Grow it green!
Our expert Karen Murphy explains how to grow green – a colour trend that’ll be everywhere this year
Did you know that Pantone is the official company that decides the colour of the year, which you’ll then see across a number of industries such as fashion, home interiors and, of course, gardening trends? This year they’ve chosen ‘Greenery’, a zesty, bright apple green, probably to reflect our return to appreciating more natural things these days. The trend is sure to sweep the Chelsea Flower Show this year, so why not grow some unusual green blooms yourself? Now’s a good time to do it – April is prime planting and sowing season, so there’s a wide range of availability for most plants. Hardy chrysanthemums are a joyful splash of colour in late autumn gardens and need planting now so they can establish themselves well. Marshalls Seeds (www. marshalls-seeds.co.uk) offers a pack of five plug plants – the delightfully named variety ‘Froggy’ tells you all you need to know about what it looks like! Plant in sunshine in rich, well-dug soil and add a handful of blood, fish and bone fertiliser to set them on their way. Try the echinacea variety ‘Green Jewel’ from Claire Austin (www. claireaustin-hardyplants. co.uk) It’s an acquired taste, as its petals are shorter and stubbier than its glorious pink cousins, but it’s a lovely mid-green, and fantastic as a filler plant to go with acid yellow blooms. It’ll thrive in really well-drained soil in full sun. Sow nicotiana ‘Lime Green’ now in the greenhouse, keeping it moist and in a humid spot at about 20°C, before planting out young plants late next month. Mr Fothergill’s (www.mr-fothergills.co.uk) offers 20 large plug plants of this variety for £11.95, available from mid-May. Nicotiana is truly wonderful planted in a pot on the patio in part shade, so you can sit near it this summer, enjoying its sweet fragrance on a warm, balmy evening. To finish off, use some clumps of all-purpose, easygoing lime-green perennials Alchemilla mollis or Euphorbia palustris planted in froths in your little green flower display. However, if you think it’s a bit much to have a pure green flower border – let’s face it, it might not be everyone’s cup of tea! – mix in a vibrant selection of yellow, blues and pinks for a sensational colour spectrum.