right buds, protecting shoots from slugs, and whether to lift for winter.
Garden privet
Ligustrum ovalifolium
How to grow privet, Ligustrum ovalifolium. The suburban hedge that takes any abuse, when to cut it, why the berries are poisonous, and its reputation for starving a border.
Giant hogweed
Heracleum mantegazzianum
How to recognise Heracleum mantegazzianum, tell it from common hogweed and cow parsley, remove it safely, and what to do if the sap gets on your skin.
Ground elder
Aegopodium podagraria
How to identify and control ground elder, Aegopodium podagraria. The Roman import that never leaves, why forking it spreads it, and the one method that works.
H
Hedge bindweed
Calystegia sepium
How to identify and control hedge bindweed, Calystegia sepium. Why digging makes it worse, the glyphosate cane trick, and telling it from field bindweed.
Hemlock
Conium maculatum
How to identify hemlock, Conium maculatum. The purple-blotched stem, the mousy smell, how it differs from cow parsley and hogweed, and what to do if anyone has eaten it.
Hemlock Water-Dropwort
Oenanthe crocata
How to identify hemlock water-dropwort, Oenanthe crocata. The most poisonous plant in Britain and Ireland, the parsnip-like root tubers, why dogs die of it after floods and how it differs from watercress and celery.
Himalayan balsam
Impatiens glandulifera
How to recognise Impatiens glandulifera, why it takes over riverbanks, pulling it before it seeds, and the legal duties that come with having it on your land.
Hogweed
Heracleum sphondylium
How to identify common hogweed, Heracleum sphondylium. Telling it from giant hogweed, why its sap can still blister skin in sunlight, and its value to pollinators.
Hosta
Hosta sieboldiana
How to grow hosta, Hosta sieboldiana. Why a thick blue leaf survives slugs when a thin green one does not, growing them in pots, dividing in spring and the shade they want.
I
Italian leather flower
Clematis viticella
How to grow Clematis viticella. The group that resists clematis wilt, why pruning it is the simplest job in the garden, and growing it through a shrub.
Ivy-leaved cyclamen
Cyclamen hederifolium
How to grow hardy cyclamen, Cyclamen hederifolium. Flowers before the leaves in September, the dry shade it thrives in, and buying tubers the right way up.
J
Japanese anemone
Anemone hupehensis
How to grow Anemone hupehensis. Late summer flowers for shade, why it sulks for a year and then runs, and how to get it out of a border once it has spread.
Japanese knotweed
Reynoutria japonica
How to recognise Reynoutria japonica, tell it from its lookalikes, treat it over several seasons, and the legal duties that come with having it on your land.
Japanese pieris
Pieris japonica
How to grow pieris, Pieris japonica. Scarlet new growth in spring, why frost and chalk both ruin it, and the grayanotoxins that make it dangerous to livestock.
Japanese rose
Rosa rugosa
How to grow rugosa rose, Rosa rugosa. The best rose for salt wind and sand, tomato-sized hips you can eat, and why it is now controlled as an invasive species.
Japanese skimmia
Skimmia japonica
How to grow skimmia, Skimmia japonica. Why you need a male and a female plant for berries, the yellowing that means the wrong soil, and its use in winter containers.
L
Lady's mantle
Alchemilla mollis
How to grow Alchemilla mollis. The leaves that hold water like mercury, cutting back for a second flush, and staying ahead of the seedlings it scatters everywhere.
Leatherleaf mahonia
Mahonia bealei
How to grow mahonia, Mahonia bealei. Scented yellow flowers in the middle of winter, blue berries for jelly, and where to put a plant with spines like holly.
Lily of the valley
Convallaria majalis
How to grow Convallaria majalis. Planting the pips, giving it the dry shade it wants, keeping it in bounds, and telling it from wild garlic before anyone eats it.
Lords-And-Ladies
Arum maculatum
How to identify lords and ladies, Arum maculatum. The orange berry spike children eat, the burning mouth it causes, and how to tell it from wild garlic in spring.
M
Mexican Orange
Choisya ternata
How to grow Mexican orange blossom, Choisya ternata. The trifoliate leaves that identify it, twice-yearly flowering, why it sulks in cold wind and the pruning that gets a second flush.
