5 Tall Flowers for Midsummer Gardens

5 Tall Flowers for Midsummer Gardens is here to inspire you and give you ideas for planting designs and flower combinations for your summer borders. By tall, I mean plants whose flower stems grow to over a metre. In fact for this selection, it’s safe to say they are able to reach one and a half metres tall, possibly more.

Which flowers do we have? I’ve given you the Botanical Latin name first as these beauties do share common names with other plants that are not necessarily tall or summer flowering. And I’ve tried to suggest flowers you may not immediately think of – which is why I haven’t included sunflowers (but there is a separate blog on those, see link below) In alphabetical order we have –

Anthriscus sylvestris ‘Ravenswing’, Black Cow Parsley
Cephalaria gigantea, Giant Scabious
Papaver somniferum, Opium Poppy
Tragopogon porrifolius, Purple Salsify
Valeriana officinalis, Common Valerian

I’ve given you a selection of annual flowers and herbaceous perennials so that whether you’re starting a with a new garden to last you years, or need a short term fix, there should be something to fit the bill.

Growing Tall Flowers for Midsummer Gardens

But before we start looking at each of the flowers in more detail, lets look at some general cultivation tips.

Soil
Although they are all happier with fertile soil, and will give you more flowers if growing in such, they will tolerate and flower in less nutritious soil. The soil pH – whether it is acid or alkaline – is not too important. As long as the soil where you’re planting is within a range of pH 5 – 8 it should be fine.

Aspect
By which I mean sun or shade. Cultivation requirements on seed packets can be confusing, so I’ll let you into a secret. These plants will grow where they receive morning sun, afternoon sun, all day sun or dappled shade. The more important factor is the strength of the sun. For example, in a sheltered garden which is a sun trap, they’ll appreciate some shade, particularly the Valerian and Anthriscus.

Watering
If you’ve sown seed directly into the ground where the plants are to flower, do not bother to water in a damp spring. In fact, unless we have a heat wave, don’t worry about watering at all. The exception would be the Giant Scabious, which is the longest lived plant of the bunch. This will need watering until established, but from its second year should be fine without unless it gets a lot of afternoon sun and little rain. Even then it won’t need much.

And now, a bit more about each of the tall flowers for midsummer gardens!

Anthriscus sylvestris ‘Ravenswing’

Black, or purple cow parsley is an ornamental garden cultivar developed from our native cow parsley. The native loves the dappled shade of woodland and the bright sun of roadside verges, and the cultivar is equally amenable. But dark stems, lacy, deeply cut purple foliage and creamy flowerheads make this a very pretty addition to the flower border.

The native cow parsley is a favourite choice for naturalistic planting schemes. Anthriscus sylvestris ‘Ravenswing’ adds a touch of class, and is perhaps more acceptable in a wildlife garden border. However, the seeds from home grown plants do not always come true so you may find green rather than purple foliage in self-sown plants.

Giant Scabious

Cephalaria gigantea, Scabiosa gigantea – I wrote a blog about this wonderful architectural plant some years ago – see link below. Suffice to say, I still consider it a very garden worth y plant, fascinating in bud, flower and seed head, with foliage interest too.

As a herbaceous perennial, it comes into its full height after about 3 years. That’s me in the pic – I’m 5 foot tall to give you an idea!

Papaver somniferum

The Opium Poppy has distinctive grey-green foliage and is taller than most other poppies (which is why I’ve included it in our list of 5 tall flowers for midsummer gardens!) Theoretically white or lilac in colour, there are numerous cultivars and garden seedlings, so there are single and double flower forms; laciniate, fringed petals. Colours may also be pink, red, purple and purple-black.

They are one of my favourite poppies, one year the front garden was awash with single and semi-double lilac poppies for a month – a lovely sight for passers-by.

Tragopogon porrifolius

Purple Salsify, Tragopogon porrifolius, is not the cultivated root vegetable salsify, which is Spanish salsify, Scorzonera hispanica, black salsify. Both are in the Asteraceae family but are different genus (the first part of their name).

