Now that garden centres are again open to the public, we can all go a little crazy for sizzling summer colours Time to go potty outdoors
THE rush to our reopened garden centres has made us feel like greyhounds released from the trap... never have we been so appreciative of the ability to purchase pots, compost and plants to create spots of colour in our gardens!
It’s an annual project I’ll treasure more this year than ever before – the ability to make miniature gardens in pots. I probably would have left it until now anyway as some of the plants I like to use, such as cosmos, are half-hardy so only now can really be left outside.
But as soon as those plant shops opened I was in the Christmas Eve-style queue. And what I found were plants that had never looked better! Nobody had been buying them so they had a chance to grow, and how they had. Ironically, it’s going to be a bumper year for container gardening.
It’s a project you can have great fun with – all “good taste” rules go out the door and you can be as kitsch, clashing or co-ordinated as you like.
Be inventive with pots – so long as they are deep enough and have some drainage holes, they’ll do. Wicker baskets look great too, just line the inside with some plastic, again piercing the bottom for drainage. I’m reusing some of my terracotta pots that contained tulips and other spring bulbs. I’ll let the tulip bulbs dry out and replant them in the autumn.
If reusing old pots, it’s best to dump any old compost on to your beds or into your compost heap and use the best, freshest compost you have for this job. I’m using a peat-free variety enhanced with nutrients.
Remember these plants will be doing a huge amount of work for us all summer long, expending lots of energy producing flowers, so help them by using good quality compost. I like to put some broken crockery at the bottom of the pot – these cover the drainage holes so the soil doesn’t seep out but allows the water to trickle through.
Now the fun bit – flower arranging! I’ve used a beautiful dark-leaved dahlia ‘Bishop of Llandaff.’ The bright red flowers which start flowering later in summer will keep going until the end of October. Its single open blooms are attractive to bees and the daisy-like flowers are pollenrich.
I’m also using a petite lavender and Salvia Bordeau Compact, a neat ornamental sage with plenty of clear blue, long- flowering spires which bees and butterflies will also love.
You may find some plants from nurseries and garden centres seem ready to burst from their pots, the result of being contained a little longer than anticipated because of the pause in buying during lockdown. Gently squeeze the plant out of the pot and loosen up roots carefully if necessary.
My filler plants are lots of cosmos – these will explode into masses of pink daisy flowers over the summer. In-between these I’ve tucked some nasturtium grown from seed.
They’ve yet to flower but their foliage looks lovely trailing down the pot and these will soon burst into colourful blooms as well.
Once complete, I’ll give them a weekly liquid feed to keep them in tip-top condition. They’ll need regular watering and that can mean up to twice a day as wind can be as drying as lack of rain. Deadheading will keep the arrangement looking good as well as encouraging fresh blossoms.
Place in a sunny position where you can admire your creation or at the front door for passers-by to enjoy as well!