Features: Create your own flower bed in five easy stages

One of the most eagerly anticipated features at the Tatton Park Show every year is the National Flowerbed Competition. Up to 24 entrants, from parks and local authorities, design a flowerbed that in some way represents their region, planted up using massed bedding plants. Competition is fierce and most of the competitors come from the northern half of the country and seaside towns, where there is a strong tradition of this style of planting

Over the last few years many local authorities have moved towards more naturalistic and contemporary schemes in their parks and gardens. Prairie style and wild flower meadows tick the low maintenance box, but bedding plants appear to be making a bit of a comeback - this time in a new direction. And at Tatton the inspiration is spreading beyond the competition.

Try this at home

In a domestic garden most people restrict their bedding to containers and this is what a lot of traditional bedding plants are ideal for. They can be used to create dramatic effects or to emphasise areas and features. For instance; a simple idea would be to plant a carpet of white impatiens to lighten a shady area under a tree.

Incorporating bedding into established beds and borders can be tricky. To ‘fit in’, taller, more structural plants are needed, rather than the smaller, low growing varieties favoured by the National Flower Bed designers. Try plants like tall airy cosmos and the fashionable purple millet ‘Red Baron’ - very useful to lift a border that is going over.

The trick with this sort of ‘fill in’ bedding is to plant in groups and drifts of one variety, for maximum impact and to choose a limited colour palette that complements your existing scheme.

Choosing plants

The choice offered by growers these days is overwhelming; there are some marvellous new varieties and introductions to encourage gardeners to be adventurous. But there are also lots of old favourites that must be due for a comeback, for example asters, sweet williams and the dreadlocked Amaranthus caudatus, gruesomely called ‘Love lies bleeding’.

Some of the new vegetable varieties available now, especially those from Italy, have beautiful foliage and form and make excellent bedding plants. There are frilly-leaved red lettuces and big purple cabbages. The only trouble with using vegetables as bedding is that the effect can be ruined when it's time for lunch!

Some plant suggestions

Yellow/Orange

• Marigolds

• Gazanias

• Rudbeckia hirta 'Prairie Sun'

• Rudbeckia hirta 'Rustic Dwarfs'

Pink

• Begonia semperflorens

• Diascia

• Zinnia (comes in many other zingy colours)

• Lavatera trimestris 'Silver Cup'

• Nicotiana

Purple/Maroon

• Heliotrope

• Verbena

• Petunia

• Salpiglossis Royale Chocolate

• Ricinius communis

Red

• Geranium

• Salvia Red Fire

• Begonia

• Amaranthus caudatus

White/Silver

• Nicotiana sylvestris

• Antirrhinum

• Cosmos

• Helichrysum

• Senecio cineraria

Blue

• Ageratum

• Salvia farinacea

• Anagalis

• Annual larkspur