My Favourite Six Plants for Six on a Saturday

I thought for #sixonsaturday this week, I’d have a look at my favourite six plants. Which six plants could you not be without in your garden? This is a hard one, a really hard one!

There are plants I love when they bloom, like beautiful, blousy Peony Roses and plants which I love for their colour and scent like Lavender and then there’s the red Crocosmia Lucifer which gives that fabulous pop of red at the end of the Summer and oh, the Rhododendrons when they burst into flower!

In order to narrow down the huge selection of plants I have in my garden to six favourites, I am framing the choice with the question: which six plants could you not be without in your garden? So if I only had to choose six, my six would be the following:

Lupins
Lupins, Lupins everywhere – I absolutely love Lupins! They are most certainly in the top plants I just would not be without in the garden. I love their floriferous, jellybean blooms. I have about twelve purple Lupin Persian Slipper and white Lupin Polar Princess in my garden but next year, I will have so many more as I’ve saved loads of seed this year – it’s going to be a #LupinFest! 

Hostas
I love Hostas: the way they lie in wait, dormant under the soil, then spring from the ground, leaping towards a majestic, arching form! I love their huge, glossy leaves; their myriad shades of colour and their end of season spiky, floral finale! 

Foxgloves
The absolutely fabulous Foxglove is one those stunning garden plants that I just could not be without! Their skyscraper stems of blooms bring colour and stature all around the garden and they do well in partial shade which is so useful for lots of areas but especially, at the back of borders which can often back on to hedges or fences.

If you do not have a fabulously showy Foxglove in your garden, I would encourage you to buy one and try it in partially shady spot at the back of a border and wait to be amazed at the prolific floral display! And if you have time to sit with a cuppa and watch, you’ll be further amazed at the amount of bees who will stop by and pop deep into the tubular, bell-like flowers. 

Hardy Geraniums
It’s very hard to overlook hardy Geraniums in the garden for staying power. Geranium Rozanne flowers in my garden from May until October, providing colour, interest and much welcome ground cover to stop the weeds coming through. It really is the gift that keeps on giving and paired with Alchemilla Molis, it’s a winning combination!

Alliums
I planted a dozen or so Allium bulbs last year and loved them so much that I’ve planted almost triple this year in the hopes that year on year, their number will continue to multiply. They were absolutely stunning when they came into flower: tall, stately, elegant – I just loved their pops of purple and plan to thread those pops of purple all around the garden!

Salvias
The Salvia genus is so huge, it’s hard to narrow down a favourite Salvia so I’ve picked two: Salvia Amistad and Salvia Nemerosa.

I use Salvia Nemerosa wherever there is a space. As purple is the dominant colour is my garden, these Salvias Nemerosa Ostfriesland pull the colour through the whole garden and help to unify the different borders. I have them planted in twos then in late May, once they are growing strongly, I give one of the pair the Chelsea Chop. This keeps one in bloom until late July and then just as it is going over, the Chelsea chopped one comes into play. This gives that purple vibe right through to Autumn.

Salvia Amistad is a plant I have fallen in love with this year! I love the statuesque height it gives and the longevity of the purple bloom is quite outstanding – it was in flower since June right through until November. I had some in pots and some in the borders. This is the first year I have grown Salvia Amistad and I am hoping it makes it through the Winter – watch this space!

So, Lupins, Hostas, Foxgloves, Hardy Geraniums, Alliums and Salvias are the top six plants I just could not be without in my garden. Now, here’s the hard part, which six plants could you not be without in your garden? Please do leave your thoughts…