Pumpkin Pie, Fruit Crush, Cream Falls – floral starters

1:22pm Friday 18th January 2008

THERE are many tempting seeds and plants to choose from catalogues at this time of year, but how do you know you're going to get a great performer that does what it says on the packet?

Consumers' Association magazine Gardening Which? put new flower varieties to the test at its trial gardens to find out the best bloomers among new flowers. Researchers tested germination, flowering, foliage and resistance to pests and diseases last summer, and reveal the results in the latest issue of the magazine.

The best included the California poppy Fruit Crush (Thompson & Morgan, 01473-695225, www.thompson-morgan.com), which produced masses of yellow, orange, pink and red flowers from the end of July to the end of August.

They don't like wet, though, so would have probably performed better in a dry summer.

For a stunning autumn show, they recommend the ornamental grass pennisetum Cream Falls (Thompson & Morgan, 01473-695225, www.thompson-morgan.com), planted in swathes through the border and producing long, fluffy, white flowers from July to the end of September.

Long-flowering gems include viola Pumpkin Pie (Suttons, 0870-2200- 606, www.suttons.co.uk), sown at the beginning of May and producing masses of orange, yellow and black flowers throughout the summer.

They are trouble-free and look great at the front of the border or in pots.

If you have a hot, dry spot in the garden where you want to make some impact, go for nasturtium Paintbox (Dobies, 0844-701-7625, www.dobies.co.uk), which produces an impressive show of red, yellow and orange flowers from July to September. They are good ground cover plants and do well in poor soil.

The enormous flowers of sunflower Green Heart (Thompson & Morgan, 01473-695-225, www.thompson-morgan.com), which span 40cm, should be enough to dazzle most visitors to your garden. The plant grows up to 160cm, so is great for the back of the border, flowering from late July to mid-August. You'll attract the birds if you leave the seedheads on at the end of summer.

Out of all the plants grown, the favourite was aster Bridesmaids (Suttons, 0870-2200-606, www.suttons.co.uk), which grows to 80cm and produces a mix of pastel shades in pink, apricot and yellow. The flowers help soften the look of the border and go well with ornamental grasses. Seeds were sown in May and germinated quickly, although asters are lateflowering, blooming in August and September.

For details on how to receive three issues of the subscription-only magazine Gardening Which? for £3, tel 01992-822800 or visit which.co.uk Jobs this week ❃ If you had a Christmas tree without roots, let it dry out then remove the branches to use as twiggy supports for plants in spring or take it to a council recycling centre for shredding.

❃Continue winter digging if you haven't yet done it.