4 aristocrats for royal flower beds

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Seasonal plants allow you to bring into the gardens and bright colors, and unusual shapes, and the game of textures. The choice is so great that everyone can find an exclusive decoration for the garden to their taste. Although richly flowering crops remain the most popular, sometimes just lush flowering is not enough. If you are looking for plants that would help you set up noble accents in the garden, and with a game of colors and textures would remind you of aristocratic parks and estates of England and France, then you should pay attention not to petunia, but to genuine garden aristocrats - pelargoniums, begonias and balsamines.

Among gardening summers and seasonal accents there are many plants special and exclusive. But there are also classical and star cultures that can stand out against any background and in any circumstances. Pelargonium, Waller's balsamins, tuberous and evergreen begonias are all plants with a history. They won their title as favorites of flower growers and gardeners long before the assortment of flyers became so vast. And despite the centennial history of their use in horticultural culture, they are still very popular plants.

These four plants have a lot in common:

Firstly, these summers bloom mainly in the red-pink-purple palette, offering to place noble and saturated royal spots of color in the garden.

Secondly, these plants are immediately recognized at a glance. Anyone who does not even have their own garden will easily recognize begonias or pelargoniums in the garden or in the city flower beds.

Thirdly, unusual foliage perfectly complements the luxurious flowering and sets these stars apart from any other flyers.

And pelargonium, and balsamins, and begonias look both classic and noble. They are very sophisticated, create very beautiful spots, are self-sufficient and do not need the company of other plants, but they do not get lost against their background. Wherever they are used - in a stone flower garden, on a basement, in a pot garden, in a mixborder, an ordinary flower garden or a flower bed from summer people - they will always be the first to catch the eye and stand out against any background. These plants may be far from perfect, but certainly self-sufficient and proud.

These four amazing plants have one thing in common: they can be obtained not only from seeds. Of course, seed propagation is a classic method. But pelargonium and balsamins can be easily obtained from the mother liquors, preserving the bushes for the winter and cutting the cuttings in early spring. The uterine bushes are stored practically the same as the begonia tubers.

Impressive and royal luxurious, representatives of this four flowering aristocrats are ready to conquer new heights. And breeders all over the world do not allow plants to fall in the ratings of popular summers and seasonal accents, regularly replenishing the collections of hybrids and varieties with new colors and shapes of flowers.

We’ll get to know better the noble seasonal stars who offer bright and special accents in the garden and on the balconies.

1. Tuberous begonia

It is believed that this plant, if it appears in the garden or on the balcony, is forever. And it’s not at all its longevity: once having seen how this special tuberous plant blooms profusely and tirelessly, it is already impossible to imagine a full season without it.

Tuberous begonia (Begonia x tuberhybrida) - herbaceous tuberous perennials from 20 to 80 cm high with juicy, almost translucent, upright or drooping shoots and asymmetric heart-shaped leaves. The flowering of tuberous begonias causes associations with roses, then with camellias, carnations, and even with peonies.

Indeed, luxurious inflorescences surprise not only with colors from white to yellow, orange, pink, lilac, purple and red flowers of the rarest shades and transitions, but also with the shape, beauty of a wavy or ruffled edge, and variations in structure. Beauties bloom from May-June to September-November, depending on weather conditions. For open ground, heterosis hybrids and ampelous begonias are best adapted, the selection of which is most active.

Tuber begonias - festive accents in the design of any garden, balcony, terrace or recreation area. Magnificent tuberous begonias are grown both in pots and in ampels, planted in stone flower beds or socles, open soil on flower beds, in borders and mixborders.

Tuberous begonias in the garden should be protected from the wind and even drafts, set in secluded and protected places. The plant requires careful handling, because the branches are very easy to break off because of its juiciness and fragility. But otherwise comfortable conditions are very easy to choose.

Tuberous begonias bloom well in the sun, and in diffuse lighting, and in partial shade. They can be grown in any loose and light substrate with sufficient nutrition. If the container is unstable, it is better to weight it with stones under the drainage.

Caring for tuberous begonias is not complicated. Watering is carried out regularly, but carefully, without soaking greens and tuber, maintaining a constant, but very light soil moisture. Tuber beauties are fed 1 time in 10-14 days, using any universal fertilizer or organics. In ampelous varieties, pinch shoots.

