Guides / Flowering
Flowering
Plants grown mainly for their flowers.
A
Astilbe
Astilbe x arendsii
How to grow astilbe, Astilbe x arendsii. The perennial for damp shade, why it browns and dies in dry soil, and whether to leave the seed heads through winter.
Aubrieta
Aubrieta deltoidea
How to grow aubrieta, Aubrieta deltoidea. Why it goes woody and bare at the centre instead of rotting, the hard shear it needs straight after flowering, and its life in a dry stone wall.
Australian Pitcher Plant
Cephalotus follicularis
How to grow Cephalotus follicularis, a pitcher plant restricted to a small corner of Western Australia, whose lid confuses prey with false windows of light.
B
Barren Strawberry
Waldsteinia ternata
How to grow barren strawberry, Waldsteinia ternata, a tough shade groundcover with strawberry-like leaves and yellow flowers but no edible fruit.
Basket-of-Gold
Aurinia saxatilis
How to grow basket-of-gold, Aurinia saxatilis. Why its felted grey leaves reflect heat rather than protecting against alpine cold like a Himalayan cushion plant's, its habit of flopping over neighbours, and shearing it back after its early flush.
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.
Bugle
Ajuga reptans
How to grow bugle, Ajuga reptans, a native British woodland-edge plant whose bronze-purple rosettes spread by surface stolons and flower in blue spikes.
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
Cape Sundew
Drosera capensis
How to grow Drosera capensis on a windowsill. Sticky tentacles that bend around trapped prey within the hour, and why it needs no winter rest.
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.
Cobra Lily
Darlingtonia californica
How to grow Darlingtonia californica in a bog garden. Why its roots need cold running water even on a hot day, and how its forked tongue misleads trapped insects.
Columbine
Aquilegia vulgaris
How to grow aquilegia, Aquilegia vulgaris. Self-seeding, cultivar variation, cutting back after flowering and keeping the foliage fresh.
Common Groundsel
Senecio vulgaris
Senecio vulgaris, common groundsel, is a fast weed with rayless yellow flower heads. It is toxic, so learn to recognise and control it.
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.
Cornflower
Centaurea cyanus
How to grow cornflower from seed. Its true-blue flowers, origin as an arable weed, and why it is now rarer in the wild than in gardens that deliberately sow it.
Cosmos
Cosmos bipinnatus
How to grow cosmos from seed. Its ferny foliage, saucer-shaped flowers on tall wiry stems, and why deadheading matters more than feeding for this annual.
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.
Creeping Jenny
Lysimachia nummularia
How to grow creeping Jenny, Lysimachia nummularia, a coin-leaved trailer that will root in a hanging basket or stand in shallow water at a pond edge.
Creeping Phlox
Phlox subulata
How to grow creeping phlox, Phlox subulata. Its needle-like winter foliage from a species name that means awl-shaped, the mildew risk of a woodland-edge native in a still garden corner, and shearing after bloom.
Cretan Bryony
Bryonia cretica
What Cretan bryony is, Bryonia cretica, a red-berried wild climber of the cucumber family with a poisonous root, and how to control it.
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.
E
English Lavender
Lavandula angustifolia
How to grow English lavender, Lavandula angustifolia. Drainage, the pruning cut that keeps it alive, telling it apart from lavandin, and why it is toxic to cats and dogs.
European White Bryony
Bryonia alba
What white bryony is, Bryonia alba, an ivy-like poisonous climber with black berries, and how to identify and remove it safely.
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.
Feverfew
Tanacetum parthenium
How to grow feverfew in a border or cottage garden. Its small white daisy flowers, pungent foliage, and long history as a traditional migraine remedy.
Field Scabious
Knautia arvensis
How to grow field scabious in a border or wildflower meadow. Its lilac pincushion flowers, why chalky soil suits it best, and its value to butterflies.
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.
Foxtail Lily
Eremurus robustus
How to grow foxtail lily, Eremurus robustus. Planting the starfish-shaped root crown on a mound of sand, staking a 2-3 m spike, and why the roots must never be bent.
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.
Goldenrod
Solidago virgaurea
How to grow European goldenrod in a border or wildlife garden. Its late-season yellow spikes, why it is wrongly blamed for hay fever, and its value to autumn pollinators.
Grecian Windflower
Anemone blanda
How to grow Grecian windflower, Anemone blanda. Soaking the knobbly tuber before planting, naturalising a woodland floor, and why the flowers shut on a dull day.
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.
Ground Morning-Glory
Convolvulus sabatius
How to grow ground morning-glory, Convolvulus sabatius, a tender Mediterranean trailer with blue funnel flowers for a hot dry bank or a hanging container.
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
Irish Moss
Sagina subulata
How to grow Irish moss, Sagina subulata, a tiny flowering plant, not a true moss, grown as a mat between paving stones and in lawns that take light foot traffic.
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.
Lewisia
Lewisia cotyledon
How to grow lewisia, Lewisia cotyledon. Why its fleshy leaf rosette collects water, how angled planting keeps rain off the crown, and how to avoid rot.
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
Maiden Pink
Dianthus deltoides
How to grow maiden pink, Dianthus deltoides. Why it comes from dry grassland instead of mountain scree, its short natural lifespan, and telling it apart from other pinks by its toothed, triangular-marked petals.
Mexican Butterwort
Pinguicula moranensis
How to grow Pinguicula moranensis indoors. Sticky summer leaves that catch gnats, and the completely different succulent rosette it grows each winter.
