The Hampton Hack

Sometimes it pays to be ruthless - if you cannot see any more buds on your Lupins, chop them back to the base now and you should be rewarded with extra flowers later on, as well as attractive fresh foliage.

Other perennials which will benefit from the 'Hampton Hack' (as opposed to the 'Chelsea Chop') are Polemonium (Jacob's Ladder) and the soft herbaceous Salvias, such as Caradonna, East Friesland and May Night.

The shrubby, woody Salvias such as 'Hot Lips' are treated differently - more of that in a later post!