Gardening News

Before you reach for the trowel

It is important for us gardeners to be weather wise. Autumn is when plants are most likely to dry out, especially with colder winds, so keep watering sparingly if the top of the soil feels dry. This is especially important for pot grown bulbs. Root growth will pause when temperatures get down to freezing so we don’t need to be as careful during winter.

Before planting there are a few decisions to be borne in mind. My starting point is always the part of the garden I see most. I tend to go over the top with patio plantings for precisely this reason. Pots and containers easily visible from indoors give pleasure even on the days when we are less inclined to venture out. Look carefully at your garden and consider where a group of bulbs would make a difference. It need not be a large area.

In the border, plant in groups so that the colour has some presence. A few bulbs dotted thinly over a wide area can get rather lost. If you have space repeat the same or a complementary variety a little further along. This is a useful way of drawing the eye down a border. Look for the spaces between shrubs and clumps of perennials where some spring colour would lift the border.

You can be quite bold with colour. A pot of red tulips needs very little else, whereas pinks and mauves make for a softer planting. Keep the background colours in mind. Check the flowering month while you have the catalogue open. An April tulip and a May tulip will give you a longer season, but may never meet.

It is easy to forget the pots you are going to plant when choosing your bulbs. The flowers should suit the size and colouring of the pot. The Prince tulips in large terracotta pots at Pashley Manor are a good example, with the shorter stems sitting well in proportion to the pots. Candy Prince, Purple Prince and Sunny Prince match for height and flower together from mid-April. They are equally effective used separately, if you prefer a pot of one colour.

There is still plenty of time to make your choices or add to existing orders. If you have received your bulbs keep them cool and dry, with plenty of air circulating until planting.