10 PRETTY IN PINK EASY BORDER PLANTS
For instant impact in a new border, plug the gaps between choice perennials with no-fuss groundcovers and easycare annuals that flower their socks off all summer
1. Pink cosmos
Cosmos bipinnatus
For fast, cheap height at the back of my border I planted a lucky dip of plain pink, cerise and crimson-dipped ‘Candy Stripe’ cosmos. I only wish I hadn’t transplanted them in such a neat line down the guts of the border, as their ferny foliage now looks like a green mohawk.
2. ‘Purple Bicolor’
Tropical Tamarinda impatiens
Friends with green fingers and good taste have all agreed that this garishly flamboyant New Guinea impatiens makes a surprisingly chic underplanting for the classy, purple-foliaged, small tree Cercis canadensis ‘Forest Pansy’. Opposites do attract – I’ve planted both in a trio of half wine barrels.
3. ‘Mary Rose’
David Austin English rose
Why choose this sweetly scented, girly pink rose over all others? Because, by chance, my local garden centre had 15 blooming healthy bushes – just how many I needed. ‘Mary Rose’ repeat blooms well and smells of “honey, old rose and almond blossom”.
4. Daisies
‘Carmine Supernova’
Most perennial daisies prove themselves to be annuals in my garden (if I cut them back before winter, they die; and if I don’t cut them back, they die). I’m hoping to have better luck with this Federation daisy, which has zingy crimson flowers that fade to a pretty pink as the season progresses. It’s useful for picking too.
5. Society garlic
Tulbaghia violacea ‘Silver Lace’
Also known as pink agapanthus (though no relation), this dainty South African clump-forming perennial has strappy variegated leaves and 40cm-tall flowers in palest pink. In pre-toothpaste days, society garlic was chewed as a breath freshener but I’m not convinced that its pungent garlicky aroma smells any better than halitosis. I sourced my plants from Green Rose Nurseries, 1226 Paerata Road, Pukekohe.
6. Diascia
Diascia ‘Apple Blossom’
Look closely at a diascia’s individual flowers and you’ll see two pointy nectar tubes, like horns on the backs of their heads, giving rise to the common name of “twin spur”. ‘Apple Blossom’ is a great doer, smothering itself in hundreds of tightly packed spring flowers to the point where no foliage can be seen. Then hack it back hard and watch it repeat bloom.
7. Happitunia
‘Bubblegum Pink’
Happitunia is an invented name for a range of high-performing petunias sold under the Aussie Winners brand – and let me tell you that these petunias would make any gardener happy. They flower for 10 months of the year in my garden and just get bigger and better each year. The three-year-old plants in my rose garden formed a colourful mound well over 2m wide before I reluctantly cut them back.
8. Lavender
Lavandula ‘The Princess’
Although I long to grow proper English lavender (Lavandula angustifolia) for picking, it refuses to thrive in our wet climate – so I’m consoling myself this season with this gorgeous new hybrid instead. ‘The Princess’ was bred in Australia and has large, ruffled hot pink bracts. It’s fragrant and the bees go crazy for it.
9. Calibrachoa
‘Superbells Double Rose’
This pint-sized petunia has delightful double flowers – and masses of them. I’ve planted it at the very front of my border, so it can spill over the edge without being overwhelmed by bigger, brasher groundcovers.
10. Butterfly Bush
Gaura ‘Lillipop Pink’
Perennial gauras are lovely wild meadow plants but they have a habit of getting too tall and scraggly in a border. ‘Lillipop Pink’, however, stays compact to 50cm tall) and responds well to a twice-yearly clip. The stems and foliage have deep burgundy undertones for extra interest.
MAXGAX.COM
For instant impact in a new border, plug the gaps between choice perennials with no-fuss groundcovers and easycare annuals that flower their socks off all summer
1. Pink cosmos
Cosmos bipinnatus
For fast, cheap height at the back of my border I planted a lucky dip of plain pink, cerise and crimson-dipped ‘Candy Stripe’ cosmos. I only wish I hadn’t transplanted them in such a neat line down the guts of the border, as their ferny foliage now looks like a green mohawk.
2. ‘Purple Bicolor’
Tropical Tamarinda impatiens
Friends with green fingers and good taste have all agreed that this garishly flamboyant New Guinea impatiens makes a surprisingly chic underplanting for the classy, purple-foliaged, small tree Cercis canadensis ‘Forest Pansy’. Opposites do attract – I’ve planted both in a trio of half wine barrels.
3. ‘Mary Rose’
David Austin English rose
Why choose this sweetly scented, girly pink rose over all others? Because, by chance, my local garden centre had 15 blooming healthy bushes – just how many I needed. ‘Mary Rose’ repeat blooms well and smells of “honey, old rose and almond blossom”.
4. Daisies
‘Carmine Supernova’
Most perennial daisies prove themselves to be annuals in my garden (if I cut them back before winter, they die; and if I don’t cut them back, they die). I’m hoping to have better luck with this Federation daisy, which has zingy crimson flowers that fade to a pretty pink as the season progresses. It’s useful for picking too.
5. Society garlic
Tulbaghia violacea ‘Silver Lace’
Also known as pink agapanthus (though no relation), this dainty South African clump-forming perennial has strappy variegated leaves and 40cm-tall flowers in palest pink. In pre-toothpaste days, society garlic was chewed as a breath freshener but I’m not convinced that its pungent garlicky aroma smells any better than halitosis. I sourced my plants from Green Rose Nurseries, 1226 Paerata Road, Pukekohe.
6. Diascia
Diascia ‘Apple Blossom’
Look closely at a diascia’s individual flowers and you’ll see two pointy nectar tubes, like horns on the backs of their heads, giving rise to the common name of “twin spur”. ‘Apple Blossom’ is a great doer, smothering itself in hundreds of tightly packed spring flowers to the point where no foliage can be seen. Then hack it back hard and watch it repeat bloom.
7. Happitunia
‘Bubblegum Pink’
Happitunia is an invented name for a range of high-performing petunias sold under the Aussie Winners brand – and let me tell you that these petunias would make any gardener happy. They flower for 10 months of the year in my garden and just get bigger and better each year. The three-year-old plants in my rose garden formed a colourful mound well over 2m wide before I reluctantly cut them back.
8. Lavender
Lavandula ‘The Princess’
Although I long to grow proper English lavender (Lavandula angustifolia) for picking, it refuses to thrive in our wet climate – so I’m consoling myself this season with this gorgeous new hybrid instead. ‘The Princess’ was bred in Australia and has large, ruffled hot pink bracts. It’s fragrant and the bees go crazy for it.
9. Calibrachoa
‘Superbells Double Rose’
This pint-sized petunia has delightful double flowers – and masses of them. I’ve planted it at the very front of my border, so it can spill over the edge without being overwhelmed by bigger, brasher groundcovers.
10. Butterfly Bush
Gaura ‘Lillipop Pink’
Perennial gauras are lovely wild meadow plants but they have a habit of getting too tall and scraggly in a border. ‘Lillipop Pink’, however, stays compact to 50cm tall) and responds well to a twice-yearly clip. The stems and foliage have deep burgundy undertones for extra interest.
MAXGAX.COM