|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Spring Gardening
 Spring is a very exciting and busy time in the garden. It starts when the Galanthus Elwesii, (better known as the snowdrop) pop up. These are best bought in pots in springtime, as buying as a bulb in the preceding autumn does not always guarantee a good show. When bought in a pot one can see how many flower heads there are. Crocus are another early riser in spring time, and these can be planted as bulbs in autumn or bought as sprouting plants in spring time. Hyacinthoides non-scripta, our English Bluebell, is an old favourite too. Muscari, the Grape Hyacinth, is less well know but gives a fantastic show of bright blue. Muscari also looks fabulous mixed with some greenery for an indoor spring basket. Muscari, when planted in the garden, is easy to grow and spreads quite freely. It also has a slight perfume. After these earlier spring bulbs the Narcissus (daffodils) and Tulip pop up. There are so many different varieties of Narcissus, however one of my favourites is the shorter daffodil ‘Tete a Tete’ which will tolerate lots of wind and snow and still stand upright. My favourite Tulip is the little dwarf variety Red Riding Hood, which has striped leaves giving a beautiful contrast against the bright red flower heads. This dwarf variety of tulip is not crushed by wind or snow. If you buy bulbs in pots in spring they can be sat on the window ledge in the kitchen if you fancy them inside for a splash of colour. You can then put the bulbs back in the garden to flower again next year. Make sure you plant the daffodils about 25cm down to avoid disturbance when planting summer bedding.
|
Whilst admiring the spring bulbs that are in the garden giving an array of colour, one needs to think about planting bulbs for summer flowering. This is at the forefront of my mind as I am going to be married this summer and the reception will be at home therefore I am starting to plan a colour scheme with the myriad of summer flowering bulbs available. There are many different types of perennial bulbs, corms and tubers that can be put in now and will flower in the summer coming back every year. Popular perennial bulbs are Paeonia, which have wonderful large rose-like flower heads, Astible in all sorts of colours, Anemone, Agapanthus, and Iris; the list is endless. I am very fond of Lilies which flower year after year, they come in all shapes and sizes with most being perfumed. They make great cut flowers as well as providing garden colour. My favourite Lilly is ‘Star Gazer’ which has huge very strongly perfumed flower heads of white with pink stripes, which I am sure will go down very well with a glass of champagne on the lawn! Other popular summer tubers and Corms are begonias. Care is needed as they need protection in the winter. However, this care is rewarded as they give wonderful continuous flowering throughout the summer, and are ideal for tubs and baskets. Another favourite is Dahlia which tends to come in the late summer and prolongs the colour splash! So time to get organised and work out a plan to fill in some of those gaps in the garden with bulb colour!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Ideas?
|
|
|
A great way to get ideas & inspiration for your garden is to visit one of the RHS shows. It's a great day out for anyone interested in their home and garden.
|
|
|
|
|
