Plant Name

Cosmos x dahlia 'Mexican Black'

(Dahlia x cosmos 'Mexican Black')

Common Name

...

Soil

Chalk, Loam, Sand (Acidic, Alkaline or Neutral)

Sun Aspect

Full Sun

Soil Moisture

Moist and Well-drained

Plant Type

Summer Bedding Plant - Herbaceous Tuber

Height x Spread in inches (cms)
(1 inch = 2.5 cms,
12 inches = 1 foot = 30 cms,
24 inches = 2 feet,
3 feet = 1 yard,
40 inches = 100 cms)

36 x 24 (90 x 60)

Foliage

Finely-cut Dark Green pinnate foliage

Flower Shape, Natural Arrangement, Number of Petals and Flower Colour in Month(s). Seed

Dark velvety Red, 8 Petal flowers in July-November

Bedding Plant Use

Filling In

Screening

Pots and Troughs

 

Comment

Plant attracts bees.

"The deepest, darkest, velvety red, single, narrow petaled flowers with the purest gold stamens. July-Nov. The foliage is finely cut and a darkish green. Ht. 90cm. Sp. 60cm. Sun. Moist well drained soil." from Woottens of Wenhaston.

"Cosmos x dahlia 'Mexican Black' is a rich red flowered plant that on first glance looks like a dahlia, but is in fact a cross between a dahlia and a cosmos.

It's not Elizabeth's creation, but comes with a good pedigree from Bob Brown of Cotswold Garden Flowers (Just Must Perennials).

It's very much the sort of plant that I love. It produces large dhalia like tubers and will probably need winter protection. We've only had it one season and we are selling our surplus stock here at the show.

The flowers are borne on long stems and it has only just started to flower, so it will be a late flowering plant, ideal for a summer/autumn border. " from Article Weird and Wonderful by Jean Vernon posted on 23 July 2008 onto My Garden - The RHS's online community for gardeners - "Need some gardening advice?
Why not ask the My Garden community.
You can read and comment on blogs from our gardeners and other contributors, view their photos and participate in our forums".

"DAHLIA X COSMOS 'MEXICAN BLACK'
Scented black flowers like chocolate cosmos above the mound of dark green pinnate foliage Jun-Oct, 75cm. Perennial. Responds well to good living." from Cotswold Garden Flowers. It might respond well to good living but champagne may suit it!!

"Apparently from a wild collection in Mexico, this has very dark black-red, slightly scented flowers with crinkled petals on stems to about 90cm above deep green divided foliage. Treat as a Dahlia and leave in with a mulch or dig up and store over winter." from Pan-Global Plants - "Founded by Nick Macer, Pan-Global Plants is a specialist plant nursery located in the Severn Valley of Gloucestershire in England. Pan Global provides an inspiring selection of the finest, most desirable and often rarest plants capable of growing on these isles. Many nurseries use the words ‘rare’ and ‘unusual’, but here we mean it in it’s true sense. Rare does not necessarily mean hard to grow; some may be a challenge but many are perfectly easy and can be immensely satisfying and rewarding.

It has been a very long time since I offered mail-order at PGP and for good reason, it’s a bit of a pain in the neck. I would always much rather welcome people to my own little slice of paradise here in Gloucestershire, though I also appreciate how many of you are often just too far away for a visit. That and the way the world is going these days, with everything deliverable to your door at the click of a keyboard, has made me re-think my mail-order policy.

So from January 2014 I am offering a full mail-order service to the UK and all countries within the EU. I am not operating a ‘web shop’ from my website, so please just select plants from the database/catalogue and email me (Visiting and Contact page) with your list of desired plants. I shall then advise on price and availability as well as the cost to send them to you."

Available from Pan-Global Plants , Woottens of Wenhaston and Cotswold Garden Flowers in the UK.

Companions

"This month’s Flowers in Pots post features potted designs which were especially made to raise money for the Horticultural Internship Programme at The Garden Museum in London.
The event, Lots in Pots, took place last month when twenty three of Britain’s leading gardeners, designers and writers donated their expertise to plant up pots....Gardener designer, Dan Pearson’s pot featured

• Dahlia x cosmos ‘Mexican Black’,
• Ipomoea ‘Sweet Caroline’ and
• Euphorbia ‘Diamond Frost’." from Flowerona.

UK Butterfly:-
...Egg, Caterpillar, Chrysalis and Butterfly Usage of Plants.
...Plant Usage by Egg, Caterpillar, Chrysalis and Butterfly.

"OTHER PLANTS ATTRACTIVE TO BUTTERFLIES

A garden with butterflies flitting from flower to flower is a delight in itself, but a garden popular with butterflies indicates a healthy environment, the more nectar plants you have, the more butterflies and moths will eventually find you. Butterflies like the warmth and it is important to choose sunny, sheltered spots when planting nectar plants. Plant as many different nectar plants as possible to increase the number of butterfly species visiting your garden. Deadhead the flowers, mulch and water well to keep the plants healthy, prolong flowering and produce more nectar for hungry butterflies.

