Pansies and poppies are included in Dunedin Botanic Garden's bedding displays for this coming season.
They are reliable and look most effective when planted en masse.
Plants used this season:
Icelandic poppies
Some have large bowl shaped lightly fragrant flowers in shades of yellow and oranges, pinks and white.
They are one of the better poppies for cutting and last several days in a vase if the stem ends are seared in a flame or boiling water for a few seconds.
In some areas we underplant with tulips to complement the poppies.
Pansies
The good old pansy would have to be one of the most reliable of all bedding plants, always blooming prolifically.
They are such versatile plants in the garden, readily available in a large colour range so are great for planting in containers either on their own or with bulbs.
They are also suitable in the garden for filling gaps between plants or as an edging plant to complement the rest of the display.
Care
As with most bedding plants if you don't want them to self-seed freely it is best to remove old flowers and seed pods early.
This also helps to extend the flowering season over a much longer period of time.
- Linda Hellyer is the rose and herbaceous collection curator at Dunedin Botanic Garden.
