Ideas for perennials

[Mamanchien]

Hi, I’m looking for ideas for perennials to fill gaps between cornflowers and chives in a veg patch border, preferably pollinator-friendly, cottage-garden type plants. The border is about 30 cm wide and 150 cm long. The planting area is exposed, summers can get very hot (30 deg +), there’s also the potential for lots of rain. Any ideas off the tops of your heads, please? I’ll also pop out to the garden centre this afternoon and see what looks suitable. Thanks in advance for any ideas.

You might like verbena bonariensis as bees and butterflies love it and it will self sow merrily. Hardy geraniums are classically cottage garden plants, will spread to form a mound, and are also insect friendly and come in an aray of colours. Achilea is really pretty and fits your criteria and there's masses of choice in colour for those. Garden centres sometimes do 3 for 2 type offers on these sort of plants so you might be lucky. I'm sure it will look lovely whatever you choose!

Thanks @CheerfulBunny, those are just the types of plant I like. I’ll post a pic if I manage to find anything!

Things like gaura and astilbe would be good. I've bought some gazanias today so will give those a try.

Geum, globe thistle, aquilegia, perennial wallflower, centaurea montana, polemonium, Veronica

That's just what I can see, in flower, from my desk, now

But ask at the garden centre and hopefully they have a person like me who actually knows about plants and what suits what conditions (apparently I'm not the norm)

polemonium is a very under rated plant....mine is stunning. love it

I love Bressingham purple and the wild type but have to admit I wasn't that enamoured with the jazzy Kaleidoscope etc @MontysRoseGarden

Hi all, thanks for taking the time to help! I’ll make a note of all these suggestions as there’s loads of places I’d like to add some flowers.
I went to two garden centres yesterday. Got campanula muralis, verbena bonariensis, dwarf iris, max chrysanthemum, savory, lupins (but I think they’ll look better elsewhere) and then rose campion (for elsewhere). My head was spinning by the end! Will post a pic in a bit. Will be in and out of the garden all day).

Well, not a perennial but with those conditions what about some other edibles like herbs such as thyme ? You could also try some unusual herbs like Thai basil or Vietnamese coriander. Handy to pick a few leaves when you're harvesting veg for dinner.

Oh seen you've already shopped. Enjoy anyway!

Hi @TiddleTaddleTat, great minds think alike . I was thinking of adding some thyme! I’ve already shopped for the moment. But we all know the lure of garden centres

Salvias all the way!

Oooh I love a spend up at the garden centre! Sounds like you've got a nice haul. Someone around the corner from me has nothing but the campanula in their front garden, masses of it, and it's beautiful. Such a vivid colour.
I am trying to resist the temptation of lupins. I've spent so much on plants lately!

I went in search of manure today and found a small independent nursery near me. Bought a fabulous looking Veronica which has pale blue flowers, a rosemary and some lily of the valley.

Hi, here’s a pic. It isn’t massively interesting for the moment but hopefully the plants will grow well. I also underestimated the space in my desire to plant stuff . But no biggie, these things take time. Thanks again for your suggestions - there’s still space for lots more.

Hi @MotherOfGodWeeFella, I really need to check out the local independents. Been a bit lazy on that score - but they’d be better for plants that are suitable for the local environment. Your purchases sound great. Would also like to work out a plan for transporting manure in my small car. Maybe by lining the boot and then filling up some rubble sacks?

@CheerfulBunny It’s too easy to spend a lot on plants. And seeds. Seeds have been my big weakness this year. Yet another pack of mixed leaves? Oh, go on then!

@WellTidy Thanks! Salvias are going on the list!

@Mamanchien

Hi *@MotherOfGodWeeFella*, I really need to check out the local independents. Been a bit lazy on that score - but they’d be better for plants that are suitable for the local environment. Your purchases sound great. Would also like to work out a plan for transporting manure in my small car. Maybe by lining the boot and then filling up some rubble sacks?

I've got some flexi buckets (really useful for lots of jobs) so would fill a couple of those and put them in the boot of the car with the back seats down and a tarpaulin underneath. You can get a tarpaulin from Screwfix etc for about a fiver.

@MontysRoseGarden and @Harrysmummy246 polemonium looks very pretty, thanks!

@MotherOfGodWeeFella Thanks, will check out the flexi buckets. Need to see if I can hold of some manure, locally. A guy in the village I say hi to keeps horses - I sometimes see him grooming one of them in his front garden . And the gaura you suggested upthread is going on my list for next time.

@Harrysmummy246 Actually I think I got confused between cornflower and mountain cornflower (still learning) - it’s actually the latter that I already have. Great! Plus some aquilegias that are self-seeding everywhere this year (and I didn’t know what they were called). Globe thistle is stunning!

Seeds (and young plug plants) are my weakness too @Mamanchien. I dread to think how much I've spent with Thompson and Morgan etc over the last twelve months. Some delphiniums and achilea 'Cerise Queen' turned up in the post today so they've been potted up along with some refugees from the propagator and put in the little greenhouse I got for Christmas last year. My OH just rolls his eyes when the postman keeps turning up with them..
If you like seed catalogues, Chiltern Seeds' latest one is just beautiful, as are Sarah Raven's. I am already planning next year's wish list!

Perennial wallflowers (I think they are usually purple) flower for ages and are ok in sun, also nepeta, lavender and Rosemary.

@Quincie that's Bowles mauve. There are other perennial wallflowers too