Susie’s Garden
Once the threat of frost has passed, it’s time to break out the bedding plants – here’s an idea of the choice available
In this, the 50th year of BBC Gardeners’ World, each of the presenters has been making the case for the plants that they think have had the most impact on British gardens over the last half century.
Viewers can then choose and the result will be revealed at Gardeners’ World Live at Birmingham in June.
Monty Don thinks that it’s bedding plants that have had the most impact, thanks to garden centres and increased car travel since the late 1960s.
Bedding plants are bright, colourful, cheerful and instant. Compared to when Gardeners’ World first came on air, there’s now loads of choice. You can pick a colour theme and plant up a container, not just with annual flowers, but also with foliage plants such as yuccas and phormiums or soften the look with waving grasses.
I’m lucky to have a greenhouse where I can overwinter tender plants. I take early spring cuttings of these, grow them on and use them for containers: plants such as argyranthemum, fuchsia and the deliciously scented cherry pie plant.
I add violas, lobelia, cosmos, calendulas and ornamental grasses from March sowings. I particularly like Fuchsia thalia which has orange-red tubular flowers because it drops its flowers and, unlike petunias, doesn’t need deadheading!
Lobelia makes dense waterfalls of flowers that cascade down the front of pots. I buy deep blue or purple varieties from the garden centre and they combine well with vivid red sun-loving pelargoniums.
Cosmos makes a good cut flower with a vase life of a week, as do the taller varieties of snapdragons that are also a great nectar
source for bees. Lilies do really well in pots, but just remember that they are poisonous to cats. And if you want to go tropical, try cannas with their striped exotic leaves and succulents such as echeveria or aeonium that are so easy to propagate.
One last word – don’t be tempted to put bedding plants outside until all chance of frost has passed. This will depend on the season, so watch the forecast. Although it may be safe enough now in the south, I’ve known frost in Northumberland in early June!