And here we are in Spring already. I love this time of year. The ground does notfreeze your fingers to the bone when you plant or weed anything, and it’s somuch easier to find the motivation to get outside when the sun is shining andthe sky is blue! It’s such a positive when you can see all the work you put intoplanning back in the Autumn coming up. Having said that, late frosts can still bean issue, so all tender or semi-tropical plants are still under cover.At the moment, I’m bringing on Dahlia and Canna indoors ready to go out nextmonth and having started others, including Pelargonium from seed in March. Plants like these I’d ratherbring on for a better display later than for them to be frosted and ruined. I tend to sow things like beanslater end of this month. Apart from the fact that some seeds need a minimum
consistent 15⁰
temperature to germinate, if some seeds are sown too early, there isn’t enough daylight to preventthem from becoming ‘leggy’, tall and spindly, which leads to a weak plant and lesser fruit or flower. It’sso hard not to be impatient!
In the Border
Now is the growing season when you see perennials such asDelphinium, Hosta, Lupin and Aster showing new shoots! Summerperennials can be lifted and divided if necessary, or cut back. Anapplication of general purpose granular feed will feed both the(finishing) Spring bulbs and the shrubs and perennials.Borders should be kept weed free, and any seeding weeds should notbe composted. I was always taught “One year’s seed, seven yearweed” which holds true! Now the frosts are pretty much done, thismay be a good time to contact your local friendly tree surgeon to askabout mulch to suppress these annual weeds and help you to easilymaintain your borders, and the plants will love the extra nutrition!April is a lovely time to be plantingshowy annuals. I absolutely love Cosmos! The feathery leaves and thebeautiful daisy-like flowers last through until the Autumn winds. I plantmany of the annuals in seeds trays to pot on later, but things likemarigolds or poppies can look amazing sprinkled randomly in borders. Ipicked up some fabulous Gladioli in March from a well-known discountstore, and which I’ve planted straight outside this month.
Happy Gardening!
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