Timing is everything
Plant and sow bedding now for instant colour and pleasure to come
What’s in a name? I was a bit dismayed to see how few boys born today are called Graham. Other names popular in the Fifties and Sixties, like Sally and Gary, are also in danger of extinction. For a plant breeder, names are just as much fashion victims. A topical, well-chosen and easily remembered name can turn a good plant into a superstar.
Take Thompson & Morgan’s cosmos ‘Cupcakes’, for example. Instead of having single, daisy-like petals they’re fused into a single ‘cup’. It’s a real head turner and as fashionable to have in your borders as cupcakes at a wedding. Cosmos are one of several characterful, half-hardy annuals that benefit from late sowing and now’s the ideal moment. Sow under cover in March and they’ll be pushing the glass out of the greenhouse roof. Sow them thinly in a seed tray and plant out in early June in small clumps and they’ll romp away. Give them your sunniest spot in poor soil or they’ll be all leaves and no flowers. They also make wonderful cut flowers and will draw in bees and butterflies from afar.
Zinnias are another example of summer stunners where the early bird may not catch the worm. They’re very prone to damping off as seedlings and need warm weather so they can make steady, unchecked growth. Sow them now in a greenhouse or on a window ledge in modules so they can be planted out without root disturbance, or sow seed directly in the ground in late MayM in warm, well- raked soil.
They peak in late summer and, surprisingly, enjoy regular waterings. The ‘Zahara’ strain is the best one I’ve grown. Choose taller strains like the double flower mixes if you want armfuls of longer-stemmed blooms.
Finally, morning glory, ( ipomoea) ‘Heavenly Blue’, perhaps the most desirable blue-flowered annual climber of all, can be another victim of over-eager sowing. If they get a chill the plants turn white with shock and take an age to recover. Sow in individual 9cm (3½in) pots now and give them twiggy sticks for support, or choose cell trays before moving to the open garden. Or you can use deep, roomy pots fitted with a wigwam of 1.8m (6ft) canes in early June. I was feeling a bit of glory myself last year when I persuaded them to grow up through a choisya ‘Sundance’ and flaunt themselves against its bright yellow foliage.
Cheeky charm
Filling empty containers with a collection of violas is far less of a challenge, but no less enjoyable. Each one has its own cheeky charm. If you fancy a change of display, I placed a well- used terracotta strawberry pot inside a wide pan to let the blooms flow