Aug 28, 2025

Red Velour and Rozanne - perfect partners

This year's exceptional weather has just been crowned as the hottest on record for the UK and, as gardeners, we’re all seeing the results of the prolonged hot spell. Brown lawns, hosepipe bans, drooping perennials, and premature dropping of tree leaves have made all of our gardens look somewhat dishevelled.

There have been lessons learnt and areas of success however. One noticeable area that remained largely unaffected were our borders, specifically the areas with heavy planting. Despite large numbers of plants in relatively small areas it was the density that enabled these areas to flourish. With the sun unable to dry the soil due to heavy shading from the plants, these areas have remained looking good right through the summer.

Some plants of course thrive - the Mediterranean plants such as lavender have had a wonderful season and the insects and bees that were noticeably absent in last year's wet weather have made a remarkable come-back. Their constant activity on the lavender from dawn to dusk shows what an important source of nectar the plant is for our wildlife.

One other area that is still performing well is a trough planted with the excellent Petunia ‘Red Velour’ at the foot of which is Geranium ‘Rozanne’. They make for a great pairing. Getting sun for just 4 or 5 hours a day, this area isn’t baked as much as others and combined with vigorous growth shielding the bare soil from the sun’s rays, the partnership is simply going on and on and looks as though it’s got at least another month to give.