HARDY SHRUBS:

• Buddleja 'Lochinch'
• Buddleja 'Black Knight'
• Clerodendrum bungei
• Hebe pinguifolia  'Pagei'
• Hebe  'Wiri Charm'
• Hebe  'Red Edge'
• Hebe  'Nicola's Blush'
• Lavandula stoechas
• Lavandula angustifolia  'Hidcote'
• Lavandula intermedia  'Walberton's Silver Edge'
• Thymus citriodorus  'Silver Queen'

HARDY PERENNIALS:

• Achillea in variety
• Ajuga reptans  'Catlins Giant'
• Ajuga reptans  'Variegata'
• Allium afflatunense
• Allium christophii
• Allium hollandicum  'Purple Sensation'
• Anthemis punctata ssp. cupaniana
• Anthemis tinctoria  'E.C.Buxton'
• Anthemis tinctoria  'Sauce Hollandaise'
• Anthriscus sylvestris  'Ravenswing'
• Aster amellus  'King George'
• Aster frikartii
• Chrysanthemum  'Clara Curtis'
• Chrysanthemum  'Mary Stoker'
• Coreopsis lanceolata  'Sterntaler'
• Echinacea purpurea  'Magnus'
• Echinacea purpurea  'White Swan'
• Echinops in variety
• Erigeron karvinskianus
• Erysimum  'Bowles Mauve'
• Erysimum  'Constant Cheer'
• Erysimum  'Cotswold Gem'
• Gypsophila paniculata
• Gypsophila repens
• Helenium  'Moerheim Beauty'
• Knautia macedonica
• Liatris spicata
• Ligularia dentata  'Desdemona'
• Ligularia dentata  'Othello'
• Lobelia  'Queen Victoria'
• Lythrum salicaria  'Blush'
• Paeonia lactiflora  'Sarah Bernhardt'
• Papaver orientale  'Patty's Plum'
• Phlox paniculata in variety
• Rudbeckia fulgida var. sullivantii  'Goldsturm'
• Scabiosa atropurpurea  'Chile Black'
• Scabiosa 'Butterfly Blue'
• Sedum in variety
• Sidalcea in variety
• Solidago uliginosa
• Tiarella in variety
• Verbena  'Claret'
• Verbena  'Homestead Purple'
• Verbena bonariensis
• Verbena rigida

Common stinging nettles and coarse grasses
Many butterflies lay their eggs on nettles, thistles and grasses and their caterpillars feed on the leaves. Try planting some under a garden shed or window so that the caterpillar can climb up under the ledge or eaves to pupate. Cut down half the nettles in June to produce a new crop for later in the year. Nettles like a very rich soil with plenty of manure." from 'How to Attract Butterflies' by Cleeve Nursery .

BEDDING PLANT GALLERY PAGES

FOLIAGE COLOUR
(o)Black
Blue
(o)Brown
(o)Bronze
(o)Green
Grey
(o)Purple
(o)Red
Silver
(o)Variegated
White
Yellow

SEED COLOUR
Seed

BEDS WITH PICTURES
Garden

Website Structure Explanation and User Guidelines

BEDDING PLANT GALLERY PAGES which shows the flowers from the plants in the:-

• Bedding Galery and
• Mixed Border Bedding Gallery

Flower Colour

Bicolour

Blue

Green

Orange

Other Colours

Pink

Purple

Red

White

White / Bicolour

Yellow

Flower Simple Shape

3 Petals

4 Petals

5 Petals

6 Petals

Stars

Bowls, Cups and Saucers

Globes, Goblets and Chalices

Trumpets and Funnels

Bells, Thimbles and Urns

Single Flower provides pollen for bees

2 Petals

Flower Elabor-ated Shape

Tubes, Lips and Lobes

Slippers, Spurs and Lockets

Hats, Hoods and Helmets

Standards, Wings and Keels

Discs and Florets

Pin-cushions and Tufts

Rosettes, Buttons and Pompons

Bedding Plant Use

Bedding Out

Filling In

Screen-ing

Pots and Troughs

Window Boxes

Hanging Baskets

Spring Bedding

Summer Bedding

Winter Bedding

MIXED BORDERS IN RHS GARDEN AT WISLEY DESIGN GALLERY PAGES

Introduction
 

FLOWER COLOUR RANGE IN 71 PARTS OF MIXED BORDER DURING
May
June
July
August
September
October
November

7 Flower Colours per Month in Colour Wheel below in the MIXED BORDERS DESIGN Gallery, which shows the flowers from:-

• Permanent Herbaceous Perennials in the Mixed Border
• Bedding in the Mixed Border and
• Other Permanent Plants in the Mixed Border

Click on Black or White box in Colour of Month.

