Flowery Dreaming

Gaura, the Breeze Dancer

This pretty perennial has graceful white flowers that dance in the breeze on long, nodding stems. Also known as Whirling Butterflies, Yates Gaura 'Sparkle White' flowers from early spring right through until late summer.

Perfect for adding white accents and delicate texture to small space gardens or containers.

Burgundy and Antique Rose Beauties

Yates Cosmos 'Rubenza' produces single blooms in a luxuriant deep burgundy when they first open, gradually fading to antique rose. Their elegant and unique colour palette makes for absolutely gorgeous cut flowers. They form medium-height plants, with profuse early blooms that flower continuously through summer.

Cosmos does best in well-drained soil, in a spot that receives at least 6 hours of sunshine a day. Keep deadheading the spent flowers, to keep them coming.

Love Love-in-A-Mist

Romantic cottage flowers may not be the first thing that springs to mind when you hear the name Nigella! Nigella, also known as love-in-a-mist, is a traditional cottage garden flower that floats on a little lacy 'ruff' of leaves. 

We have two delightful choices, in contrasting blue and white colours. Yates 'Spanish Love-in-a-mist' is a gorgeous wildflower native to Spain and North Africa. The large flowers are deep, intense violet-blue with burgundy-red stamens, that form into striking and sculptural 'jester's hat' seed pods. Tall stems and attractive fine, airy foliage help to make Nigella an outstanding cut flower.

Yates Nigella 'Love-in-a-mist', has striking ice-white blooms with rich mascara-like stamens. It also has very pretty, delicate, fern-like foliage.

You can team these two up for a very attractive mix...they complement one another beautifully.

In February in temperate areas (delay until autumn in cool zones), seed should be sown direct where it is to grow, in a sunny or partly shaded area and covered only lightly with some Yates Black Magic Seed Raising Mix.

Reaching about 90cm tall, they make a gorgeous cottage style border or bedding plant. Trim spent flowers regularly (or cut flowers for a vase) to encourage a longer flowering period.

Brighten a Shady Garden, with Cinerarias

If you’re after bold, bright colour for a sheltered, partly shaded area, you can’t go past Cinerarias. They're members of the Asteraceae family, so they're related to asters, daisies and sunflowers.

Cinerarias are actually a hybrid of two Pericallis species, first bred in King George III's royal gardens, way back in 1777 - they're a very old favourite! Poor King George had the American Revolution going on at the time, so he probably needed a bit of extra garden time to de-stress.

Planted en masse, cinerarias are breathtakingly colourful; it’s well worth growing lots of seedlings to fill your space. Cinerarias grown in shady conditions display the most intense colour, in a startling range of hues. Flowering potted cinerarias can be brought indoors for a few days at a time, to create a cheerful table centrepiece.

Our current favourite is Yates Cineraria 'Silver Dust', but not because it's brightly-coloured. At first glance, it's very subdued for a cineraria, with its velvety, fern-like silver leaves. But it has a superpower - the striking foliage adds dramatic accent colour and contrast to a garden design. Pair it with bold or dark-coloured companion plants: it makes them instantly shine.

Cineraria seed needs light to germinate, so the very fine seed should only be pressed into trays of Yates Black Magic Seed Raising Mix, misted gently with water and kept in a warm place. For best results, cover the tray with plastic cling film to help keep the mix moist. Seedlings can be transplanted out into the garden or into a pot when they're large enough to handle.

Flower care:

• Deadhead spent flowers to keep cinerarias blooming for longer (and looking nicer).

• Protect new cineraria seedlings from destructive snails and slugs with a light sprinkling of Yates Blitzem Snail Slug Pellets.

• Once the cineraria seedlings are established, feed each week with Yates Thrive Roses Flowers Liquid Plant Food. It’s specially formulated for flowering plants, with the right balance of nutrients to encourage both healthy green leaf growth and lots of flowers.

Rich, Sumptuous, Moody

Yates Rudbeckia 'Cherry Brandy' is a uniquely romantic, richly-coloured selection, with flowers shading from deep crimson to carmine red, with dark chocolate eyes. Cherry Brandy blooms from summer right through into late autumn, with a mounding habit that reaches around 50-60cm in height. Perennial rudbeckia makes a great container plant, but it also looks gorgeous in a garden bed.

Also known as black-eyed Susans, standard rudbeckias are usually warm yellow tones, so Cherry Brandy's deep-hued flowers are a real eye-catcher. They look amazing planted together with deep burgundy colours like Yates Cosmos 'Rubenza' or deeply-pigmented red and white-tipped dahlias. Add some subtle contrasts like Yates Aquilegia 'Winky Double Red-White' or asters, to create a luxurious winey-chocolatey bed of deep hues into autumn.

Rudbeckias enjoy growing in full sun and will tolerate drought conditions once they’re established. An added bonus is that rudbeckia flowers are very attractive to bees, butterflies and birds. The gorgeous blooms last exceptionally well in a vase. 

Rudbeckias can be trimmed lightly back once flowering has finished. To help keep the plants healthy, regularly apply Yates Thrive Flower Fruit Soluble Fertiliser around the root zone. It’s rich in potassium, to promote lots of beautiful flowers.