Sunday, April 21, 2002		Garden Life

Splendid summer annuals
Satish Narula

GROWING annual plants gives very quick results as these plants bloom for only a short duration. When grown at staggered intervals, they provide blooms over a longer period. The period of blossoming of these plants can be further increased by removing fading blooms.

Whether you are living in an old house or newly constructed one, in your own home or a rented accommodation, on the ground floor or the top floor, you can grow annuals as they are quick to give results and can be grown in pots, although they give the best results when planted in the ground. Above all, they add colour and life to your garden at a minimum cost.

With the end of winter, winter annuals have perished. However, a few diehards like petunia, salvia, verbena etc. can still be spotted. Now is the time to start preparing for summer annuals. The range of summer annuals is rather limited. However, by securing good quality seeds from known and trusted sources, you can beautify your garden.

One of the most beautiful summer annuals is celosia that gives forth enchantingly large and compact heads of a velvety texture. This bloom arouses curiosity and one feels like touching it. Also called cock’s comb, it is available in a variety of hues ranging from white to yellow, pink, red rose, purple, golden and crimson.

In a properly laid bed with the dwarf variety grown at a distance of 25 to 30 cm between consecutive plants and consecutive rows, you will get a bed full of velvet with coloured patches dotted against the green of the lawn. For pot culture, even a single plant in a 10-inch pot is sufficient. Clip the plant at the top when it has around six leaves.

Zinnia is another important summer season annual available in various colours, ranging from orange, red, pink, yellow, lavender, mauve and various mixed shades. The flowers can be single, semi-double or double. The flowers are long-lasting and continue to bloom till September-October.

Kochia, also called the burning bush, is valued for its lush green foliage and ovoid-conical shape that provides a refreshing sight. The plants grow in such a fashion that it seems they have been trimmed to get a regular shape. It should be grown in a sunny place.

Gomphrena gives flowers in the shape of round ‘ping-pong’ balls in white, pink, purple and magenta. The most beautiful, however, is the red-rose coloured flower, a bed of which is too attractive to escape attention. By hanging these flowers upside down, they can also be dried.

Gaillardia is a plant of medium height that provides single as well as double flowers. The flowers are available in many colours like yellow, scarlet, orange, crimson and many more.

During the summer one plant that you can use for edging, as a pot plant and as a basket plant is portulaca. It needs sun all the time as its flowers open with the rising sun and close when the sun sets. The plants have a trailing habit. The branches are succulent and even a part of the plant, when snapped and planted, grows into an independent plant.