MIXED BORDER BEDDING PLANTS GALLERY PAGES

Site Map of pages with content (o)

Introduction

Bedding Plants Height from Text Border for the
BEDDING PLANT Gallery,
this MIXED BORDER BEDDING PLANTS Gallery and
MIXED BORDERS DESIGN Gallery

Blue = 0-24 inches
(0-60 cms)

Green = 24-72 inches
(60-180 cms)

Red = 72+ inches
(180+ cms)

Bedding Plants Soil Moisture from Text Background

Wet Soil

Moist Soil

Dry Soil

Click on thumbnail to change this Comparison Page to the Plant Description Page of the Bedding Plant named in the Text box below that photo.

The Comments Row of that Bedding Plant Description Page details where that Bedding Plant is available from.

MIXED BORDER BEDDING PLANT INDEX

Bedding Plant Name.
 

Flower Colour

with link to a Design of East Border or
Design of West Border Page where that plant is located

Flowering Months

See Mixed Borders Flower Colour per Month Pages

Flower Thumbnail

Height x Spread in inches (cms)

Bedding Plant Use:-
Bedding Out. Filling In,
Screening,
Pots and Troughs,
Window Boxes,
Hanging Baskets

Foliage Colour

with link to Mixed Borders Foliage Colour Page

Foliage Thumbnail

A

Agapanthus
'Ben Hope'

Blue

Jul-Aug

Its black label was below the top of the foliage. Flowers not seen before or after 21-08-2013

36 x 12
(90 x 30)

Bedding Out,
Filling In, Pots and Troughs

Agastache aurantiaca
'Apricot Sprite'

Apricot Orange

Jul-Oct

Its white label not replaced with black label. Name on label difficult to read. Flowers not seen before or after 17-06-2013

20 x 4
(50 x 10)

Filling In, Pots and Troughs, Window Boxes, Hanging Baskets

Agastache 'Bolero'

Rose-Purple

Jul-Sep

14 x 14
(35 x 35)

Bedding Out, Filling In, Pots and Troughs

Bronze and aromatic

Agastache
'Rose Mint'

Lavender-Rose

Jul-Oct

24 x 20
(60 x 50)

Bedding Out, Filling In, Pots and Troughs

Grey-Green and fragrant

Antirrhinum 'Lavender Ribbon'

Lavender-Red

Jun-Oct

18 x 15
(45 x 38)

Bedding Out, Filling In, Pots and Troughs

Dark Green

Antirrhinum majus 'Bronze Dragon'

Purple and White

Jun-Sep

12 x 12
(30 x 30)

Filling In, Pots and Troughs, Window Boxes, Hanging Baskets

Darkest Bronze- almost Black

Antirrhinum nanum 'Peaches and Cream'

Cream and Peach

Jun-Sep

White label may not have been replaced. Identity of this plant after 17-06-2013 lost by its foliage growing over it. Perhaps its seed was sown on 7 February 2013

8 x 12
(20 x 30)

Bedding Out,
Filling In, Pots and Troughs, Window Boxes, Hanging Baskets

Argyranthemum gracile
'Chelsea Girl'

Yellow-centered White

Apr-Oct

24 x 24
(60 x 60)

Filling In, Pots and Troughs

Grey-Green leaves dissected into thread-like lobes

Argyranthemum frutescens
'Petite Pink'

Light Pink

Apr-Oct

20 x 20
(50 x 50)

Bedding Out, Filling In, Pots and Troughs, Window Boxes

Divided
Grey-Green

B

Bidens ferulifolia 'Golden Eye'

Yellow

Jul-First Frost

7 x 18
(18 x 45)

Dark Green ferny foliage

C

Canna 'Phasion'

Bright Orange

Jun-Sep

64 x 20
(160 x 50)

Bedding Out, Screen-ing, Filling In, Pots and Troughs

Large, Bronze-tinted, bright Green, which is variously striped in green, purple, orange and pink

Canna 'Ra'

Bright Yellow

Jul-Oct

Flowers not seen before or after 10-11-2013

Height 80 inches (200 cms)
Water Depth 2-12 inches (5-30 cms)

Filling In, Screening

Blue-Green

Canna warscewiczii

Bright Scarlet

July-First Frost

Flowers not seen before or after 3-08-2013

36 x 24
(90 x 60)

Filling In, Screening, Pots and Troughs

Coarse and oval Green leaves with Purple margins and stems

Centaurea ruthenica

Pale Lemon-Yellow

Jul-Sep

Flowers not seen before or after 17-06-2013

48 x 24
120 x 60)

Filling In, Screening, Pots and Troughs

Finely divided Dark Green

Cosmos bipinnatus 'Purity'

White

Jun-Nov

36 x 16
(90 x 40)

Filling In, Screening, Pots and Troughs

Ferny Mid-Green

Cosmos bipinnatus 'Rubenza'

Ruby-Red

Jun-Sep

30 x 16
(75 x 40)

Filling In, Pots and Troughs

Ferny Light Green

Cosmos x dahlia 'Mexican Black'

Velvety-Red

Jul-Nov

36 x 24
(90 x 60)

