Resilient plants that will thrive through the summer

Think your garden will have peaked by August? Think again! You can keep it blooming away happily through the whole of summer and into autumn by selecting the fittest, good-all-rounder plants. Growing a handful of ultra-reliable perennial workhorses is a great starting point. Look for plants that hold an Award of Garden Merit, the RHS seal of approval that the plant performs reliably in the garden. Using tricks such as the Chelsea Chop (so called because this pruning technique is performed around the same sort of time as the Chelsea Flower Show takes place) and regular deadheading, you can keep plants flowering for longer. There is a plethora of brilliant flowers to select from, such as dahlias, hydrangeas, cleome, late roses, fuchsias, agapanthus, penstemons and the daisy-like forms of heleniums, rudbeckias, anthemis and echinacea. As the season stretches into autumn, in-fill any gaps in your borders with decorative heucheras or ornamental grasses.

Summer's stars include monarda and echinacea (Image: Leigh Clapp)

Predicting the weather is a challenge but, overall, expect hotter temperatures and periods of both drought and rain. Your plants will need to be tough and as weather-resistant as possible to cope with this increased pressure on them to perform good choices might include birch, berberis, geraniums, miscanthus, sedum and daylilies. Get to know the marathon plants that will keep the show going for months. Think also of the wildlife in your garden and focus on plants that will attract beneficial insects, as well as ones that will provide food and shelter. Gain an appreciation for using appropriate plants to the location - from trees and shrubs to infill and groundcovers. This makes sense both ecologically and financially, as you won’t need to replace plants that don’t work. Mitigating floods with permeable surfaces and directing and capturing rainwater should continue to be a focus, too.

Choose resilient options that will flower right through summer into autumn (Image: Leigh Clapp)

For hot, dry summers learn to identify drought-tolerant plants and plant them in appropriate positions. Look out for ones with grey-green and silver foliage, as this reflect the sun’s rays, helping to conserve moisture in the plants. Small, narrow leaves mean a plant will transpire less water, fleshy leaves store water, while reflective, glaucous, waxy coatings also indicates an adaption to survive in hot, dry environments. Prepare the ground by cultivating deeply, adding in some grit and organic matter to accommodate these free-draining plants.

Ornamental grasses with cosmos (Image: Leigh Clapp)

Raised beds are useful to increase drainage. Before planting, soak the plants in a bucket of water until bubbles rise to the surface. Thoroughly water-in plants for the first season, then, once established, they will be more drought resistant. Planting en masse to cover the ground preserves the soil from being washed away, keeps weeds down and retains humidity in the soil as a reservoir for periods of drought. Pebbles or gravel used as mulch will reflect the heat and light, keeping roots moist and cool as well as suppressing weeds. Keep an eye on the health of the plants; if they seem a bit stressed from the heat, give them a good watering. Many drought-tolerant plants form communities of plants that will thrive in the same conditions and keep in mind that immature, small plants will be more resilient and adapt as they grow. Silver-leafed plants may succumb to wet, cold winters, but many are easy to propagate and will grow quickly for summer displays.

Some of Kent’s top gardening luminaries share their favourite flowers and plants they wouldn’t be without through summer

A pretty summer border designed by Marian Boswall (Image: Leigh Clapp)

Marian Boswall

Award-winning landscape architect and co-founder of the Sustainable Landscape Foundation

• Agastache ‘Black Adder’

'A member of the hyssop family, this perennial has long been used in herbal medicine as an antiseptic. A dark, giant cultivar, i't's very hardy and has edible flowers that go on for months and are always covered in bees. Resistant to drought and also happy in clay, it makes a great vertical accent.'

Extra growing advice

Plant in moist but well-drained soil in full sun, avoid shade and wet soil. Use in borders, containers, cut flower and butterfly gardens. Grows to a height of 70cm, spread 50cm.

