Two colourful vegetables to grow are the Heirloom Selection of beetroot and Rainbow Silverbeet.
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The bulbs of Beetroot Chioggia have striking pink and white stripes while Burpee’s Golden are a bright orange.
Rainbow Silverbeet with its bright green leaves and red, yellow, white, pink or orange midribs makes a bold splash especially when planted as a group.
Cucumber care
Cucumbers love growing through the hot months so plant seeds into well-drained mounds of soil that has been enriched with aged compost. Water the soil well the day before sowing and keep the soil evenly moist, but not too wet.
Flaming blooms
An eye-catching plant I first remember seeing in the early 1950s in my mother’s garden is Salvia Bonfire. With its bright green leaves and vivid red flowers held proudly on tall stems, it’s still turning heads.
This timeless beauty makes an excellent plant for a border or mass display.
Cucumbers love growing through the hot months ...
Floral favourites
Gaillardias are compact, mounding plants with masses of daisy-like flowers that don’t mind dry conditions once they become well established. The vivid flowers come in colours of dark red, orange, yellow and burgundy and are ideal for borders.
Plant in full sun in well-drained soil and remove spent flowerheads to prolong the flowering season.
Another plant for the summer garden is statice or sea lavender with its stiff, rounded heads of bell-shaped pink, lavender/blue, white or yellow flowers that make an interesting floral display in the garden.
Marguerite daisies come in a kaleidoscope of colours from the subtle to the outright dazzling. These summer flowering plants are popular in gardens because they have a long flowering season and, even when not in flower, the lovely foliage provides an extra foil for other plants.
Plant in a moderately rich soil in an open, sunny position with the crown just level with the surface. Keep well watered during summer. Once planted in the border they can be left undisturbed for years.
Their ability to come away from the base makes it possible to cut back straggly plants very hard. Leave any pruning until early spring as the tender young growth can be cut by frost.
Lisianthus are lovely plants, especially as cut flowers.
These mostly annuals have showy, bell-shaped flowers in shades of lilac, blue, pink, yellow and white and are a favourite flower in wedding bouquets.
Plant in full sun in fertile, moist, well-drained soil.