Filling In,
Screening,
Pots and Troughs

Finely-cut Dark Green pinnate foliage

Cosmos sulphureus (Dwarf Ladybird)

Scarlet-Red with Tangerine and Yellow

Jun-Oct

24-72 x 12 -36
(60-180 x 30-90)

Bedding Out, Filling In,
Pots and Troughs

Dark Green

Cuphea llavea

Purple with Red petals

May-First Frost

30 x 36
(75 x 90)

Bedding Out, Filling In,
Pots and Troughs, Hanging Baskets

Hairy, ovate, pointed Dark Green

D

Dahlia 'Abacus Sol'

Yellow with Yellow collar

Jul-Oct

36 x 20
(90 x 50)

Filling In, Pots and Troughs

Dark Green

Dahlia
'Arabian Night'

There are photos and text description on this Dahlia and more than 44 other Dahlias in the Dahlia Gallery of this website.

Dark Wine-Red

Jul-Nov

20 x 48
(50 x 120)

Filling In, Screening, Pots and Troughs

Dark Green

Dahlia 'Blue Wish'

As the flowers open, the Purple tipped, White petals turn a more uniform shade of Lilac.

Jun-Oct

48 x 24
(120 x 60)

Filling In, Screening, Pots and Troughs

Dark Green

Dahlia
'Blyton Royal Velvet'

Dark Purple

Jul-Oct

48 x 24
(120 x 60)

Bedding Out,
Filling In, Screening

Dark Green

Dahlia
'David Howard'

Bronze-Orange

Jul-Oct

36 x 30 (90 x 75)

Filling In, Pots and Troughs

Bronze-tinged, slightly Purplish

Dahlia pinnata 'Dawn Sky'

Unable to locate flower colour or mail-order supplier

Jul-Sep

36 x 12
(90 x 30)

Dahlia 'Fascination'

Purplish-Pink peony flower

May-Oct

30 x 20
(75 x 50)

Filling In, Pots and Troughs

Dark Bronze

Dahlia 'Jessica'

Yellow base petals with tips that are Rose-Red

Jun-First Frost

56 x 20
(140 x 50)

Bedding Out, Filling In, Screen-ing, Pots and Troughs

Dark Green

Dahlia 'Josie Gott'

White with Lilac flush

Jul-Sep

48 x 24
(120 x 60)

Bedding Out, Filling In, Screen-ing,
Pots and Troughs

Dark Green

Dahlia 'Knockout'

Cadmium Yellow single flower

Jul-Oct

27 x 24 (73 x 60)

Bedding Out, Filling In,
Pots and Troughs

Toothed, pinnate, dark mahogany to purple-black leaves

Dahlia 'Moonfire'

Straw-Yellow flowers, the broad rays orange-red at the base, and the disk deep purple

Jun-Oct

24 x 20
(60 x 50)

Filling In, Pots and Troughs, Window Boxes

Bronze

Dahlia
'Teesbrooke Audrey'

Pale Pink with White inner collars around Yellow centres

Jul-Oct

48 x 24
(120 x 60)

Filling In,
Screen-ing,
Pots and Troughs

Dark Green

Swan Island Dahlias has been family owned since 1927 and is the largest dahlia grower in the USA with 40 acres of Dahlias growing 350 varieties, that are open to the public during blooming season.

Dahlia 'Tiptoe'

Red flowers tipped with White

Jul-Oct

40 x 12
(100 x 30)

Filling In,
Screen-ing,
Pots and Troughs

Dark Green

Dahlia
'Twyning's After Eight'

White with soft Pink flush flower
See flower photo from The National Dahlia Collection.

Jul-Sep

30 x 18 (75 x 45)

Filling In,
Bedding Out,
Pots and Troughs

Purple-black stems and chocolate coloured foliage

Dianthus barbatus 'Kaleidoscope'

It is likely that this plant's name is Dianthus barbatus 'Kaleidoscope Mixed'

Pink that gradually mature to White

May-Sep

24 x 12
(60 x 30)

Bedding Out,
Filling In, Pots and Troughs, Window Boxes, Hanging Baskets

Dark Green

Diascia personata

Dusky Pink

May-Nov

36 x 18
(90 x 45)

Filling In, Screening, Pots and Troughs

Linear to lance-shaped Mid Green

E

F

G

Gypsophila elegans
'Covent Garden'

White

Jun-Aug

18 x 12
(45 x 30)

Bedding Out,
Filling In, Pots and Troughs

Light Green

H

Heliotropium arborescens 'Marine'

Violet-Blue

Jun-Aug

12 x 36
(30 x 90)

Heliotropium arborescens is synonymous with Heliotropium peruvianum, but whether cultivar 'Marine' is the same as 'Dwarf Marine' I would not know since their descriptions are different.

The Black Plant Label inserted after the White Plant Label appears to provide the name for a different plant from that named in the White Plant Label, so no Bedding Plant Description Page produced.

