Turn up the heat

No comments

Light up your patio with this exotic potful of summer annuals

Light up your patio with this exotic potful of sizzling summer annuals

Ideal for a semi-shaded patio, this hot display is full of fiery blooms that flicker and glow. Plant it now to enjoy a rich feast of flowers until the first frost.

Get the best from this exotic planting combination by siting your pot in a sheltered spot where it will get sun in the morning and dappled shade in the afternoon.

Use three of each plant for instant impact, as we have here, or save money by using one of each and wait a little longer for the pot to fill out.

Reproduced from the June 09 issue of Gardeners' World magazine. This month's issue on sale now. Visit the Gardeners' World magazine site for more top tips
1. Add crocks to the base of your pot, then part fill it with multipurpose compost mixed with a slow-release fertiliser and water-retaining crystals.
2. Tease out the pennisetum roots and position the plants in the centre of the pot, then arrange the zinnias and busy Lizzies evenly around them.
3. Tuck the trailing helichrysums into the remaining gaps and backfill with more compost. Pinch out the growing tips of all the plants to encourage bushiness.
4. Stand the pot on bricks or pot feet for good drainage and site in a sheltered, semi-shaded spot. Water well to help the plants establish and settle the compost.

We used:

- 3 x Zinnia 'Profusion Orange' (around £2.50 each for a 12cm pot)
3 x New Guinea busy Lizzie (around £3 each
for a 12cm pot)

- 3 x Helichrysum petiolare (around £1.50 each for a 9cm pot)

- 3 x ornamental millet, Pennisetum glaucum
'Purple Majesty' (around £3 each for a 12cm pot)

- 38cm Heritage terracotta pot (£19.99, Woodlodge, call 01932 579 100 or visit
www.woodlodge.co.uk for stockists)

- Multipurpose compost

- Slow-release fertiliser

- Water-retaining crystals

All plants available from garden centres nationwide.