Potted colour in the garden is a great way to have a good show of flowers and colour for the whole season, says gardening columnist JACKIE WARBURTON.

Most annuals – such as pansies, petunias or vincas – are tough little plants that grow well in full sun or part shade.

In pots, they’re a great way to have a good show of flowers and colour for the whole season. They also grow well in small spaces.

Small perennial plants, such as cyclamens and bedding begonias, are also considered as potted colour and can be grown in pots and swapped out when the seasons change.

Both can be long lived. Cyclamens go into dormancy in the warmer months when bedding begonias are growing well. Swap over the begonias for cyclamen, but keep the dormant plants out of full sun with little to no water until spring and swap them around again. 

Over time, both clumps will grow to a great flowering display that doesn’t have to be replaced. 

Using natives in a potted display is also possible and use short-lived native perennials such as straw flowers, scaevolas or brachyscomes.

Potted colour can be planted in the ground in small pots or even used in large urns in the middle of the lawn as a feature. 

There are lots of choices to get a colourful display, but remember to choose plants that will fill, thrill and spill the entire pot so the flower display shows overall balance and not look like a mess of colour. 

To have a display of winter colour that will survive frosts, they will need to be planted by the end of March to get them growing strongly before the cold weather sets in.

Plants to try this winter are polyanthus, English daisies, pansies, brachyscomes and a new native for me to try, Conostylis candican, with bright yellow flowers. 

All potted colour plants will need to be mulched and will require more regular watering because of their shallow roots.

SUNFLOWERS (Helianthus annuus) are in bloom in Canberra at the moment and are a quick-growing annual that not only flowers, but encourages parrots and bees to the garden. 

Some can grow as high as two metres, but there are dwarf varieties suitable for courtyards and smaller gardens. 

Collecting the seed of sunflowers for sowing the following year is easy and can be done once the petals have fallen from the flower and the flower head is dry. 

Cut the flower head off the top of the plant, place it into a paper bag and keep dry over the winter months. In early spring, lightly tap the flowerhead and all the seeds should fall out into the bag. They can be sown into punnets in September and planted into the garden in October when the soil has warmed. 

Sunflower seeds are grown for their oil and also as an edible snack. 

Wild sunflowers have multiple heads on a plant, and a hybrid sunflower will have one flower at the apex of the plant.

Wild sunflowers are more than likely to self-seed, whereas hybrids may need to be bought every year. 

Sunflowers will face east at maturity to capture the morning sunlight and attract the most pollination. 

A COUSIN of the sunflower is the Jerusalem artichoke (Helianthus tuberosus). 

Fortunately, Jerusalem artichokes won’t self-seed, but are propagated by tubers underground. If not kept in check, they spread really quickly to where there is moisture in the garden. In many cases, once you grow them, you will have them for life. 

They are considered a nutty vegetable and versatile in the kitchen as well. 

Harvest by pulling the entire plant when it begins to fade and white tubers will be just beneath the soil. Brush off soil around the tubers and wash well before preparing.

Jottings

• Have autumn bulbs ready for planting next month.

• Direct sow root vegetables where they are to grow.

• Deadhead summer perennials such as cat mint, lavender and salvias.

• Fertilise all fruit trees for strong growth before winter. 

jackwar@home.netspeed.com.au