Summer decoupage

Summer Decoupage

A beautiful summer garden is the result of careful planning. Discover how you can create a summer garden that is both intentional and bountiful with this lesson on summer decoupage.

The major difference between spring and summer is that we work with less quantity in summer.

Foliage

Arthur's number one foliage plant is Panicum 'Sparkling Fountain'. It acts as a wonderful bird feeder and he plants it in almost every pot. 'Red Millet' isn't as clumpy as the Panicum, but it's very useful and much taller and serves as a great compliment to dahlias. The amaranthus family are great foliage plants, particularly 'Red Army', 'Green Trick' and 'Hot Biscuit'.

Nicotiana

The Nicotiana will allow you to introduce some flowers into your shady areas in summer, but they also have a great perfume and, because it's a wonderful lime green colour, it creates a glow through the garden.

Vegetables in the Summer Garden

Vegetables are some of Arthur's favourite things to grow in the garden. So he grows runner beans with beautiful flowers, and tomatoes. It's really useful for them to grow up vertically making good use of small spaces.

Primary Flowers

Arthur's primary flowers to grow to ensure that the garden is full of blooms are Cosmos bipinnatus 'Rubenza' and Scabiosa 'Black Cat' they are his primary choices to grow to ensure the garden is full of flowers.

He also introduces some density so sunflowers are interesting to grow. He has used 'Claret' and 'Ms Mars' as my sunflower varieties. Calendula is a very simple flower with wonderful orange and will go with all the colours really nicely.

Dahlias

The annuals come in as plugs or grow in as seeds. Arthur puts dahlias in as grown plants or as tubers, normally from the end of March to the end of April. They are quick to flower, unlike the large ones.

He has used 'Verrone's Obsidian' and 'Totally Tangerine'. 'Totally Tangerine' is normally the first dahlia to flower. He has also used Dahlia 'Blue Bayou' and 'Bishop of York'.

When to Plant Each Show

The summer show needs to be planted between late May and the middle of June to look gorgeous by August and September. In addition, many summer shows need to be released by the middle of October while the soil is still warm. Therefore, you should allow for an interval between both shows.

Summing Up

Arthur recommends following the recipe of having bold flowers and a few smaller flowers that just consult the bold colours. Always use foliage as the element that knits everything together. If you neglect your foliage, you find that your pots don't look as full and your garden doesn't have the backbone it needs to look as gorgeous and voluptuous as it should do.

Plant Directory

Foliage & Vegetables

• Panicum capillare 'Sparkling Fountain'
• Amaranthus tricolour 'Red Army'
• Dianthus barbatus 'Green Trick'
• Amaranthus cruentus 'Hot Biscuits'
• Panicum miliaceum 'Violaceum'

Vegetables

• Runner beans 'Aurora'
• Pumpkin 'Black Futsu'

Sunflowers

• Helianthus annuus 'Claret'
• 'Ms Mars'

Flowers

• Nicotiana alata 'Lime Green'
• Cosmos bipinnatus 'Rubenza'
• Calendula Scabiosa atropurpurea 'Black Cat'

Dahlias

• 'Verrone's Obsidian'
• 'Totally Tangerine'
• 'Blue Bayou'
• 'Bishop of York'

Bankers

• Dianthus barbatus (Nigrescens Group) 'Sweet William'