PLANT YOUR BORDER
Wait for a mild spell to clear your chosen area, digging out perennial weeds, breaking up compacted ground and adding plenty of well-rotted organic matter. The iris prefers a free-draining soil, so add extra grit on heavier ground. The rest of the plants do best on a rich, fertile but well-drained soil. Mulching annually with compost or leafmould helps keep down weeds, retains moisture and improves soil structure.
1 Establish the Lenten rose
To be certain of tracking down the exact flower colour you’re after, buy these delectable hellebores when they’re in flower. Or, order specific cultivars online from a reliable hellebore specialist for an early spring delivery. Hellebores are deep-rooted plants so dig a generous hole and improve with further well-rotted organic matter, then water in thoroughly after planting. Use a foliage backdrop to help show off your hellebore flowers, especially those in darker colours. In future years, remove their leaves in December to smarten up plants ready for newly emerging growth and flowers. This also helps control leaf spot disease. Plants self-seed variably, so deadhead to restrict the range of colours and forms. If plants are struggling, feed with a general-purpose fertiliser in spring.
2 Add the epimedium and heuchera
These two perennials are best planted into warm, damp soil in autumn or spring. They both cope with part shade but don’t like extremes of wet or dry ground. A humusrich but well-drained soil is perfect. Take care not to plant the heuchera too deeply, keeping its crown above the soil surface, and give it enough elbow room so it isn’t crowded by its neighbours. Tidy established plants in late winter. They can be divided every three years in autumn or spring, replanting young, more vigorous sections into newly improved soil.
3 Plant or sow the viola
You can sow violas in late summer taking care not to oversow (the seed is tiny). Give them cool conditions in the greenhouse, or go the easy route and buy trays of plug plants in autumn. Plant in autumn into rich but welldrained ground while the soil is still warm and they’ll have a chance to establish their roots before the weather turns chilly. Water in well but ease off unless there’s an unseasonal dry spell – they don’t like to be waterlogged. The easiest way to ensure a big display is to keep deadheading.
4 Finish with the bulbs
Order bulbs in summer to get your chosen cultivars. Plant from September onwards in clusters and try to add as many bulbs as you can – these small flowers need numbers to really catch the eye. Plant bulbs at three times their depth; around 10cm (4in) deep, a little less for the irises. Allow around 8cm (3in) between iris bulbs; nearer 15cm (6in) for the daffodils. Both will clump up well if happy. To get things started this spring, buy pots of flowering bulbs. These are a more expensive way to plant up small areas, but you’ll get fast results. Wait for the foliage to die back naturally after flowering, because the leaves help create energy for next year’s display. ✿