Growing tuberous begonias from seeds is not an easy task, but this method is the best for preserving varietal traits during propagation. Seedlings are very small and require careful care and exposure to preserve them, and they do not develop too quickly. Begonia tubers, by contrast, are easily stored in a refrigerator or other frost-resistant cold place in paper bags or boxes.

So that the tubers do not lose their elasticity, they can be periodically sprayed or used to increase the humidity “filler” - wet sawdust or moss. But even at a price they are so affordable that you should not despair in case of an unsuccessful wintering: plants are massively available for sale in spring, they are easy to grow at home in order to decorate the garden with an incomparable queen of tuberous seasonal accents by the beginning of the season.

In order to get blooming tuberous begonias by the start of the warm season, it is enough to plant them, buried by 2/3 in shallow containers at the end of February or March. For this plant, any loose substrate is suitable. In the light and at room temperature, the first sprouts appear quite quickly. The plant is watered gently, maintaining light soil moisture and preventing tubers from getting wet. After the greens begin to actively grow, the tubers are completely covered with soil, and the irrigation slightly increased.

Tuberous begonias are brought into the garden from the end of May or even in June - only when the return frosts leave. But they need to be accustomed to open air gradually, starting adaptation 3-4 weeks before removal, gradually increasing the time the begonia stays in the fresh air and adapting the plant to brighter lighting. The heat lovingness in the spring is compensated by the endurance in these plants in the fall: begonias tolerate autumn cooling easily and continue to bloom until the excavation, which is best done before the first frost.

2. Begonia ever flowering

This plant seems unprepossessing alone and knows no equal when planting an array. Modest in size and shape, flowering is not the main plus of this begonia. After all, the number of flowers and the relevance of flowering, as well as bright colors, more than compensate for this drawback. This begonia not least appreciates bronze, purple or green leaves, creating a stunning ornamental texture of low carpets.

Begonia ever flowering - a complex hybrid that often appears under catalogs under an unofficial botanical name Begonia x semperflorens-cultorum. A compact herbaceous plant with a height of 15 to 20 cm attracts both juicy shoots and rounded oval leaves, the asymmetry of which is not immediately evident.

Small flowers are collected in branched inflorescences in the axils of the leaves, they would be inconspicuous if not for the bright colors and their number: during flowering, compact bushes turn into colorful rugs in which the number of flowers corresponds to the number of attractive glossy leaves.

The color palette includes white, pink, orange, two-tone options for simple and terry varieties. The choice of varieties of evergreen begonia with a variety of colors of leaves and flowers is really great. But the variety of this beauty is also associated with a great risk of unsuccessful purchases: along with compact, squat plants, whose closely spaced leaves indicate the possibility of creating a dense and beautiful carpet, there are loose varieties prone to stretching, which do not give the same effect.

This plant is magnificent not only in carpet plantings and ornamental flower beds or mixborders, but also indispensable as a border culture. Unusual greenery and bright flowering create such noble spots and stripes that it is impossible to look away from the ever-flowering begonia. But no worse, it will look in flower girls, and in pots, and in mixed compositions, and even in ampels.

Everblooming begonia prefers partial shade or at least protection against strong shading and direct sunlight. The soil for this plant should be loose and light, nutritious, well-developed and slightly acidic.

Plant care is reduced to maintaining light soil moisture, compensating for periods of drought and regular feeding (every 2-3 weeks).

Due to the low price of seedlings, eternal blooming begonia is easier to buy ready-made, rather than grown from seeds. It is easier than messing with the seedlings, keeping the uterine bushes indoors at winter, and then pruning the old shoots and stimulating the growth of young twigs, from which cuttings can be cut for rooting in the soil. But seed reproduction is effective and not so problematic as they say.

Landing of this begonia in containers and soil can be carried out from the end of May or in June, after the threat of return frosts disappears.

3. "Roly wet" - Waller balsam and their hybrids

It is difficult to name a culture that would more deserve the title of classical than this type of balsam. He has been familiar to everyone since childhood, and although he is so familiar, he still does not remain in the shadow of fashionable novelties today. An impressive “career” does not prevent the untouchable being one of the most popular, vibrant and beautiful flyers.

Balsam waller (Impatiens walleriana) Today it is presented in a garden, and even in room culture, dwarf hybrids and varieties. The maximum height of most plants is limited to 15-20 cm, the largest varieties can grow up to 35 cm. Even without pinching the shoots, balsamins form lush, beautiful bushes, surprising with simple leaves of saturated color, juicy shoots and one-color or two-color apical flowers, which are otherwise charming you name it.

