Gardening: What’s best in a Summer Bedding?

At last it’s June and that officially means no more frosts and the seasonal summer bedding can be planted out in abundance!

I like to add these flowers to existing planting and pots for a bit of colour and variety but my favourites are wild flowers and hardy annuals. 

What is summer bedding?

The term summer bedding originates from Victorian times and many still traditionally plant beds of organised summer flowering plants. You can see this type of planting in parks, gardens, roundabouts and outside stately homes and botanic gardens. It has become less popular in gardens as we move towards a more wildlife friendly type of gardening. These plants are great when filling gaps in borders, and adorning the patio in pots and baskets. Then we get to enjoy them all summer long!

Should I have tender perennials or annuals?

This always causes confusion as Pelargoniums and Petunias are tender perennials sold as annuals. Meaning they are not frost hardy and need to be over wintered inside or bought new each year. Cosmos and Tagetes are half-hardy annuals. These need to start growing in the greenhouse and will die at the end of the season. Most summer bedding plants need feeding, watering and dead-heading to maintain flowering. Take particular care with the hanging baskets which may need plunging into a bucket of water to rehydrate!  

Fuchsias: perfect for summer bedding

These deserve a special mention as they are one of many shrubs people use for summer bedding. They can be hardy – Fuchsia magellanica which can stay out all winter. Or tender – most of the summer bedding ones with cultivar names like ‘Dancing Flame’ and ‘Lady Thumb’. The tender need winter protection. It’s all about where they grow in their native habitat. They flower non-stop all summer and are well worth investing in. 

Can my houseplants be put outside in summer?

Often spider plants and other houseplants can be put outside in containers during the summer. But be careful to acclimatise them as, like us, they can get sunburnt! 

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