Garden Thoughts

The Patio Tubs that have provided a colourful display all summer are now looking tired and overgrown so it’s time to replant them with Autumn and Winter colour.

As the days shorten, the weather cools and our tubs and hanging baskets are starting to look tired its time to fill them again with colour. 

Maintaining a beautiful garden can be challenging especially when planning a holiday. Ensuring your plants thrive while you are away means choosing the right plants not relying on friends and neighbours to “Do the Watering”. Better to choose plants that will withstand dry conditions and require less water once established.

Summer heralds a symphony of colours in our English country gardens as numerous herbaceous perennials begin to bloom. Among the standout choices are the striking Agapanthus, the ever popular Salvias, delightful Dianthus, and resilient hardy Geraniums.

You may think you know all about Britain’s Favourite Flower but they have more qualities than you may think.  There was a time when in the pursuit of the perfect looking bloom plant selectors rather disregarded the beautiful scents. The “Old Fashioned Shrub” varieties which were often large and untidy in habit were abandoned for neat bushes with perfectly shaped flowers.

March is the classic time to start sowing flower and vegetable seeds in preparation for the warmer months ahead. By choosing the right seeds and propagation products, we gardeners can ensure a bountiful harvest and a colourful display of blooms in our gardens for the months to come.

In February the garden begins to wake with Snowdrops Cyclamen and little Daffodils heralding Spring. We are constantly told that spring is arriving earlier each year so let’s catch up before the buds burst, shoots emerge and weeds start to germinate.

Now the Christmas festivities are over we can start January afresh and prepare for a new gardening year. It may seem that the garden is asleep but there are lots of jobs you can still do.

Houseplant growing has been a favourite hobby of mine for many years. I particularly like growing exotic and tender plants that can live inside the house in winter and outside in Summer. Houseplant growing has gained popularity again having been a hobby since the Victorian era.

Trees are vital for our countryside and gardens in both rural and city environs.  The chlorophyll in the leaves absorbs carbon dioxide from the air and converts it to oxygen, vital for human and animal life, and glucose the main food source for plants.

We often plant little conifers in our Patio Tubs for interesting autumn and winter displays together with pansies, violas, primroses and dwarf spring flowering bulbs but these evergreens offer so much more to our garden schemes.

After the summer heat September brings the first signs of Autumn with shortening days, lower daytime temperatures and soil that is damp with early morning dew but still warm.  Such conditions are perfect for planting as the remaining ground heat is great for root growth.  Here are some plants we recommend to plant now for your containers and borders.