Alsteomerias

Summer arrives in our garden when the alstoemerias burst into flower. They are my favourite border plant, flowering from now until the frost, on and off. And the only work you have to do it take hold of the stems after the petals have dropped, and yank it out of the ground. New stems emerge very quickly, producing successive flushes. Some alstroemerias can grow a bit 'lanky' and topple over. We don't grow these (except a few for cutting). Its not possible to know final heights in the first year, because young plants tend to be quite sturdy, but much taller thereafter. Trial and error is recommended - and be ruthless. Just throw out the varieties that don't suit.

The above yellow and this red are the best alstroemerias we grow. The red is no more than 18 inches high and guaranteed to flower year after year, month after month. Because its so easy to grow and spread by transplanting a spadeful, there are clumps all over the place. Alstroemerias come in all sorts of colours, and the most colourful of all are the various shades of orange. I expect them to feature from time to time through the rest of the year, as I look to dazzle you with colour.

I added this photograph to emphasise the range of colours. We have grown a white named Apollo, but its a bit too 'floppy'. I'm hopeful that this one will become a replacement. Lovely throats.