Half-day project

SUMMER BRIGHTS

Medium gardening

Late spring to summer

Full sun

Moderate watering

Feed every two weeks in the growing season with a general-purpose fertiliser

The simple flowers of anemones, poppies and petunias create an informal combination that is perfect for this gently curved dolly tub. The aim here is to create a kaleidoscope of colour, which is something I normally wouldn’t do, but I think it is really effective here due to the flowers used. These include bright red snapdragons and cerise-pink dahlias, but feel free to experiment with your choice of plants. De Caen Group has particularly vibrant flowers that appear in late spring and puts on a dazzling show. Like the cultivars of Icelandic poppy, also included in the tub, it prefers moist, but well-drained soil. For this reason, I like to add a few handfuls of gravel along with the crocks to improve the drainage (see Planting Techniques). Poppies are charming plants that always remind me of long summer days. The annual Icelandic poppy is a little shorter than some of its larger cousins, but these early, free-flowering plants reliably produce lots of flowers in full sun or partial shade. I also included Tumbelina Susanna, a beautiful blue double-flowered trailing petunia that will cascade down the sides of the tub through the summer.