What to look out for in the Old Pond Garden June 2025

Phlomis italica – Balearic sage

This is an evergreen shrub in the mint & sage family, native to Spain, which has lovely woolly grey-green leaves (touch them!). The hooded pale lilac flowers are beloved of pollinators, especially bumble bees. The ones in the front beds at Charlton House are humming with buff tailed bumble bees.

Phlomis russeliana – Turkish sage

Another one in the mint & sage family, but this is not a shrub, it is a herbaceous perennial (so it drops it’s leaves in Autumn but comes back the next year). The name ‘Phlomis’ comes from the Greek word meaning ‘flame’. Heart shaped leaves of some species were used as lamp wicks in ancient times. The stiff upright stems carry yellow flowers, which look good as seed heads and provide shelter for insects in winter. It gently self-seeds – we have been potting them up so look out for them in a future plant sale!

Salvias

This is the month for Salvias! Salvias offer a wealth of colour from now until late in the growing season, with their upright spikes of jewel-toned flowers. The genus includes annuals and perennials, both hardy and tender, as well as the popular herb sage (Salvia officinalis). Here is a selection of a few in the walled gardens: Salvia caradonna (woodland sage or Balkan clary), Salvia nemorosa ‘Pink Beauty’ (definitely tender!) and the very hardy Salvia nachtvlinder (which means ‘night moth’). We are starting to plant Salvia ‘Neon’ in the Long Garden too.

Other things to see

You are bound to spot the amazing oriental poppy, Papaver ‘Burning Heart’, popping up in some of the beds in the Old Pond Garden. These were planted in 2021 and we thought we had lost them in their first winter – but they hung in there and this year have been simply spectacular.
Penstemon ‘Garnet’ is just starting to bloom, and will go on until the first frosts. They have small, dainty, foxglove-like tubular flowers in a deep red-pink. Very drought tolerant in a sunny spot, but will also thrive in light shade, so you can spot them in several of the beds in the Old Pond Garden.