In the BBC2 Great British Garden Revival series, Rachel de Thame showed us how to grow flowers and how to cut and arrange them simply and effectively.
For her masterclass, Rachel only used three different types of flower which are easy to grow from seed and are a welcome addition to any flower garden.
Dill
Dill is a herb which can grow up to nearly 1m. A very graceful, structural and filling plant for the flower border with slender stems and fine, delicate leaves.
The latter of which have many culinary uses.
The large umbelliferous heads of dill flowers create a great acid green backdrop to an arrangement providing a light and airy framework for other flowers.
As a hardy annual, dill can be sown directly where it is to flower.
Cleome
Cleome hassleriana or Spider flower as it is commonly known, is an erect half hardy annual which is great as bushy, screen, or border plant.
It is a wonderful plant for pollinating insects and easy to grow from seed. We like ‘Colour Fountain Mixed‘ with spiralling scented sprays in pink, rose, lilac, purple, carmine and white.
Snapdragon
Rachel uses a double ruby Snapdragon or Antirrhinum and again this can be grown from seed or even purchased as young plants.
Antirrhinum majus ‘Double Madame Butterfly Mixed’ F1 Hybrid is a large completely double, azalea-shaped blooms provide a riot of colour and its reliability and impressiveness.
Ideal for borders, bedding and superb cut flowers.
More information
BBC2 Great British Garden Revival web pages – watch the flower masterclass and other clips from the series.