Nigel Colborn - Plant Solutions

An unassuming little plant from Southern Europe, with simple leaves and spikes of tiny greenish flowers, each with a tuft of orange stamens. The plant’s main distinguishing feature is its sweet fragrance, making it perfect to plant near an outdoor seating area. Attractive to moths and other nectar-seeking insects.

Soil preference:Any, fertile, free-draining

Aspect:Sun, part shade

Season of interest:Summer

Height and spread:45cm × 20cm (1ft 6in × 8in)

Companion plants:Pretty among such annuals as calendulas and Nigella or perhaps in a fragrant border with roses, pinks and nicotianas.

Nemesia cheiranthus ‘Masquerade’

Half hardy annual

An odd-looking relative of the more familiar bedding plant whose branching stems bear bicoloured flowers with elongated, narrow upper petals in white, contrasting with broad, two lobed lower petals which are yellowish orange. The plant has a the rich fragrance of roasted or candied coconut.

Soil preference:Fertile but free-draining

Aspect:Sun

Season of interest:Summer

Height and spread:30cm × 20cm (12in × 8in)

Companion plants:An interesting plant for a hanging basket, perhaps planted with golden flowered Bidens ferulifolia or with Lamium ‘Golden Anniversary’.

Tagetes lucida

Mexican Mint or Spanish Tarragon Perennial, usually grown as an annual

Differing from better known members of the genus by having simple, rather than filigree, leaves, this plant has culinary value as well as beauty. The leaves and branched stems are highly aromatic – reminiscent of aniseed. It has bright golden flowers whose outer ray florets are broad, surrounding a raised central tuft of fertile florets.

Soil preference:Free-draining but fertile

Aspect:Sun

Season of interest:Summer

Height and spread:60cm × 40cm (2ft × 1ft 8in)

Companion plants:One for the herb garden, perhaps planted with marjoram, basil and summer savory.

Scabiosa atropurpurea ‘Dwarf Double’

Hardy annual

A shorter, more compact form of the familiar Southern European plant described here. The blooms are as large as those on taller varieties and come in a rich colour range, which includes blue, mauve, cream, pink and white. The flowers, which are excellent for cutting, have a gentle fragrance.

Soil preference:Rich, fertile but free-draining

Aspect:Sun or part shade

Season of interest:Summer

Height and spread:45cm × 30cm (1ft 6in × 1ft)

Companion plants:A fine selection for mixed flower borders or simply to line out for cutting. Also effective with annual grasses, hardy geraniums and other meadow flowers.

Matthiola longipetala subsp. bicornis

Night Scented Stock Hardy annual

R. Coates

An intensely fragrant annual from Southern Europe which looks far more spectacular when illustrated in seedsmen’s catalogues than when seen growing in a garden. The thin, frail stems bear small, irregularly shaped, pinkish-mauve four-petalled flowers. Improved series such as ‘Scentsation’ have white, deeper purple and pale pink among their colours.

Soil preference:Any

Aspect:Sun or part shade

Season of interest:Spring, summer

Height and spread:30cm × 16cm (12in × 6in)

Companion plants:Frequently mixed with Virginian stocks before sowing or grown in a bed under a window or by a door so that the fragrance can be enjoyed at twilight. A positive cocktail of fragrances can be mixed with mignonette and dwarf sweet peas.

Laurentia axilliaris syn . Isotoma axilliaris or Solenopsis axilliaris

Tender annual

Narrow leaves and trailing stems form a shapely dome on which the star-shaped flowers appear over many weeks and exude a gentle but telling fragrance. Interesting varieties include ‘Stargazer Mixed’, whose colours may be white, blue or pink, and the compact ‘Blue Stars’.

Soil preference:Fertile, free-draining

Aspect:Sun

Season of interest:Summer

Height and spread:20cm (8in), trailing

Companion plants:Ideal for hanging baskets, especially if planted with Callibrachoa, Scaevola, ivy leaved pelargoniums or trailing petunias.

Annuals for low-allergen gardens

Impatiens glandulifera

Himalayan Balsam, Policeman’s Helmet Hardy annual

Heather Angel

Tall, fast growing annual with fleshy stems and hairless leaves. From early summer onwards, a succession of large, helmet-shaped flowers precedes the pressure-packed seed capsules which explode, when touched, scattering their seed. An invasive plant that can be damaging in the wild, but an unusual garden annual.

Soil preference:Moist

Aspect:Part shade

Season of interest:Summer

Height and spread:To 1.5m × 45cm (5ft × 1ft 6in)

Companion plants:Best grown as a marginal or bog plant, with such other large species as Ligularia clivorum or Rodgersias.

Nigella papillosa

Hardy annual

A curious annual with single, five-petalled, dusky blue flowers and very finely divided foliage. The spidery seed heads are as interesting as the flowers, and can also be cut and used dry. Nigella sativa is a similar species, with aromatic seeds which are sometimes used as spices, hence the colloquial name Nutmeg Flower or Roman Coriander.

Soil preference:Any, free-draining

Aspect:Sun

Season of interest:Summer, autumn

Height and spread:75cm × 30cm (2ft 6in × 1ft)

Companion plants:Useful as a border gap filler, where the seedheads can be left to accompany late summer daisies such as rudbeckias and heleniums or goldenrods.

Scabiosa prolifera

Carmel Daisy Hardy annual

A sun-loving scabious which produces a mass of pale yellow flowers followed by dramatic, rounded seedheads whose sepals form cells rather like those of a honeycomb. Excellent for indoor decoration – fresh or dried.

Soil preference:Any free-draining, reasonably fertile

Aspect:Sun

Season of interest:Summer

Height and spread:60cm × 20cm (2ft × 8in)

Companion plants:Pretty in an annual border, perhaps with nigellas, which also have pleasing seedheads and with such annual grasses as Lagurus or Briza maxima , whose drying heads are also handsome.