Planting Out Begins For This Year's Summer Display

Following their visit to the Chelsea Flower Show yesterday, the team return to work inspired and ready to create this year's summer displays in the garden. Joined by Danny, a new volunteer to the team, they plant up the border in the corner.  

The signature plants of the Worcester College displays, Banana Plants, are added, these three are the Red Abyssinian Banana, Ensete ventricosum 'Maurelii'. In addition to the bananas, another signature plant is used, the dark purple houseleek tree, Aeonium arboreum 'Schwarzkopf'. The colour of the under planting this year is similar to that of last year's, the warm colours provided by various Rudbeckia, see last year's blog entry 1st August 'The Warm Glow Of Rudbeckia'. (The team were happy with the display last year but felt it could be improved, so have tweaked it a little!). The Rudbeckia have been joined by Marigolds, Calendula officinalis 'Candyman Orange', Tagetes tenuifolia 'Golden Gem', Tagetes tenuifolia 'Paprika', Tagetes patula 'Yellow' and Tagetes patula 'Orange'.

Another border to be planted up today is the one found at the bottom of the quad, but before this could happen the wallflowers had to be dug up, the weeds and debris removed and the border lightly forked through. In the afternoon, and in the pouring rain, the plants, grown from cuttings and seed, were added to the perennial planting. (Why does it always rain when the team plant out this border?, see last year's blog entry 28th May 'In The Pouring Rain The Planting Out Begins').

The favourites, and mainstay planting of this border, are used again this year, Salvia 'Penny's Smile', Diascia personata, Plectranthus argentatus 'Silver Shield' and Osteospermum 'Purple Whirligig'. Other plants used, also favoutites, are Panicum elegens 'Frosted Explosion', Antirrhinum majus 'Royal Bride', Ammi majus 'Graceland' and Cosmos bipinnatus 'Sweet Sixteen'. New plants this year, not used before in the gardens, are Rhodanthe manglesii 'Swan River Mixed', Agrostemma githago 'Milas Snow Queen' and Lavatera trimestris 'Loveliness Mixed'. (Further plants will be added to both of these borders over the coming weeks but they are too small to be planted out at the moment so will remain in the greenhouse for now)