Heliotropium peruvianum
'Dwarf Marine'

Royal Purple

Jun-Sep

18 x 12
(45 x 30)

I

Iresine herbstii 'Brilliantissima'

n/a

n/a

24 x 18
(60 x 45)

Bedding Out,
Filling In, Pots and Troughs, Hanging Basket

Semi-succulent cerise-colored stems and red oblanceolate leaves that are marked with lighter veins

J

K

L

Lepechinia hastata

Red-Lavender

Aug-Nov

48 x 36 (120 x 90)

Bedding Out,
Filling In, Screening, Pots and Troughs

Deliciously-scented, spade-like, thick, felted, grey-green leaves

M

N

O

Osteospermum 'Sunny Cecil'
(Sunny Series)

See other varieties from the Sunny Series

White daisy-like flower heads with dark Purple centres

May-Aug

10 x 10
(25 x 25)

Filling In,
Pots and Troughs, Window Boxes, Hanging Baskets

Toothed, obovate, Mid- to Dark Green

P

Pelargonium 'Blandfordianum'

White Unable to locate its flowers from Apr-Nov 2013

Apr-Oct

Used flowers from an Exhib-ition

14 x 12
(35 x 30)

Filling In,
Pots and Troughs, Window Boxes, Hanging Baskets

Rose scented, deeply incised, Grey-Green

Pelargonium 'Mystery'

Wine-Red blotched Black

Jun-Nov

16 x 12 (40 x 30)

Bedding Out,
Filling In,Pots and Troughs, Window Boxes, Hanging Baskets, House-plant

Brilliant Green

Penstemon 'Countess of Dalkeith'

also called Penstemon
'Purple and White'

Plum-Purple and White-throated funnel-shaped

Jun-Nov

30 x 18
(75 x 45)

Bedding Out,
Filling In, Pots and Troughs

Narrow oval Dark Green

Penstemon Fujiyama 'Yayama'

(Plant Breeders Rights apply = 'Yayama')

Shell-Pink flowers with broad satiny White throats

May-Oct

24 x 18
(60 x 45)

Filling In, Pots and Troughs

Narrow Mid-Green

Penstemon
'George Home'

Funnel-shaped Magenta to Cerise flowers with a White throat

May-Oct

30 x 18 (75 x 45)

Bedding Out,
Filling In, Pots and Troughs

Fleshy Mid-Green leaves with thick stems.

Penstemon 'Pennington Gem'

White-throated, Pink flowers

May-Oct

40 x 20
(100 x 50)

Bedding Out,
Filling In, Screen-ing,
Pots and Troughs

Mid to Grey-Green

Penstemon
'Port Wine'

Wine-Red coloured flowers and throat streaked with purple

May-Oct

28 x 20 (70 x 50)

Bedding Out,
Filling In, Pots and Troughs, Window Boxes

Lance shaped Dark Green leaves with tinged red stems

Penstemon
'Sour Grapes'

Bell-shaped purple/blue flowers with White throat

May-Oct

24 x 18
(60 x 45)

Filling In, Pots and Troughs, Window Boxes, Hanging Baskets

Mid to Dark Green

Penstemon 'Vesuvius Yasius' (Volcano Series)

Purple funnel-shaped flowers with White throats

May-Oct

24 x 14
(60 x 35)

Filling In, Pots and Troughs, Window Boxes, Hanging Baskets

Narrow, oval and Mid Green

Penstemon
'White Bedder'

White

Jul-Oct

24 x 18
(60 x 45)

Filling In, Pots and Troughs, Window Boxes

Dark Green

Pyrethrum roseum 'Duro'

Purple-Red

Jul-Aug

30 x 18
(75 x 45)

Bedding Out,
Filling In,
Pots and Troughs

Dark Green

Q

R

Ricinus communis 'Impala'

Creamy-White

August

The black label for this plant was seen in a photo of Canna 'Ra', but no photo of its foliage or flowers was taken before or after 10 November 2013

48 x 48
(120 x 120)

Copper-Red palmate leaves

Rudbeckia hirta 'Cherry Brandy'

Cherry-Red

Jul-Oct

24 x 16
(60 x 40)

Bedding Out,
Filling In,
Pots and Troughs

Dark Green

S

Salvia atrocyanea

Blue-tinged bracts with large green calyces

See photo of flower from National Trust Hinton Ampner Garden

Jul-Oct

80 x 80 (200 x 200)

Bedding Out, Filling In, Screening, Pots and Troughs

Dark Green

Salvia blepharophylla 'Diablo'

Scarlet-Red

Jun-Oct

24 x 24
(60 x 60)

Bedding Out,
Filling In,
Pots and Troughs

Dark Green

Salvia coccinea 'Forest Fire'

Fire Engine Red flowers framed by reddish-black bracts

Jul-Oct

24 x 24
(60 x 60)

Filling In,
Pots and Troughs, Hanging Baskets

Triangular, toothed and Mid-Green

Salvia coccinea 'Summer Jewel Pink'

