LITMIR.BIZ

       R. Coates

      An intensely fragrant annual from Southern Europe which looks far more spectacular when illustrated in seedsmen’s catalogues than when seen growing in a garden. The thin, frail stems bear small, irregularly shaped, pinkish-mauve four-petalled flowers. Improved series such as ‘Scentsation’ have white, deeper purple and pale pink among their colours.

      Soil preference: Any

      Aspect: Sun or part shade

      Season of interest: Spring, summer

      Height and spread: 30cm × 16cm (12in × 6in)

      Companion plants: Frequently mixed with Virginian stocks before sowing or grown in a bed under a window or by a door so that the fragrance can be enjoyed at twilight. A positive cocktail of fragrances can be mixed with mignonette and dwarf sweet peas.

      Laurentia axilliaris syn. Isotoma axilliaris or Solenopsis axilliaris

      Tender annual

      Narrow leaves and trailing stems form a shapely dome on which the star-shaped flowers appear over many weeks and exude a gentle but telling fragrance. Interesting varieties include ‘Stargazer Mixed’, whose colours may be white, blue or pink, and the compact ‘Blue Stars’.

      Soil preference: Fertile, free-draining

      Aspect: Sun

      Season of interest: Summer

      Height and spread: 20cm (8in), trailing

      Companion plants: Ideal for hanging baskets, especially if planted with Callibrachoa, Scaevola, ivy leaved pelargoniums or trailing petunias.

      Annuals for low-allergen gardens

      Impatiens glandulifera

      Himalayan Balsam, Policeman’s Helmet Hardy annual

       Heather Angel

      Tall, fast growing annual with fleshy stems and hairless leaves. From early summer onwards, a succession of large, helmet-shaped flowers precedes the pressure-packed seed capsules which explode, when touched, scattering their seed. An invasive plant that can be damaging in the wild, but an unusual garden annual.

      Soil preference: Moist

      Aspect: Part shade

      Season of interest: Summer

      Height and spread: To 1.5m × 45cm (5ft × 1ft 6in)

      Companion plants: Best grown as a marginal or bog plant, with such other large species as Ligularia clivorum or Rodgersias.

      Nigella papillosa

      Hardy annual

      A curious annual with single, five-petalled, dusky blue flowers and very finely divided foliage. The spidery seed heads are as interesting as the flowers, and can also be cut and used dry. Nigella sativa is a similar species, with aromatic seeds which are sometimes used as spices, hence the colloquial name Nutmeg Flower or Roman Coriander.

      Soil preference: Any, free-draining

      Aspect: Sun

      Season of interest: Summer, autumn

      Height and spread: 75cm × 30cm (2ft 6in × 1ft)

      Companion plants: Useful as a border gap filler, where the seedheads can be left to accompany late summer daisies such as rudbeckias and heleniums or goldenrods.

      Scabiosa prolifera

      Carmel Daisy Hardy annual

      A sun-loving scabious which produces a mass of pale yellow flowers followed by dramatic, rounded seedheads whose sepals form cells rather like those of a honeycomb. Excellent for indoor decoration – fresh or dried.

      Soil preference: Any free-draining, reasonably fertile

      Aspect: Sun

      Season of interest: Summer

      Height and spread: 60cm × 20cm (2ft × 8in)

      Companion plants: Pretty in an annual border, perhaps with nigellas, which also have pleasing seedheads and with such annual grasses as Lagurus or Briza maxima, whose drying heads are also handsome.

      Papaver somniferum

      Opium Poppy Hardy annual

      The leaves of opium poppies are bold, ruffled, blue-green and hairless. Many-branched stems produce large conspicuous flowers that are single or double and vary in hue from mauve, purple and pink to crimson or white. Shapely pepperpot seed capsules follow the flowers and persist into autumn. See also pages ref 1 and ref 2 for more poppies.

      Soil preference:

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