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.
Mossy Saxifrage
Saxifraga x arendsii
How to grow mossy saxifrage, Saxifraga x arendsii. Why its cushion habit suits mountain conditions, its dislike of summer baking, and keeping the mat tight for years.
N
Narrow-Leaved Ragwort
Senecio inaequidens
How to grow Senecio inaequidens, the narrow-leaved ragwort, a long-flowering yellow daisy that is invasive and toxic, and how to control it.
Norfolk Island Pine
Araucaria heterophylla
How to grow Norfolk Island pine, Araucaria heterophylla. Why turning the pot regularly keeps its tiers even, why cutting the leading shoot ruins the shape for good, and telling normal lower-branch dieback from the early signs of root rot.
O
Ohio Spiderwort
Tradescantia ohiensis
How to grow Tradescantia ohiensis, the prairie spiderwort or bluejacket, a hardy North American perennial with waxy blue-green foliage.
Oriental poppy
Papaver orientale
How to grow oriental poppy, Papaver orientale. Huge silk flowers in May, what to do with the gap it leaves in July, and propagating from root cuttings.
Ox-Eye Daisy
Leucanthemum vulgare
How to grow ox-eye daisy in a wildflower meadow or border. Its classic white and yellow flowers, why it needs lean soil, and how it differs from Shasta daisy.
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.
Perennial Candytuft
Iberis sempervirens
How to grow perennial candytuft, Iberis sempervirens. Why its evergreen leaves sit on a woody subshrub, the light annual trim it needs instead of a hard renovation cut, and its Mediterranean roots.
Persian Buttercup
Ranunculus asiaticus
How to grow Persian buttercup, Ranunculus asiaticus. Soaking the claw-shaped tuber before planting, avoiding rot in wet soil, and its long history as a cut flower.
Peruvian Lily
Alstroemeria aurea
How to grow Peruvian lily, Alstroemeria aurea. Deep planting to protect the tuberous roots, why you pull stems instead of cut them, and the twisted leaves that identify it.
Phacelia
Phacelia tanacetifolia
How to grow phacelia as a green manure or pollinator flower. Its curled purple-blue flower spikes, fast growth, and why it is one of the best bee plants you can sow.
Pot Marigold
Calendula officinalis
How to grow pot marigold from seed. Its edible orange petals, long history in the kitchen and dye pot, and why deadheading keeps it flowering into autumn.
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.
Purple Pitcher Plant
Sarracenia purpurea
How to grow Sarracenia purpurea in a bog garden. Winter dormancy, rainwater only, and the tiny food web living inside every water-filled pitcher.
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.
Rainbow Plant
Byblis liniflora
How to grow Byblis liniflora indoors. Sticky thread-like leaves that flash rainbow colours in sunlight, and why this carnivorous plant lives for one season only.
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.
Rock Jasmine
Androsace sarmentosa
How to grow rock jasmine, Androsace sarmentosa. Why its silvery, hair-covered rosettes rot from water trapped in the leaf surface instead of the soil, watering from below, and its extreme Himalayan origin.
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.
Round-Leaved Sundew
Drosera rotundifolia
How to grow Drosera rotundifolia in a bog garden. The hibernaculum that gets it through a frozen winter, and why it rarely survives long as a houseplant.
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
Sea Thrift
Armeria maritima
How to grow sea thrift, Armeria maritima. Why it tolerates salt spray and coastal wet that would kill most alpines, its clean shear-off deadheading, and the heavy clay that harms it.
Snow-in-Summer
Cerastium tomentosum
How to grow snow-in-summer, Cerastium tomentosum, a silver-leaved mat that disappears under white flower each June and thrives on poor, dry, lean soil.
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
Tansy
Tanacetum vulgare
How to grow tansy in a border or wildlife garden. Its button-like yellow flowers, aromatic fern-like foliage, and why it needs firm control to stop it spreading.
Teasel
Dipsacus fullonum
How to grow teasel in a wildlife garden. Its spiny architectural seed heads, goldfinch appeal in winter, and the historic use that gave it its name.
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.
V
Venus Flytrap
Dionaea muscipula
How to care for Dionaea muscipula. Pure water, winter dormancy, full sun, feeding and the trigger hairs inside each trap.
Virginia Spiderwort
Tradescantia virginiana
How to grow Tradescantia virginiana, the classic garden spiderwort and parent of the border hybrids, a hardy clump-former with violet three-petalled flowers.
W
Wall Bellflower
Campanula portenschlagiana
How to grow wall bellflower, Campanula portenschlagiana. How it roots into lime mortar joints with almost no soil at all, why it self-seeds into paving cracks readily, and keeping an enthusiastic coloniser in bounds.
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.
Y
Yarrow
Achillea millefolium
How to grow yarrow in a border or wildflower meadow. Its feathery foliage, flat pollinator-friendly flower heads, and long history as a wound herb.
Yellow Pitcher Plant
Sarracenia flava
How to grow Sarracenia flava, the tallest of the American pitcher plants, whose nectar contains a narcotic alkaloid also found in hemlock.
Z
Zinnia
Zinnia elegans
How to grow zinnia from seed. Its bold, long-lasting cut flowers, why good air circulation matters more than feeding, and how to keep powdery mildew off the leaves.
Zonal Geranium
Pelargonium zonale
How to grow zonal geraniums, Pelargonium zonale. Overwintering, deadheading, why they are not geraniums at all, and the watering habit that causes blackleg.
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