• Rosa ‘Dunwich Rose’

'A shrub rose that looks just as at home in a wild garden as it does in a more polite setting. Single, creamy flowers are stunningly simple and a perfect landing spot for pollinators. In the autumn, dark-blue hips provide a real talking point and food for birds too.'.

Extra growing advice

Grow in full sun or part shade in moist, well-drained soil. Has a procumbent habit and fern-like foliage.

• Selinum wallichianum

'With masses of starry parsley heads above pretty, fern-like, cut leaves, this is a delightful froth of bee fodder for any border. Its red stems look wonderful with Sanguisorba ‘Tanna’ bobbing through. A medicinal plant in the permaculture garden.'

Extra growing advice

Also one for moist, well-drained soil in full sun. Flowers from mid summer to autumn and is fully hardy. They don’t like disturbance can be gently divided in early spring.

A summer's bounty (Image: Leigh Clapp)

Roger Platts

Award-winning garden designer and nurseryman

• Vitex agnus castus, Chaste tree

'I love this plant for its violet-lavender blue flower spikes, which shine in the late summer evening light. The leaves are interesting too. It requires a sheltered position as it is a little tender. As a large woody shrub flowering late summer into autumn it is a very useful plant. Prune last year’s growth hard back in late spring.'

Extra growing information

Pleasantly fragrant flowers are a bonus, as is the easy care nature of this plant. Needs very well-drained soil, and you’ll probably never need to water.

• Myrtus communis Common myrtle

'One of my favourites as it has so many attributes. It is evergreen and can be clipped. The flowers and leaves are scented and it flowers from mid to late summer in a sunny, warm postion. If left unclipped the myrtle has attractive black fruits that remain on the plant for many months.'

Extra growing information

Propagate by seeds or hardwood cuttings in summer. Looks like a small tree rather than a shrub as can grow to 2.5 metres.

• Phlomis russeliana, Turkish sage

'This sage has soft yellow flowers all summer and spreads to form a large clump of soft silvery leaves. Be prepared to reduce the clump in size each year as it can become quite invasive. The soft colour combination works well with many summer planting schemes and the dead flower heads remain attractive on the top of the foliage all winter. A very useful and underrated plant.'

Extra growing information

They need space to spread and a sunny to part shaded position with fertile, well-drained soil. Divide in spring and can also be propagated by seed.

Roses are a feature in the summer garden (Image: Leigh Clapp)

Jo Thompson

Award-winning garden designer, known for her classic English style gardens

• ‘Roses of course – shrubs, ramblers, climbers – old and new! They are indispensible for creating that romantic, magical atmosphere that we all dream of in our gardens. They also bring colour from April through to October and are super for structure. I like to train them into domes. I don’t spray or use any chemicals – the baby bluetits remove aphids, I also don’t water them after initial planting as, this way, they send their long taproot into the ground and so can survive periods of drought.'.

A gorgeous rugosa rose that keeps on blooming (Image: Leigh Clapp)

Sarah Morgan

Award-winning landscape designer

‘So many plants enrich the garden through the summer, but if I had to select a handful, I would start with a copse of trees such as edible cherries grafted on to a vigorous rootstock. These would provide some much-needed shade in five years or so, and a place to swing hammocks to view blue skies through the canopy. Spring blossom turning to delicious fruit in summer and the anticipation of leaves turning a gorgeous red in late summer more than earns them a place for a patient gardener. Flowering shrubs such as the Rosa rugosa ‘Hansa’ provide sumptuous, scented, rich magenta flowers all summer for pollinators, which develop into large orange hips in the ate summer for the birds. Rosa rugosa can be planted as a hedge or as part of a mixed border and are pretty forgiving of most soils. The delicate ferny leaves and soft white umbels of sweet cicely earn their place in any garden scheme. Interplanted amongst other plants, they do not over compete, but gradually drift and seed as a graceful link in a border. The leaves are particularly delicious added to baked fish, a favourite for any barbecue.'

A pretty summer border designed by Marian Boswall (Image: Leigh Clapp)