Planting ideas for Summer Bedding

Planting ideas for summer bedding. Whether you fancy a full-on display for your front garden to rival the displays in parks and public gardens. Or would like to have just a few easy care pots filled with colour. And indeed anything in between, I (hopefully) have some inspiration for you as well as explaining need to know key points.

The Victorians were great ones for summer bedding plants. They went full-on, making the most of the new plant introductions and plentiful, cheap labour. These days the cheap labour is likely to be our own, but that shouldn’t stop us from having fun with an ephemeral display that can be composted afterwards. And I’ve included some ideas for what to do with summer bedding when the season finishes.

Now, it is a great temptation to buy lots of plants for your garden – even garden designers are susceptible! But resist buying a carful of plug plants and then having most of them die as you’ve run out of space and time to bring them on. See links below for blogs with tips for buying plants, a history of bedding plants, caring for plug plants and more.

Summer Bedding Plants or Carpet Bedding?

There can be some confusion over these terms which are often used interchangeably, and indeed there is some cross over between the two. Briefly, carpet bedding when planted up, gives the effect of a colourful carpet and is more usually created with foliage plants. A carpet bedding scheme may be created as a temporary or permanent display.

Whereas summer bedding plants are predominantly used for their colourful flowers. They may be: –

part of a larger planting scheme in the border, mixed in with spring flowering bulbs and shrubs
a seasonal display, for example, given pride of place in a front garden
an array of pots and containers on a patio
used as edging plants
companion planting in a vegetable plot or potager

Planting ideas for Summer Bedding

Firstly, what types of plant are used for seasonal displays? The commonest plants used are tender perennials and half-hardy annuals, although hardy annuals and hardy biennials are also used. Plant suggestions are listed within these categories below, to make it easier for you to choose which type will suit you best. However, remember that many of the tender perennials will be sold as a half-hardy annual.

This is because the tender perennials and half-hardy annuals are frost tender and will need to kept and probably grown on under cover, frost free. If you don’t have anywhere to do this, then avoid buying them as plug plants! Wait until there are small potted plants available which you can plant straight out. Depending where in the country you live, this is usually from late April / beginning of May.

A few planting combinations and ideas are included below, but I will give you a blog with lots more as well.

Definitions of the terms can be found in the glossary.

Tender perennials

Sunnier

Pelargoniums
Also referred to as pot geraniums or Geraniums. Not to be confused with the hardy border Geraniums. Pelargoniums can be found in upright, or bush form; trailing varieties and as scented leaved Pelargoniums. They prefer sunny situations in the garden and are drought tolerant. If you have a conservatory, all the Pelargoniums make excellent houseplants once the weather cools.

Heliotrope
Cherry pie, Heliotropium arborescens, is so called for its delicately scented purple flowers. A cottage garden favourite, it can be given a modern twist by planting with lime green Nicotiana. I’ve had a hit and miss success rate with overwintering over the years, but I have one out of three that’s survived this last winter in a cool, insulated greenhouse.

Nemesia
A pretty flower in a range of colours many of which are scented. This is especially true for container displays in a courtyard or semi enclosed patio where the scent is more noticeable.

Shadier

Begonia
Good rounded foliage, found in both green and an attractive bronze, Begonias will flower until the first frosts. They tolerate shadier spots. Overwinter the tubers in a frost free place; light isn’t critical.

Nicotiana
Nicotiana or tobacco plant is not the sort you can smoke! I particularly like Nicotiana alata ‘lime green’ as it adds a zest to both colourful and white floral schemes and has an evening scent. Grow it in the ground or larger pots. It makes a good addition to cutting gardens too.

Shade

Busy lizzie
The New Guinea impatiens have replaced the previously popular Impatiens walleriana due to Busy Lizzie downy mildew. Like their predecessors these busy lizzies are excellent for floral displays in the shade. In fact if you grow them in the sun you’ll spend all your time watering them…

Half-hardy annuals

Cosmos
A member of the sunflower family, Cosmos has the added attraction of delicate foliage whilst you’re waiting for the flowers to bloom. This makes them ideal to plant in groups threaded through an existing flower border. Easy to grow from seed. However, Cosmos atrosanguineous, chocolate cosmos is a tender tuberous perennial.

