Cape Town - If you pop over to your local garden centre you’ll be greeted with an amazing display of colourful spring annuals. It’s easy to want to purchase as many trays as possible, but with annuals it is important to first plan your spring and summer design.
Where shrubs, perennials and trees provide a backbone in garden design, annuals are the icing on the cake. Most annuals also require a good amount of water through their flowering season so when you are using water sparingly through the dry season, consider smaller areas in your garden that will benefit from a boost of colour, texture and scent.
Using annuals in design
Annuals can be used to create an impact when planted in the garden, or to brighten up the patio. They are very effective in drawing attention to a focal point, like an attractive water feature or garden bench.
Annuals make excellent fillers. Perennials may take a season or two to come into their own, and during this time the areas next to them can look sparse. The right planting of annuals here can be a quick, inexpensive solution to fill up the border.
Annuals in containers
Containers planted up with colourful annuals make an attractive display, in the garden or close to the patio. Choose one plant type in one colour for a bold statement, or create a mix of plants in soft hues for a gentle look.
Colour palette
Colour combinations can match, complement each other or create an eye-catching contrast. Always make sure that when choosing a combination, the plants have the same requirements for water and sun.
Here are guidelines for choosing the colour palette for your garden.
* Bold statement
Complimentary colour schemes are those on opposite sides of the colour wheel, like yellow and purple or red and green. Red flowers can be coupled with low-growing ornamental grasses in bold green or variegated colours. Also striking is a combination of blue and yellow with white, or red with purple.
For height in the border try annuals like hollyhock, African marigold, zinnia, aster, cornflower, for example. For low-growing annuals in full sun, choose petunias in complimentary colours.
* Fiery hues
Yellow, orange and red in different shades can make a bold, energetic statement. This is an analogous colour scheme, those colours that lie next to each other on the colour wheel. In containers, flowers in these shades can look very attractive when placed alongside flowering perennials in purple and blue.
For lower to medium growing annuals in fiery tones, consider marigold, nasturtium, thumbelina zinnia, celosia, etc.
For height in the back of the border, sunflowers can make a striking display. Tall African marigold can also be considered.
* Monochromatic blend
Monochromatic colours are those of a single hue, but in varying shades. Pink and purple annuals work well for this scheme.
Consider a mix of flowers in deep cerise, mid-pink and a baby pink, or deep purple, with lilac or mauve. Choose zinnias, petunias, dianthus, lobelia, impatiens or begonia.
* Soft and light display
For a more romantic display, choose complementary pastel shades of pink, yellow, mauve and powder blue, or any of these paired with white for a fresh and summery look.
Consider cosmos, viscaria, gypsophila, white and mauve alyssum, clarkia, etc.
* Natural tones
Earth tones of brown, bronze, green, gold and tan can produce a rich effect when coupled with cream or light yellow flowers and plants with attractive green foliage.
For this colour scheme also consider gazania, zinnia or marigold in bronze, copper-red or gold.
How to plant annuals
* Plant seedlings in the right conditions according to their needs.
* Dig over the planting bed, include a generous amount of compost and work it in.
* Dig the hole the same depth as the seed tray.
* Water seedlings in the tray, then gently push them up from below.
* Feed seedlings by applying a granular or liquid fertiliser every four six weeks after planting. Water regularly.
Sow your own seeds
* Add compost and dig over the bed. Rake, then water well.
* Larger seeds can be sown directly into the bed. Don’t cover with too much soil, twice the seed’s thickness is ample. Check the seed packaging and follow the directions for the planting depth.
* Mix tiny seeds with a little dry sand or maize meal. Use a sieve or salt shaker to evenly distribute them.
* Give the area a sprinkling of water but don’t soak.
* Keep moist during germination.
Kay Montgomery, Weekend Argus