White overlaid with Pink

Jun-Oct

18 x 16 (45 x 40)

Bedding Out,
Filling In,
Pots and Troughs, Window Boxes, Hanging Baskets

Dark Green

Salvia coccinea 'Summer Jewel Red'

Scarlet

Jun-Oct

18 x 12 (45 x 30)

Bedding Out,
Filling In,
Pots and Troughs, Window Boxes, Hanging Baskets

Dark Green

Salvia elegans 'Honey Melon'

Scarlet

Jul-Oct

24 x 24
(60 x 60)

Filling In, Pots and Troughs, Window Boxes, Hanging Baskets

Mid Green

Salvia guaranitica 'Black and Blue'

Blue flowers with black calyces

Jul-Oct

100 x 36
(250 x 90)

Filling In, Screening, Pots and Troughs

Ovate, wrinkled, pointed, lightly-toothed, Dark Green

Salvia involucrata 'Boutin'

Deep Pink tubular flowers

Jul-Nov

60 x 40
(150 x 40)

Filling In, Screening

Dark Green

Salvia involucrata 'Joan'

Purplish-Pink

Jun-Oct

60 x 60 (150 x 150)

Filling In, Screening

Dark Green

Salvia x jamensis 'Hot Lips'

(Salvia microphylla 'Hot Lips')

White flowers with broad lower lips dipped in brilliant Red

Jul-Oct

30 x 36
(75 x 90)

Bedding Out,
Filling In, Pots and Troughs

Mid-Green

Salvia microphylla var. microphylla 'Newby Hall'

Scarlet-Red tubular flowers

Jun-Dec

56 x 24 (140 x 60)

Bedding Out,
Filling In, Screening

Oval and Light Green

Salvia patens

Very long, open-mouther, deep Blue

Jul-Sep

24 x 12
(60 x 30)

Filling In, Pots and Troughs, Window Boxes, Hanging Baskets

Dark Green

Salvia
'Phyllis Fancy'

Soft Lavender-White blossoms with Purplish bracts

Sep-Nov

84 x 84
(210 x 210)

Filling In, Screening

Dark Green

Salvia greggii
'Purple Queen'

Purple

Jun-Oct

18 x 12
(45 x 30)

Filling In,
Pots and Troughs

Mid Green

Salvia jamensis
'Sierra San Antonio'

Creamy yellow flowers, suffused with shades of pink and orange

Jun-Oct

30 x 36 (75 x 90)

Bedding Out,
Filling In, Pots and Troughs, Window Boxes

Mid Green

Salvia
'Silke's Dream'

Orange-Red

Jul-Nov

36 x 36
(90 x 90)

Bedding Out,
Filling In, Screening, Pots and Troughs

Mid Green

Salvia splendens 'Salsa Purple'

Purple

May-Sep

14 x 12
(35 x 30)

Filling In, Pots and Troughs, Window Boxes, Hanging Baskets

Serrated Dark Green

Salvia leucantha 'Midnight'

Purple calyces with extended purple petals

May-Nov

48 x 48
(120 x 120)

Bedding Out,
Filling In, Screening, Pots and Troughs

White-woolly when young, narrow, lance-shaped, grey-green leaves, white beneath

Salvia microphylla 'Trelissick'

Creamy-White

Jun-Nov

20 x 18
(50 x 45)

Bedding Out,
Filling In, Pots and Troughs

Black-currant-scented and Dark Green

T

Tanacetum coccineum 'Duro'

Carmine-Purple

Jun-Sep

24 x 18
(60 x 45)

Bedding Out,
Filling In, Pots and Troughs, Window Boxes

Ferny and Dark Green

U

V

Verbena 'Claret'

Claret-Red

Jun-Sep

12 x 16
(30 x 40)

Bedding Out,
Filling In, Pots and Troughs, Window Boxes, Hanging Baskets

Feathery and Mid-Green

Verbena 'Homestead Purple'

Purple

Jun-Oct

12 x 16
(30 x 40)

Filling In, Pots and Troughs, Window Boxes, Hanging Baskets

Dark Green

Verbena
'La France'

Light Violet-Blue

Jun-Sep

18 x 24
(45 x 60)

Filling In, Pots and Troughs, Window Boxes, Hanging Baskets

Deeply serrated and Mid-Green

Verbena x hybrida
'St George'

Red with White Throat

Jun-Sep

10 x 16
(25 x 40)

Bedding Out,
Filling In, Pots and Troughs, Window Boxes, Hanging Baskets

Dark Green

Verbena Seabrook's Lavender ('Sealav')

Lavender

May-Sep

18 x 20
(45 x 50)

Filling In, Pots and Troughs, Window Boxes, Hanging Baskets

Ovate and Mid-Green

W

XYZ

Zinnia marylandica 'Zahara Starlight Rose'

White flowers with pinky-rose centre

Jul-Oct

18 x 18
(45 x 45)

Bedding Out,
Filling In, Pots and Troughs, Window Boxes, Hanging Baskets

Dark Green

The Azalea Society of America provides 4 fans of RHS, UCL and RGB Colors:-

• Fan 1 Yellow - Orange - Red Groups
• Fan 2 Red-Purple - Violet - Blue Groups
• Fan 3 Blue-Green - Green - Yellow-Green Groups and
• Fan 4 Greyed Colours - Brown - Grey - Black - White Groups with
• Color Systems. such as The Munsell Color System, The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) Colour Chart and The Unversal Color Language (UCL).