Black-eyed Susan
Thunbergia can be both perennial and annual climbers. Black-eyed Susan, Thunbergia alata, is a tropical perennials so is usually grown as an annual climber in the UK. The name comes from the black centres of the rich orange, daisy like flowers. Very decorative when tumbling over an obelisk in the centre of a border.

Hardy annuals

Calendula
Also known as Pot Marigolds. A blast of neon orange at your feet will cheer you up on a dull summer’s day. For those who prefer subtlety in their summer bedding plants, there are soft art shades varieties available too. An excellent companion plant in the kitchen garden, the edible petals add colour to salads and cakes.

Alyssum
Sweet Alyssum, Alyssum maritimum, is tolerant of salt and wind which makes it an excellent choice for a coastal garden.Planted as a surround to scented leaved pelargonium ‘chocolate peppermint’ in a container by your front door it would not only look attractive but give you a delicate waft of perfume from the alyssum flowers and rubbing against the pelargonium foliage would release the volatile oils.

Sweet pea
Lathyrus odoratus, Sweet peas, are normally grown as a scented annual climber. But why not let them dangle from a hanging basket for a change?

Petunia
A great favourite of the summer bedding plant community and carpet bedding schemes, petunias trail in floriferous plenty from hanging baskets in private garden and public spaces. There are even scented varieties available…

Hardy biennials

Sunnier

Sweet William
Sweet William, Dianthus barbatus, have been grown in British gardens for hundreds of years, at least back to the Tudors and Shakespeare’s time. For my taste, they have to be scented, but some of the modern, non-scented cultivars do look lovely.

Sunny, dappled shade

Wallflowers
Erysimum cheiri, biennial wallflowers, are more usually thought of as late spring bedding plants, but many flower right through the summer. They’re available in a range of colours, and it won’t surprise you to know that I like the scented ones best.

Antirrhinum
Snapdragon is the common name for this biennial due to the mouth shaped flower which ‘snaps’ open when squeezed. I am still guilty of playing with the flowers in this way, just as I used to as a child! Antirrhinum majus are one of the taller summer bedding plants and look impressive planted in the border or in a container. Some varieties are short lived perennials.

Vipers Bugloss
A British native species, Echium vulgare is one of the best flowers for attracting bees in to your garden. A favourite of honey bees, all the bee species enjoy nectar from viper’s bugloss and the lilac blue flowers are a treat for human eyes.

Is this an environmentally friendly way to garden?

The term “summer bedding” is pretty suggestive in itself that the plants are only on display for a short time. And we’re familiar with also being sold “winter bedding” and even “spring bedding” This latter being mainly spring flowering bulbs. I have seen “autumn bedding” being sold too. The main difference between the seasonal choices is that the summer bedding plants are tender, and cannot tolerate our wet, cold winters. Some of the late summer / early autumn bedding is likely to be tender too.

Before you start panicking about airmiles, remember that many of the plug plants you buy will have been grown in the UK, and potentially at the nursery where you buy them from. With the more stringent biosecurity and plant import laws coming in, there are likely to be even more British grown plants in the coming years. And of course, if you have the time and space, you could grow many of your summer bedding plants yourself, from seed and from cuttings. (see blog links below)

Ideas for re-using and upcycling bedding plants

That is to say, what to do with them at the end of the season. The hardy plants used may be perennials or annuals. If annuals, you may be able to collect seed. If they’re perennial, then you could leave the plants in place, or lift them and keep to one side in a pot or border for next year’s display. Or indeed pot them up and donate them to a charity plant sale, community garden, etc.

The tender plants used are generally perennials in their native habitat and it can be a challenge to keep them over winter in an unheated greenhouse. But it can be done, although you may not have a 100% success rate, and losses can be composted. You may have some tender plants in your display that would make good houseplants. Again, if you don’t have a use for them, you can donate to friends and good causes.

And finally

Ideal for ringing the changes in the garden, especially where there is a preponderance of evergreens and spring flowering bulbs, summer bedding plants are an essential for many of us.

If you would like help with your own planting ideas for summer bedding in your garden, do get in touch. Plews is able to offer you Garden Design or Planting Design, Gardening Lessons, Garden Consultancy Visit, to suit your needs. Please check out relevant pages on the website for more details

For further gardening advice and inspiration, ideas for bee friendly gardens and more, check out Plews Potting Shed blogs, including the selection below and our monthly Tipsheet You could come and find us on Instagram – @plewsgd Pinterest and Facebook too.

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