Made for Moonlight – Patio Flowers

It need not be a back- nor a bank-breaking exercise to turn a plain patio into an elegant entertainment area using an all-white planting scheme. We have the perfect pot recipe for it.

Simply Combine the Following

• PELARGONIUM Zonale ‘Alba’ (Bush Geranium)
• ARGYRANTHEMUM Frutescens ‘Dainty’ (Daisy Bush)
• IBERIS Sempervirens ‘Tahoe’ (Candy Tuft)
• VERBENA ‘Donalena’

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More About the Plants

All these plants have one thing in common – hearty flower power! The secret to keeping them all happy is constant deadheading, regular watering and a fortnightly feed with a soluble fertilizer. Dead-heading is essential for appearances’ sake too – few things spoil the beauty of white flowers more than brown-tinted and dead blooms left on the plant.

To encourage new growth the Daisy Bush will need cutting back after a good flush. It will soon recover and reward with lots more flowers. The Pelargonium will also require cutting back from time to time to stop it from becoming leggy. The other two will just keep on growing and cascading down the sides of the pot, flowering into winter if protected from extreme heat, or cold and wind. Another secret is to be generous if you have large pots to fill. Plant more than one of every variety – none of them are very expensive plants.

White, All Day Long

The best-kept secret, according to Romy Rawlings in Healing Gardens, is that “all other colours tend to retain their truest appearance beside white.” Healing Gardens, ISBN 1-84188-033-7, is published by Seven Dials.

• Morning patio: include pots with soft yellow or cream flowers and a tablecloth made of yellow and white checked gingham for morning tea.
• Afternoon patio: Cool summer down with lots of large-leaved foliage plants and fresh green soft furnishings.
• Evening patio: Add more pots containing fragrant white flowering plants like MURAYA exotica (orange jasmine), light up lots of candles, bring out the family silver and crystal and pop the champagne corks.