"University of Missouri plant science researchers have found a receptor in plants that could be a vital component in the way plants respond to danger, including pests, environmental changes and plant wounds. This discovery may lead to herbicides, fertilizers and insect repellants that naturally work with plants to make them stronger.
The researchers are focusing on the molecule adenosine triphosphate (ATP). ATP is the main energy source inside a cell and is considered to be the high energy molecule that drives all life processes in animals and humans. Outside the cell, membrane receptors that attract ATP drive muscle control, neurotransmission, inflammation and development.
“Plants don’t have ears to hear, fingers to feel or eyes to see,” said Gary Stacey, professor of plant sciences in the College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources. “Plants use these chemical signals to determine if they are being preyed upon or if an environmental change is occurring that could be detrimental to the plant. We have evidence that when ATP is outside of the cell it is probably a central signal that controls the plant’s ability to respond to a whole variety of stresses.”
Stacey and fellow researchers, graduate student Jeongmin Choi and postdoctoral fellow Kiwamu Tanaka, screened 50,000 plants over two years to identify the ATP receptors. By isolating a key gene in the remaining plants, scientists found the receptor that aids in plant development and helps repair a plant during major events.
“We believe that when a plant is wounded, ATP is released into the wound and triggers the gene expressions necessary for repair,” Stacey said. “We think ATP is central to this kind of wound response and probably plays a role in development and a whole host of other plant responses to environmental changes and pests. We believe that with further study, researchers may be able to identify ways to naturally work with a plant’s own processes to protect it from major environmental events, plant wounds and insects.”
Future research will focus on how this receptor works with ATP, its protein structure, how it reacts to pests and how it may signal growth. The study, “Extracellular ATP signaling in plants,” was published in Science, and includes research from Sang Yeol Lee with the Plant Molecular Biology & Biotechnology Research Center, Gyeongsang National University in Korea. The study was funded in part by grants from the U.S. Department of Energy – Basic Energy Sciences and the Republic of Korea." from Self-Repairing Plants? from Plant Molecular Biology in University of Missouri.

Maybe this will explain how my small hosta - growing in the shade and I have done nothing for it - has survived slugs and snails for more than 25 years. It now produces new shoots, flowers with no leaf damage before the end of the season when it allows the caterpillars to eat it up and then it retires underground for the winter.

I had a tree in the front garden that died and left a 96 inch (240 cm) high stump. After many years, it fell over. When I pulled the outside of the rotten trunk, it came away in my hands, until I reached a central hard core which went to each branch as well. This probably had the chemical system described above. It probably solidified in the trunk and would be the last item to be eaten.
 

Many years ago , I bought a small Blue Juniper tree, removed it from its container and planted it. 10 years later it died. When I removed it from the ground, I found that the roots, which had spiralled in the original container and then never unwound themselves. They had thickened until they occupied all the space between themselves, and very little new root had gone away from this original rootball. Thus the tree had insufficient roots to take up sufficient water and had then died. That problem will not occur with the plants grown in those 'Light pots', since they will continue to grow downwards and away from the rootball after they have been planted, especially if you spread the roots out when you plant the tree onto a cone of earth.
Using the guidelines and the excellent video in the General Planting Information Page from their Expert Advice Section shows how easy it is to plant and care for one of their trees grown in their 'Light Pot'.
Make the bark mulch (or Spent Mushroom Compost mulch, providing the tree can withstand the chalk that is the Compost) at least 4 inches thick with 3 cans of water every 2 days during the summer, especially in August (the tree is storing the water from August in its roots to provide enough water for the new foliage next spring). This mulch will require topping up every six months for the first 2 years. Do not put grass instead of the mulch after that time, but use spring, summer, autumn and winter bulbs which will come through the mulch. The bulb roots will not take very much water or nutrients from the soil. Leave the dying bulb foliage until it has turned brown before removing the dessicated foliage remains, to provide the nutrients for the bulb to flower next year. Potash fertilizer put down after they have flowered will also help that process.

This section details what I consider as errors in design carried out by the staff at the RHS garden in Wisley:-

Mixing all the primary colours together for the flower colours used in many of the 71 parts of these Mixed Borders
This Mixed Border scheme has deciduous climbers, trees, evergreen and deciduous shrubs with bulbs as its other permanent plants to provide a permanent structure - see Permanent Herbaceous Perennial Plant Index and the Permanent Plants in the table on the right; which is backed by a deciduous hornbeam hedge.

