Plants for South-Facing Gardens

Q: What plants are best for a south-facing garden?

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Q: Is a south-facing garden too hot for some plants?

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Q: Do south-facing gardens need more watering?

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Q: Which plants flower longest in a south-facing garden?

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Plants for a south-facing garden get the best of the light. A south aspect is sunny and warm for most of the day, so it suits the widest range of flowering and sun-loving plants of any spot in the garden.

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Oxalis triangularis 'Mijke' 12cm / 1L Plants - Outdoor GROW TROPICALS

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Purple False Shamrock (Mijke)

Oxalis triangularis 'Mijke'

£10.99 £12.99

1

Firefern (Molten Lava Sorrel)

Oxalis Vulcan Pink

£9.99

1

Firefern (Molten Lava Sorrel)

Oxalis Sunset Yellow

£9.99

1

Persian Shield

Strobilanthes auriculata var. dyeriana

£13.99 £29.99

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Firefern (Molten Lava Sorrel)

Oxalis Vulcan Gold

£11.99

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Palm-leaf Begonia

Begonia luxurians

£45.99

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Fatsia japonica 'Spiders Web'

£13.99 £14.49

1

Japanese Banana

Musa basjoo

£16.99

1

Firefern 'Nordlys' (Molten Lava Sorrel)

Oxalis spiralis vulcanicola 'Nordlys'

£8.99

1

Black Magic Elephant Ears (Black Taro)

Colocasia esculenta 'Black Magic'

£11.99

1

Coleus

Plectranthus (Coleus Grp) 'Main Street Ruby Road'

£9.99

1

Blue Passion Flower

Passiflora caerulea

£14.99

1

Silver Velvet Senecio 'Angel Wings'

Senecio candidans 'Angel Wings'

£14.99

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Purple Passion Fruit

Passiflora edulis (Passion Fruit)

£18.99

1

Dwarf Hedgehog Agave

Agave stricta 'Nana'

£10.99

1

Variegated Stonecrop 'Atlantis'

Sedum tekesimense 'Atlantis'

£6.99

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Chocolate Persian Silk Tree

Albizia julibrissin 'Summer Chocolate'

£34.99

1

Creeping Wire Vine (Variegated)

Muehlenbeckia Axillaris variegated

£6.99

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Dark Purple Aeonium 'Velours'

Aeonium arboreum 'Velours'

£12.99

1

Wagner's Windmill Palm (Miniature Chusan Palm)

Trachycarpus wagnerianus

£39.99

1

Cider Gum 'Azura'

Eucalyptus gunnii 'Azura'

£27.99

1

Blue Fescue

Festuca glauca 'Compact Blue'

£5.49

1

Flame Lily

Gloriosa superba 'Rothschildiana'

£62.99

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Pineapple Lily

Eucomis comosa | Pineapple Lily

£14.99

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Rice Paper Plant (Chinese Rice-paper Plant)

Tetrapanax papyrifer

£37.99

1

Wire Vine (Maidenhair Vine)

Muehlenbeckia complexa

£6.99

1

Red Abyssinian Banana

Ensete ventricosum 'Maurelii'

£17.99

1

Golden Kiwi

Actinidia deliciosa (Golden Kiwi)

£19.99

1

Variegated Kiwi Vine

Actinidia kolomikta

£18.99

1

Purple False Shamrock (Love Plant)

Oxalis triangularis

£9.99

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Rooper's Red Hot Poker

Kniphofia rooperi

£14.99

1

Dwarf Kowhai, Little Baby

Sophora Little Baby

£9.99

1

Coleus 'Main Street Bourbon Street' (Painted Nettle)

Coleus scutellarioides 'Main Street Bourbon Street'

£9.99

1

Coleus 'Main Street Spacecake' (Painted Nettle)

Coleus scutellarioides 'Main Street Spacecake'

£8.99

1

Red Banana Plant

Musa 'Ever Red'

£16.99

1

Mexican Feather Grass

Stipa tenuissima 'Ponytails'

£5.99

1

Red Hot Poker (Torch Lily)

Kniphofia 'Flamenco' (Red Hot Poker)

£8.99

1

Dwarf Pampas Grass

Cortaderia selloana Pumila

£12.99

1

Chinese Fringe Flower, Fire Dance

Loropetalum Fire Dance

£6.99

1

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Making the most of a south-facing garden

A south-facing garden is the sunniest aspect you can have, in full light from morning to evening for most of the year. That warmth and brightness opens up the largest choice of any garden: flowering perennials at their most floriferous, sun-loving exotics, silver foliage and Mediterranean-style planting all do well here.

The one thing to plan for is heat and dryness. South-facing beds warm up fast and dry out quickly, so free-draining soil and a few genuinely drought-tolerant plants take the pressure off in summer. Pots in particular will need regular watering. Get the drainage right and a south aspect rewards you with the longest, strongest flowering display of the whole garden.

All grown for UK gardens and sent out well rooted.

Frequently Asked Questions

What plants are best for a south-facing garden?

A south aspect suits sun-lovers: flowering perennials, silver and aromatic foliage, grasses and drought-tolerant exotics all thrive in the warmth and light. It gives you the widest choice of any spot in the garden.

Is a south-facing garden too hot for some plants?

It can be in summer, especially in a dry spell. Shade-lovers will scorch, and thirsty plants need watching. Choosing some drought-tolerant plants and keeping the soil free-draining takes the pressure off.

Do south-facing gardens need more watering?

Often, yes, since they warm up and dry out faster than other aspects. Pots especially need regular water in summer. Established drought-tolerant plants cope with far less once their roots are down.

Which plants flower longest in a south-facing garden?

Sun drives flowering, so most flowering perennials bloom hardest and longest in a south aspect. Mixing early and late kinds keeps colour going from spring into autumn.