Recommendations please for border

Fairygirl · September 2021

The south coast has a very different climate to the west midlands.

I certainly wouldn't be sticking tiny plugs of Gaillardia from T&M in a border at this time of year. In the west midlands. In clay.

Dovefromabove · September 2021

Jac19 said:

Hi, and welcome. I am new here, too. And I was very much where you are today a year ago.

Plants I have grown to love that have long flowering periods are as below.

Salvia (common name Sage): I love the red flowered "Royal Bumble" which attracts bumble bees and hummingbirds.
https://middletonnurseries.co.uk/salvia/salvia-royal-bumble

Also love these Bluebeards, which grow high up to about 70 cm and attract bees.
https://www.crocus.co.uk/search/_/search.bluebeared/sort.0/

Gaillardias keep short and bushy, growing up to about 30cm. They produce glorious, bee attracting flowers.
https://www.jparkers.co.uk/catalogsearch/result/?q=Gaillardia

Envious of your hummingbirds on salvias on the south coast of the UK. 😉

But planting gaillardia plugs outside in the autumn in the West Midlands … that’s just feeding slugs … I’d pot them up into small pots topped with grit and overwinter them in the coldframe. Plant out in the spring when the soil has begun to warm up (usually by early May) and they’ll romp away. 😊

Jac19 · September 2021

Ah, yes. I bought and planted the Gallardias in April. I used slug pellets early on, but I stopped soon because there is a hedgehog who comes to eat them at night. I let him look after the slugs by leaving bits of hedgehog biscuits out for him.

I've got some Gaura in there at the back.

Recommendations please for border

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