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Home > Flower and garden articles > Never a dull moment
Never a dull moment
Winter is a busy time in the garden ! Now the heat of summer is over, it`s the perfect time to tidy up, trim into shape, and plan ahead for colourful displays in your garden in the following seasons.
Freshen up your garden beds with a steady round of weeding. If you have a large garden, concentrate on weeding those areas closest to the house first, and especially pay attention to the fronts of beds, and edges of paths or lawns. Then, if you can`t keep it all weeded at once, the overall impression is of a well kept garden.
Cut back any perennials that look ragged, to encourage new bushy growth. Remove tired looking summer annuals and place them in your compost bin. Add fresh mulch to cover any bare soil in your garden beds. This not only keeps the garden looking tidy, it also helps to keep weeds under control.
If you`ve got perennials that just aren`t getting enough sun, or have simply outgrown their position, winter is the best time to lift and move them. Always take time to water in gently after re-planting, even if the soil feels moist, to remove any air pockets around the roots and reduce the risk of transplant shock. Apply some water soluble fertiliser after transplanting to give the plants a boost of essential trace elements.
When selecting new plants for your garden always aim to group plants together with the same requirements, for best results and easy maintenance. Conserve water by grouping varieties together that need regular watering.
To achieve maximum impact and to avoid a messy look, always plant in groups of 3`s or 5`s. Blocks of colour create a full effect, so colour co-ordinate a mixture of varieties and plant them together for added interest - try growing colourful daylilies and asiatic lilies amongst vibrant canna`s – the result is a stunning display of flowers for many weeks at a time.
Never plant in straight rows – unless you are planting mass beds on a grand scale ! This really doesn`t work in the average sized garden, so use your imagination and plant in groups, drifts and curves.
Take the time to consider the mature height and spread of the young plants you have selected for your garden. It`s important to allow enough room for healthy root growth, and it`s very easy to make the mistake of planting too close together and ending up with an overcrowded garden.
Allow enough room for your plants to grow, and you will get much better results overall. Mulching in between plants helps to avoid the temptation to fill bare patches by over-planting, plus it conserves moisture, keep the roots cool and reduces weeds. Ensure that the mulch does not come into direct contact with the plants - keep it away from the stems and foliage to avoid possible damage.
Season`s Highlights
This season we feature some of the best choices in flowering perennials that thrive in shady garden beds, plus some wonderfully architectural varieties that will bring exciting vertical form and height to open sunny positions……………
Shady Characters:
If you are lucky enough to have a shady spot in your garden with moist soil, there is a wonderful variety of plants to choose from.
To brighten a dark corner, plant a collection of white flowering plants that love a shady spot. The evergreen celestial violets have delicate foliage and dark stems, and their charming flowers put on a delightful show for many months. Try planting them with groups of solomon`s seal, whose graceful arching stems and pendulous white flowers add a romantic look to the shady garden.
For a great companion plant in shady areas, the deliciously fragrant parma violets form a gently spreading mat of heart shaped foliage.
Another shade lover is the pachysandra, a low growing perennial with lovely dark foliage and clusters of tiny white flowers, and an excellent ground cover. Plant with some toad lilies, whose rough textured foliage and tall stems of white orchid-like flowers make them the perfect choice for a shady spot.
If you prefer a more colourful combo, choose from vibrant tradescantias, soft and subtle hellebores, candy-coloured astilbes, or the shade loving agapanthus `Adelaide` – all guaranteed to brighten a shady garden.
Bright and Sunny:
For an open and sunny aspect, the fabulous colourful foliage of the phormium makes it a `must-have` in today`s garden. Also known as flax, the newest releases in phormium varieties give us a wide choice of colours to suit any style of garden. Plant alone to make bold garden statements, or weave them in amongst other perennials to create wonderful contrasts in beds and borders.
The acanthus, or bears breeches, is a striking choice for any garden. Its fabulous glossy foliage was the source of inspirational design in ancient architecture, and it`s easy to see why. Topped by strong and colourful flower spikes, the acanthus dominates the garden with its wonderful form.
Another great choice for architectural value is the foxtail lily, which we have great pleasure in presenting again this season. With their gorgeous flowers of sunny yellow to orange, apricot and pink, their wonderfully warm tones brighten any garden. Plant them in large terracotta containers for a brilliant feature in a sunny courtyard.
For maximum impact, there is nothing stronger in form and shape than the brilliant yuccas. These amazingly tough plants can handle really tough conditions, require minimal watering, and are an outright winner in the architectural stakes. Use them as specimen plants in open garden beds, or make a feature of them in colourful containers for a winning combination.
by Jenny Waldock
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