Garden expert reveals surprising job you need to do this weekend to keep your flowers blooming all summer

MOST gardeners have heard of the Chelsea Chop.

Named after the May flower show, it’s where you cut back perennials late Spring before flowering to make sure they bloom for longer.

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Salvia border at Great Comp gardens, in Kent[/caption]

But there’s another way to make your flowers flourish – it’s called the Hampton Hack, and you should be doing it right now.

Also named after an RHS show, it involves cutting early summer flowering herbaceous plants after their first blooms – back to just above ground level.

This encourages new foliage and flowers.

And be brave – just use shears to cut back the whole plant, you don’t need to worry too much about being too accurate.

Just remember to water and feed well afterwards.

One of the flowers that benefits most from the Hampton Hack – which brings a whole summer of colour and joy to your outside space, is the Salvia.

And if there’s one expert to get advice from when you’re thinking about growing your own – it’s William Dyson – curator at Great Comp gardens near Sevenoaks, Kent.

Responsible for bringing Hot Lips to the nation, he’s been growing and experimenting with Salvias for 30 years – and has a specialised nursery on site with more than 250 different types.

“They’re just the best plant,” he told me.

“There’s aromatic foliage, a long flowering period from May to November and there’s a massive range of colours.

“From purple, red, pink, cream, orange and everything in between.

“Plus they’re an environmentally sound source of food for bees.”

Sadly, it seems one of my favourites, Hot Lips, has fallen out of fashion.

William’s new favourites are cultivars ‘Naomy Tree’,’Day Glow,’ ‘Pink Pong’, ‘Cool Cream’ and ‘Jezebel’.

Although Salvias can be found all over the world – Central, South and North America, Europe and Asia, William reckons the best choice for a hardy UK plant that will overwinter, is the Mexican.

“The shrubby salvia’s grow in a sunny position, in well drained soil, with plenty of light, and air movement – and because they’re high up, they’re used to lower temperatures, which is great for the UK,” he added.

“They’re also very easy to look after, and very easy to take cuttings from.”

If you want to see the Salvia’s in full force – including William Dyson’s rare cultivars – visit the Great Comp Garden show, which runs from August 10-11.

It’s garden’s biggest event of the year – at it’s absolute peak of colour. For more information visit www.greatcompgarden.co.uk

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William Dyston with his Salvias at Great Comp[/caption]