_{Anthemis tinctoria ‘E.C. Buxton’ photographed by Val Bourne}

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Anthemis tinctoria ‘E.C. Buxton’

Val Bourne introduces Anthemis tinctoria ‘E.C. Buxton’, an early summer daisy

This pale-yellow, summer-flowering daisy produces weeks of flower in June and July,  long before most daisies flower.  It can be woven through a sunny, well-drained border rather like a spinning thread running through a tapestry. But you must plant ‘E.C. Buxton’  in a sunny, open position or it will sulk and lower its petals. A sunny position is a must for all daisies - after all the word daisy is a corruption of ‘day’s eye’.

When shall I plant it?

Ideally plant all anthemis in spring because these drought-resistant plants will be able to establish a deep root system more easily. Incorporate grit on heavy soils when planting.

What can I plant with it?

Plant several through sun-loving, summer-flowering plants like English lavenders, the blue-stemmed Eryngium planum and hardy blue geraniums like ‘Philippe Vapelle’. Or use dark-blue summer-flowering Salvia sylvestris ‘Mainacht’ or S. verticillata ‘Purple Rain’. Add lots of silver foliage including artemisias, salvias and rock roses and then add some vertical accents.  Allium ‘Purple Sensation’, the deep-violet Verbascum ‘Violetta’ and the dark, sulty Iris ‘Langport Wren’ will all show the pallid yellow flowers to advantage.

How do I look after it?

Artemesias are short-lived plants that have a tendency to go woody at the base. You can easily propagate new plants by pulling away young shoots in April and May. These obligingly come away with a piece of root. Pot them up individually into three-inch pots of compost and, once the roots reach the bottom of the pot, plant them out into the garden.

Where can I buy it?

‘E.C. Buxton’ is widely available and there are other good soft-yellow forms including the earlier hybrid ‘Susanne Mitchell’ and the smaller flowered, almost beige ‘Sauce Hollandaise’.
Supplier - Cotswold Garden Flowers (www.cgf.net / tel 01386 - 833849)

This article was created: 29 May 2007.
This article was last edited: 4 June 2007.

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