This mixture provides a foliage and flower foil against which these other permanent herbaceous perennials can provide new growth from the ground each year, with the different colours of foliage from juvenile to mature to dying off in the autumn and then an easy maintenance during the months of December-March for removing most of the growth above ground and replacing the plant supports to provide a neat bed in a series of large ground areas.

The bedding plants - see Bedding Annual Plant Index and Un-labelled Bedding Annual Plant Index pages - provide the icing on the cake at different flowering time periods between May and November to enhance the overall flower colour scheme. The new bedding each year can provide opportunities to vary the look of these beds.

It was disapointing that I did not see the flowers during 2013 of more than 25% of these Permanent Herbaceous Perennial Plants - possible reasons shown in Lost Flowers Page with 'Walkabout' Plants and 'Stateless' Plants Page.

A table for each month - May, June, July, August, September, October, November - shows the flower photos for each of the 71 parts of the Mixed Borders split into Blue, Orange, Pink, Red, Unusual Colour, White, or Yellow for all the plants. Besides that, you can see from the table below that Red and Pink with Unusual Flower Colours seem to be predominant as flower colours and that these are spread throughout the beds.
Not having the knowledge of a fully qualified Royal Horticultural Society gardener, I am failing to see either

• a colour scheme from pastels to bright colours and then back to pastels to accentuate the middle area of the entrance to the Plant Centre or exit path to the Bowes-Lyon Rose Garden on the other side or
• the Red, bright Blue and Bright Yellows being closest to the garden entrance with the pastels at the furthest point of Battleston Hill to provide a visual extension to these beds or
• the duplication of the same plant throughout the beds to provide continuity (there are 14 Phlox varieties which provide some kind of continuity in the bed in using the same family with the same kind of plant form). Each of the Permanent Herbaceous Perennials normally only occurs in 1 patch in these Mixed Border Beds - rarely twice and even more rarely in 3 patches. Each of the parts of the Mixed Border beds overlaps the adjacent parts, so depending on how wide on the ground is that patch of a collection of a plant, then it depends on how many parts of the 71 parts that it is on.
  or
• change of flower colour from for example Yellow in May to Red in September to coincide with the possibility of the herbaceous shrubs/trees/hedge foliage becoming Brown/Red in the Autumn, in this Mixed Border or background hedge.
  or
• how the following distribution of flower colours from the Permanent Herbaceous Perennials in these beds comes from a restful to the eye and mind, coordinated and planned flower planting scheme:-
  Red or Pink flowers occurs in
  35 parts (17 Pink + 20 Red - 2 Pink and Red) in June,
  53 parts in July,
  59 in August and
  60 in September.
  Multi-coloured or not Blue, Orange, Pink, Red, White or Yellow flowers occurs in
  35 parts in June,
  53 parts in July,
  57 parts in August and
  47 parts in September.
  Mixtures of 2 or more colours is
  29 in June (16 of 2 colours + 17 of 3 colours + 2 of 4 or more colours - 6 of White and other Colour),
  52 in July,
  55 in August,
  50 in September.

I have added the BEDding (started January 2014 - completed March 2014) and then the OTHer Permanent Plants (started March 2014 - completed May 2014) to the table below to show the flower colour planting scheme of the Bedding and the Other Permanent Plants and then its combination.
"Bedding Plant in Unknown Section" top data row in the Flower Colour Range months pages refers to the lack of a photo taken by me or H. Kavanagh of that bedding plant with the label in the same photo of a Permanent Herbaceous Perennial or Other Permanent Plant whose location in 1 or more of the 71 Parts of those Mixed Borders can be identified.

If I had produced this planting design with its mixture of flower colours in almost every part - or maintained these beds in this way - in 2013, I would be deeply ashamed.

As a nation of gardeners in Britain; the Royal Horticultural Society being at its pinnacle, with the tradition of excellence by our previous head gardeners and their staff during the Victorian era, I had thought that the staff at the RHS Garden at Wisley would not need a lecture.

Another Possible Solution for lack of coordinated Flower Colour Scheme

If you want the garden to be restful to the eye, then you can provide a colour scheme using the harmony of adjacent colours. If you prefer to shock the visitor, then use the contrast of opposite colours, but I am not favourable of the above partial use of the harmony of triads as shown by the Colour Wheel Page of Garden Design.

Very Poor Plant Labelling

After reviewing the situation that 102 plants were missing their identity when in flower in 2013 out of 348 (29.31% of the plants) in 768 square metres of Mixed Borders garden beds:-

• for the Permanent Herbaceous Perennials of the Mixed Border beds in the
  Lost Flowers Page with the
  'Walkabout' and 'Stateless Plants' Page ,
• for the Other Permanent Plants of the Mixed Borders in the Index above
• and the Bedding Plants of the Mixed Border beds in the
  Bedding Plant Index Page
  and Un-labelled Bedding Plant Index Page

I am tempted to state:-
'There is room for improvement in the Mixed Border'.