If your garden has run out of steam or you just want to get it looking more colourful, try our favourite plants for colour from midsummer onwards.
Garden centres and nurseries should have good stocks of plants and you may even find that some of them are starting to have plant sales, especially for bedding plants, such as petunias and begonias.
Discover the best places to buy plants and seeds online.
1. Petunias
Available in an amazing range of colours and flower markings, petunias are particularly good for planting in patio pots, windowboxes and hanging baskets. Use a Best Buy compost for containers and mix in some Best Buy controlled-release feed. They will need watering about once a day throughout the summer, but will keep blooming until the autumn frosts eventually kill them.
Try our Best Buy petunias and learn how to grow them.
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2. Begonias
Another fantastic choice for the patio or balcony, begonias will bloom all summer until the frosts. They’re particularly useful for shady spots. Feed with a Best Buy tomato food if they start to tail off in late summer and they will perk up quickly.
Try our Best Buy begonias and learn how to grow them.
3. Agapanthus
Beautiful blue, purple or white flowers in either tall or dwarf varieties, agapanthus look elegant in both pots and borders in a sunny spot. If you’re planting in the ground, put them near the front of the border so other plants don’t crowd them. They’re perennials, so will return to flower summer after summer.
Try our Best Buy agapanthus and learn how to grow them.
4. Hebe
These easy-to-grow shrubs come in a wide range of colours, including pink, white and purple. You can also buy ones with colourful leaves that look good even when the plant isn’t in flower. They like a sunny spot and well-drained soil. Dwarf varieties will thrive in patio pots, too. They will flower year after year.
Try our Best Buy hebes and learn how to grow them.
5. Dahlias
Grown from tubers, you can buy potted dahlias in summer and they will bloom until the autumn frosts. Leave them in the ground and they should return next spring, unless the winter is particularly wet or cold. Keep removing the old flowers as they finish as this will encourage the plant to produce more new blooms.
