Potting Shed

Welcome to my potting shed! This is the column where I’ll share all my gardening hints and tips – and I’ll try to answer any queries you may have.

How easy would it be to turn a patch of my lawn into a wildflower meadow? – Jane Harrison, Dalkeith

If you want an annual meadow then you’ll have to strip off the grass and reduce fertility before sowing seed. A perennial meadow is easier, add plants such as cowslips and fritillaries then don’t strim until these have dropped their seeds.

Can I move a patch of daffodils while they still have their leaves? – James Docherty, by email

Yes, just dig them up, split up any clumps, then replant them in a new part of the garden, removing the dead heads to stop them setting seed, and giving them an occasional liquid feed until the leaves die down.

What can I grow beneath a lilac bush? – Denise Crowley, East Kilbride

Lilacs create a mat of shallow roots, which makes underplanting a challenge. Choose small bulbs or spreaders such as Alchemilla mollis that will spread out their leaves and cover this bare area.

I’ve tried growing hellebores from seed with poor results. How do I persuade the seed to grow? – Colin Clark, Dundee

Try sowing it in a heated propagator and then, after a couple of weeks, moving the seed tray into the fridge for eight weeks before bringing it out again. This tricks the seeds into thinking they’ve gone through a period of winter and that it’s time to start growing.

Is it safe to move my evergreen agapanthuses out of the greenhouse? – Libby Henderson, Aberdeen

Yes, if you are happy to cover them up every time frost is forecast. Otherwise I’d wait until the end of the month, but you can start to give them a little water as new growth gets under way.