March Guest Speaker Report

Our speaker this month was Rob Evans from Pheasant Acre Plants based in Llangan. Rob is one of our popular regular speakers and his talk was entitled `Summer colour in the garden`.

We associate bulbs, tubers and corms mainly with spring colour in mind, but there are many that can be planted in the next month or so which will give glorious colour for the summer and into autumn. Dahlias have become very popular again and the range of colours, forms and varieties is vast. 

Gladiolis are very striking plants and there are hardy varieties that can be left in situ, together with more tender cultivars that are good in pots and can be lifted to store over the winter. Freesias are tender and are best planted in pots and overwintered in the greenhouse or a cool conservatory. Agapanthus are a feature plant and are ideal for pots as they like to be pot bound to encourage flowering.  Crocosmia  arewell-known and deservedly popular, being distinctly architectural in foliage and flower, and their seedheads are useful in flower arranging later in the season. 

There are many herbaceous perennials for summer colour and Rob brought along a selection of plants for sale, which didn`t take long to disappear! 

Knautia macedonica  produces a succession of purple-red button flowers balanced on slender stems, blooming in flushes from early summer to mid-autumn. Penstemons  are another must for long-season colour. They hold their foliage over winter, providing the roots and lower stems with protection, and can be cut back in mid-spring. They propagate easily from cuttings. Verbena bonariensis is a tall hardy perennial, bringing height and an  airy feel to a border, flowering in late summer to autumn, and self-seeds readily. Echinops, or globe thistle, are grown for their thistle-like flowers appearing from mid-summer until autumn, and are very undemanding. The flowers are usually blue or white and  carried on stout stems, and are good for cutting and drying. The foliage is dissected and spiny and greyish-white in colour. 

Rob`s talk was supported by a slide show which showed how colourful and beautiful our summer gardens can be. There was a huge turnout for the talk and we thank everyone who attended. There were some new faces too, and we welcome them and hope they enjoyed the evening. Rob will be back later in November with a talk on Christmas flowering bulbs. 

Our next speaker is Anthea  Guthrie with a talk on topiary which will be on Wednesday 30th April at 7.30pm.