The color of the flowers includes all the romantic and delicate shades of the color spectrum from white to saturated pink, red, orange, purple. Today, balsams can boast a large selection of different varieties, the flowers of which will be inferior in beauty to roses. Bright shades of pink, red, purple colors, varying degrees of terry, green or dark red leaves - there really is plenty to choose from.

Balsamins can be grown as a potted or ampelous plant, and in open soil. It looks amazing in flat flowerbeds and carpet mixborders, creating amazingly beautiful coatings with a tight fit.

It is not difficult to choose the conditions for balsam. This yearbook perfectly tolerates shading, most of the new varieties do not bloom too well in the bright sun (two-color varieties burn out especially strongly). In a sunny place, balsam suffers from heat and drought, its well-being is highly dependent on care. The soil should be loose and fertile. Windy areas are not suitable for this fragile plant.

Caring for balsam is very simple. The plant likes stable humidity and plentiful watering, but even if the soil dries for a short time, it is well restored after watering. Top dressing for this flyer is carried out carefully, avoiding excess fertilizers (especially nitrogen). Mulching simplifies maintenance and allows for more flowering due to protection against overheating. Blooming balsam flowers are best removed (at least when grown in containers).

Balsamins can be obtained from seeds, and by the method of cuttings. Uterine bushes are stored indoors for the winter, and then in March cuttings are cut and rooted in soil or water under a hood.

Balsamins are taken out and planted into the garden most often already blooming, as soon as the weather is stable and stable.

4. Pelargonium-geraniums

Once obligatory for every cuisine, pelargonium has gone through a period of decline in popularity. But she returned to the top of the rating of summers and seasonal accents - this time as a plant, mainly a balcony and a garden. Today, it is no longer associated with outdated design and nostalgia, but recalls the bright landscaping and unique pottery gardens of Italy and Spain. Indeed, without bright pelargoniums it is impossible to imagine a single street and not a single town in the Mediterranean.

Pelargoniums are zonal (Pelargonium zonale) and pelarginia hybrid (Pelargonium hybridum, or Hybrids pelargoniums) we are still known as geraniums, although they are only relatives of genuine garden plants of the genus Geranium. Strong shoots and large beautiful leaves form graceful bushes that do not look uninteresting without flowering at all.

Fingered or palmate, dissected, variegated or unusual leaves in fashionable varieties are as common as simple kidney-shaped, with a beautiful ruffy-wavy edge. Different shades of color in certain areas of the leaf make velvety greens even more interesting, and the palette of shades today is not limited to bright and dark green. Pelargonium flowers are collected in dense umbrellas of inflorescences.

Today, pelargonium has changed. In addition to the usual zonal pelargoniums, there are a huge number of terry, semi-double and simple varieties of the most diverse colors of hybrid origin, not to mention the "angels", variegated, ivy, royal pelargoniums. Although the latter are most likely indoor plants, moving to the garden only for the summer. But a representative palette of white, pink and red varieties of zonal pelargoniums and hybrids is enough to appreciate the beauty of these royal beauties.

Pelargoniums are used in stone flower houses and socles, in containers and pots, introduced into mixed compositions, planted on flower beds and in rabatki, borders and rockeries.

For pelargoniums of any variety and species, the main thing is good lighting and soil that does not contain fresh organic matter, but is nutritious and loose. These plants should be planted and planted only in bright sunny areas.

Pelargonium care cannot be called difficult either. Plants do not like waterlogging, tolerate drought well. Top dressing is carried out with a standard frequency (the same as for most flyers). Withered inflorescences are best cut off, because they spoil the decorativeness of the bushes, to which admiring glances are riveted.

Pelargonium is easiest to propagate by cuttings, although it is easy to get plants from seeds. Zonal pelargoniums in winter usually lose their attractiveness, their leaves turn yellow and dry, the internodes are extended. But in the spring, cuttings can be cut from the plant (under the leaf node), rooting them in a moist substrate. Pelargonium is preferred to spend the winter in a cool environment, at a temperature of about 10 degrees Celsius.

Pelargonium garden, like most classic stars with a noble character, is transferred only when the threat of nocturnal frost has passed. When planting in May in the soil, the plant will not die, but it will have to be additionally protected by mulching and cover in time for the night in case of frost, so it is better to wait until planting until June.