Mistletoe
Viscum album
How to grow mistletoe, Viscum album. Squeezing berries into apple bark in February, why bought sprigs never take, the trees it will accept and how toxic the berries are.
Monkshood
Aconitum napellus
How to grow Aconitum napellus, the most poisonous plant in temperate gardens. Handling it safely, dividing it in gloves, staking the stems, and why the root is the danger.
P
Panicle Hydrangea
Hydrangea paniculata
How to grow panicle hydrangea, Hydrangea paniculata. Why its colour change is about flower age rather than soil pH, and the trade-off between a hard prune for fewer, larger flower heads and a light one for more, smaller ones.
Primrose
Primula vulgaris
How to grow the native primrose, Primula vulgaris. Planting, dividing, pin and thrum flowers, and which primulas cause a rash.
Purple Coneflower
Echinacea purpurea
How to grow Echinacea purpurea. Why it hates being moved, leaving the seed heads for goldfinches, keeping stems upright without staking, and why year one disappoints.
R
Ragwort
Jacobaea vulgaris
How to identify common ragwort, Jacobaea vulgaris. The law that applies to it, why it kills horses through cumulative liver damage, safe removal and why dried ragwort in hay is worse than the living plant.
Rhubarb
Rheum rhabarbarum
How to grow rhubarb, Rheum rhabarbarum. Forcing for early pink stems, why you pull rather than cut, when to stop picking, and why the leaves must never be eaten.
Rosemary
Salvia rosmarinus
How to grow rosemary, Salvia rosmarinus. Drainage above all, pruning without killing it, taking cuttings, and why the botanists moved it into the sages.
Russell lupin
Lupinus polyphyllus
How to grow lupin, Lupinus polyphyllus. Cutting back for a second flush, why lupin aphid arrived and what it does, and the seeds that poison livestock.
S
Spotted laurel
Aucuba japonica
How to care for Aucuba japonica. The gold-splashed shrub that grows in dry shade where nothing else will, why you need two plants for berries, and what causes the black patches.
Stinging nettle
Urtica dioica
How to grow nettles on purpose, Urtica dioica. Picking the tops for the kitchen, siting a patch butterflies will use, making liquid feed, and why the sting works.
Sunflower
Helianthus annuus
How to grow sunflowers, Helianthus annuus. Sowing, staking, why young plants follow the sun and mature ones face east, and the spirals in the seed head.
Sweet Cicely
Myrrhis odorata
How to grow sweet cicely, Myrrhis odorata. The perennial that sweetens rhubarb, its green seeds eaten raw, and why the seed needs a winter outdoors before it germinates.
Sweet Violet
Viola odorata
How to grow sweet violets, Viola odorata. Shade, spreading by runners, the hidden flowers that set the seed, and why the scent seems to vanish.
T
Tree Dahlia
Dahlia imperialis
How to grow tree dahlia, Dahlia imperialis. Why it needs the short days of autumn to trigger flowering, how often frost cuts the canes down before the buds open, and staking the hollow, several-metre stems against an autumn storm.
Tree Peony
Paeonia suffruticosa
How to grow tree peony, Paeonia suffruticosa. Why the graft union is planted 10 to 15 cm deep to let the scion root itself, the frost that can blacken swelling spring buds overnight, and why a young plant can take five years to flower.
W
Wild Parsnip
Pastinaca sativa
How to grow parsnips, Pastinaca sativa. Fresh seed and slow germination, why frost sweetens the root, avoiding canker, and the sap burn nobody warns you about.
Wild strawberry
Fragaria vesca
How to grow wild strawberry, Fragaria vesca. Tiny fruit with more flavour than any garden variety, cropping from June to the first frost, and easy from seed.
Winter aconite
Eranthis hyemalis
How to grow winter aconite, Eranthis hyemalis. Yellow cups in February, why dry tubers rarely establish, and planting it in the green instead.
Winter Jasmine
Jasminum nudiflorum
How to grow winter jasmine, Jasminum nudiflorum. Flowers on bare stems in January, pruning straight after flowering, training a scrambler, and why it has no scent.
Wood anemone
Anemone nemorosa
How to grow wood anemone, Anemone nemorosa. The ancient woodland indicator, why it spreads a few feet per century, and planting it in the green.
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