This one of our tall flowers for midsummer gardens is grown for its ornamental and pollinator friendly flowers rather than for an edible root. The root is edible, as are the flowers and leaves. Indeed historically, it is the leaves which are eaten, either cooked or raw since at least the Roman Empire.

The fluffy seedheads are attractive too, but are lightweight and easily blown over the garden fence into your neighbour’s garden. So far my neighbours have been pleased, but if yours are less so, remove the seedheads before they open.

Valeriana officinalis

Common Valerian, the term ‘common’ denoting a native species; the epithet ‘officinalis’ telling us the plant has or was believed to have a medicinal use. Indeed you may know of this plant as a herbal remedy for insomnia, as it is still used for this purpose.

This pretty plant with lightly, almost vanilla, scented flowers should not be confused with the plant often referred to as valerian. This latter garden plant is Centranthus ruber, and self seed to be seen growing out of garden walls in the western regions of the UK.

Valeriana officinalis is a herbaceous perennial that will flower from the first year if sown early enough. It will also self seed in the garden.

Where You could Grow Your Tall Flowers for Midsummer Gardens

Anywhere in the garden you want to is one (unhelpful?) suggestion. But it is fair to say that groups of these flowers – one type or a combination of them – will add seasonal height to mixed flower border.

Wildlife and Pollinator Friendly Gardens

These flowers haven’t been chosen purely on height, they are all pollinator friendly – bees, hoverflies, butterflies and more. As such, this makes them ideal for wildlife friendly gardens and pollinator friendly planting schemes. Agreed, they’re not all native species or cultivars of native species but they do provide a food source for a wide range of bugs and birds. The seed heads are popular with the Finch family of birds, including sparrows.

Cottage Gardens

Our selection will also look good as part of a cottage garden planting design. The soft foliage and simple flower shapes suit this informal planting style. I do like to mix cottage garden style planting within the confines of a low clipped evergreen hedge. This ‘keeps it tidy’ and provides interest during the winter when the herbaceous flowers have died down.

Cut Flower Gardens

However, you may not have expected me to tell you that they are also useful and pretty as cut flowers. Some are more stalwart than others, the poppies for example are best picked for cut flowers before being full open.
The valerian and cow parsley also make good dried flower arrangements, along with the poppy seedheads.

Sensory Garden

To a lesser degree, perhaps. There is some movement in a breeze, and two of them are sweetly scented. They would work as part of a block of purple or of white to add contrast for visually impaired.

Kitchen Gardens

Mainly as companion planting to encourage pollinators to the edible crops, although the salsify has a place here as an edible plant.

Herb Garden

The valerian and opium poppy fit particularly well, so too does the purple cow parsley the leaves of which taste a bit like a spicier chervil (to which it is related).

Front Gardens

If you’re not sure about committing to these plants as part of your main planting scheme, why not give them a whirl in your front garden instead? Whilst this is your ‘public’ garden, its generally a smaller space and it can be fun to experiment with planting combinations and flowers here.

Container Gardening and Balconies

It is perfectly possible to grow our tall flowers in pots – but they need to be large ones to balance the height of the flower stems. And, with the exception of the purple salsify and the opium poppy, the plants have large leaves especially at the base, so you’ll need a wide rather than tall pot for balance.

One last comment on growing and caring for our tall flowers for midsummer gardens. They shouldn’t need staking, despite being relatively tall. However, if you have a particularly windy garden it may be advisable to do so.

If you would like help with turning your garden into a waving delight of colour for the midsummer months, do get in touch. Plews is able to offer you Planting Designs, Gardening Lessons, Garden Design or Garden Consultancy Visit to suit your needs. Please check out relevant pages on the website for more details

And for further gardening advice and inspiration, check out Plews Potting Shed blogs, including the selection below – You could come and find us on Instagram Facebook and Pinterest too!