The English Garden – September 2019

74 THE ENGLISH GARDEN SEPTEMBER 2019

B

old and architectural,
agapanthus bring colour,
excitement and a touch
of the exotic in high-
summer. Brilliant blue and
occasionally white, their flower-heads
erupt above lush, strap-like foliage,
bursting from papery sheaths to create
starbursts of multi-floreted blooms which
flourish for six weeks or more. Select
early-, mid- and late-flowering varieties,
from an abundance of cultivars, and you
can enjoy a summer-long show.
Use agapanthus to bring bolts
of saturated colour to traditional
herbaceous borders, or they can be
threaded through grasses for a more
contemporary feel. They thrive in
containers too, brightening terraces and
balconies. Their sturdy-stemmed, long-
lasting flowers are excellent for cutting
and their trumpet-like florets attract bees
and other pollinators to the garden.
The colour palette spans the entire
spectrum of blues, from deepest purple
and indigo to sapphire and the palest
of pastels. There is also a handful of
elegant, white agapanthus, like the
classic ‘Headbourne White’ and pink-
tinged ‘Glacier Stream’, plus a few subtle
bi-colours such as ‘Silver Moon’ and new
‘Twister’, which give a striped or two-
tone eect.
Height varies, from the diminutive
10cm ‘Baby Blue’, which works well
in a rock garden or shallow pan, to
statuesque plants such as the September-
flowering ‘Loch Hope’, which reaches
1.5m tall. The majority though are mid-
height, between 90cm and 1.2m high,
perfect for billowing borders and pots
alike. The shape of the flowers varies
too – most form rounded spheres but
cultivars of Agapanthus inapertus have
dramatic, drooping blooms. Individual
florets can number anything from 20-100; the more
a flowerhead has, the longer it will last because the
florets flower sequentially.
However, the most crucial variable is hardiness.
Agapanthus are native to South Africa and won’t
tolerate prolonged, severe, winter wet and cold.
Deciduous varieties, which die back over winter,
are capable of withstanding outdoor temperatures
down to -15°C, but evergreen varieties have to be
overwintered under glass, in their containers, and
protected from sub-zero temperatures.
Lady Christine Skelmersdale, owner of Broadleigh
Bulbs in Somerset, has been growing agapanthus for

more than 40 years and has amassed one of the finest

collections in the country. While their allure is multi-

fold, Christine enjoys their ease of growing and how

varied and versatile they are. “Tall, small, deciduous,

evergreen, variegated, in all shades of blue. There’s

one to suit every garden, from the smallest patio to

the largest herbaceous border,” she enthuses.

Christine’s agapanthus collection began back in

1972 when she was given a packet of Headbourne

Hybrid seeds. “It was a curious engagement present

from a close friend of my future in-laws, Luly

Palmer of Headbourne Worthy Manor,” she says.

Christine was teaching abroad at the time, so she

Above ‘Double Diamond’

is a recent introduction,

with double white

flowers on compact

plants, perfect for pots.

PLANT FOCUS