Summer Interest Plants

Warmer days and longer daylight hours make summer the season when the garden should be enjoyed in all its splendour. Many plants will be looking their best at this time of year with fresh shoots emerging, flower buds opening, fruit maturing and wildlife buzzing around the garden. Summer is the prime opportunity to undertake the bulk of the gardening jobs for the season with the warm sun on your back, as well as enjoying and appreciating the fruit of your labour.

British Summer Time starts on the last Sunday of March and ends on the last Sunday of October; plants that thrive during this time must be able to endure the summer's long, hot, sunny days. Fuchsia Mrs Popple produces large, attractive, drooping red and dark purple flowers repeatedly throughout the summer and well into autumn. Butterfly bushes (Buddleia plants) have long-lasting, deliciously fragrant purple, lavender, blue, pink or white blooms throughout summer; Buddleia Royal Red is a good choice. Hydrangea Paniculata is a rugged, easy to grow shrub suitable for containers, with fluffy clusters of white flowers that fade to shades of pink and green. Apple trees flower in the summer before producing fruit, whilst blueberry bushes and blackberry plants will be ready for picking.