Bedding Plants

Bedding plants can provide colour in your garden all the year round by replacing Summer flowering plants with selections for Autumn and Winter. They are ideal for planting on their own or with most other plants in a whole range of situations such as hanging baskets, tubs and pots, window boxes, troughs and of course in borders in the garden.

Preparation

For a colourful display thorough preparation is essential. Ensure you have good drainage in containers and good potting compost for plants to grow in. Prepare borders in the garden, first by well forking over to a depth of about 30cm (12in), adding a general fertiliser and some form of planting compost before planting starts.

Selecting your plants

Plants are grown in all sorts of trays and pots from small starter plants to larger plants which offer instant colour. Whatever you choose select sturdy plants which are green and healthy. Check that the leaves have not been eaten and are free from pests and diseases. Never buy plants that are dry or have been allowed to dry out.

Planting

1. Water plants well before planting.
2. Taller plants will give height and trailing or bushy plants will give depth and width.
3. Take care when removing your plants from their tray or pots so as not to damage the roots or shoots. Watering them before removal will help prevent this.
4. Never plant too firmly as roots need to breathe and expand the area they are covering.
5. Plant to just below the depth they were grown in their original container.
6. Plant so that they will just touch each other when fully grown - refer to the plant label but as a general rule plant shorter growing types 10-15cm (4-6ins) apart and taller varieties 23-30cm (9-12ins) apart.

Borders

In borders place tall plants to the rear reducing heights gradually using compact edging plants at the front - do not over crowd - all plants need room to grow.

Colours

It is important to blend colours together - try planting drifts of colour in borders. Use 'hot' colours - reds, yellows, oranges, or 'cool' colours - blues, lavender, silver and white for different effects. The garden is an extension of your home - use colour schemes as you would indoors

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Feeding

Plants are like people and need feeding to give the best results. Use a dry controlled release fertiliser at planting time which should feed for most of the growing and flowering season. Use a liquid feed towards the end of the Summer as a pick-me-up but water well first to ensure good take up.

Watering

Hanging baskets may require watering more than once a day, especially during hot weather. If the compost does dry out, water thoroughly and repeat. Create good drainage to prevent water logging in containers. After planting new plants, water thoroughly.

Bulb Planting for Spring Colour

If you want to be the envy of the neighbours next year then there is nothing more rewarding then creating a breathtaking and beautiful spring bulb display.

Most established and mature gardens will already have a range of bulbs naturalised in the boarders, under trees and even in the grass. But, there is still scope for trying out something new and even exotic to achieve some striking planting combinations.

Bulb catalogues are normally out in force at this time of the year or you can easily sign-up for them online. Spend some time cutting out pictures and arranging to create the planting combinations that not only appeal to you but also suit the growing conditions of your garden. All the information you need to know can be found in the catalogues.

In addition to tulips and daffodils, why not try other exotic Dutch bulbs, such as spring-flowering Scilla, Puschkinia, Muscari, Fritillaria, Allium, Camassia, and Eremurus. Spring-flowering bulbs offer a wide variety of colours, heights and flowering periods. So, let your imagination run wild.

And, don’t forget your containers. Containers are brilliant for bulbs as you can control the growing conditions, so this gives you a free reign to try out something different. You can plant larger containers with several layers of bulbs choosing different types that will flower one after another so keeping a fresh display for a number of months. Alternatively, try a combination of bulbs with other spring bedding plants.

As easy as 1-2-3

Most spring-flowering bulbs will thrive in either full or partial sun, but will do fine in almost any location that offers good drainage. After choosing the area:

• Dig either a trench for a bed planting, or individual holes for individual bulbs or small cluster of bulbs. To determine how deep to plant, consider the calibre or size of the bulb. Large bulbs (5 cm or more) are usually planted about 15 cm deep; smaller-size bulbs (2.5 cm) are planted 7-10 cm deep.
• Loosen the soil with a rake to aerate it and remove any weeds and small stones. Mix in a bit of peat moss to improve soil drainage. Place - do not push - bulbs firmly in the soil with the pointed side up. Space large bulbs 7-20 cm apart and small bulbs 3-7 cm apart.
• Cover the bulbs with soil and water generously if the soil is not wet. Adding a thin layer of bark or mulch will provide added protection from the cold and helps the soil from drying out.