Let there be bright

BRING extra colour to your borders in an instant with ready-grown tulips, pansies and wallflowers.

Stick to a colour theme and plant them tight in gaps between shrubs.

For the most stunning spring garden, echo the arrangement in containers on the patio, adding ranunculus Accolade, primroses and bellis daisies to your planting pallet.

For a stylish look, stick to white flowers and lush green foliage.

White tulips, forget-me-nots and bellis daisies make great “bed mates” for the fresh foliage of variegated hostas or the fashionable leaves of black mondo grass.

These late spring bloomers won’t last long but will bridge the gap until the summer bedding can planted out after the frosts.

If you want to be more adventurous, consider dedicating a new bed to those sensational spring-flowering shrubs rhododendrons and azaleas.

Energising

They need an acid soil so if you’re gardening on lime you must grow them in pots of ericaceous compost or build raised beds filled with a suitable soil.

If you have a small garden, check out the Yakushimanum hybrids that come in a rainbow of colours. Yak varieties can also be found grafted on to stems to make small trees which are especially suitable for patio pots.

Stunning spring blossom can be provided for a few weeks by trees such as crab apples and cherries, plus shrubs including lilac and deutzia.

Ground-hugging perennials, such as bergenias, dicentra, hellebores and euphorbia, will ensure that no bare soil is seen. You’ll enjoy your garden more on sunny days if there’s a secluded and comfortable place to sit.

An arbour or pergola clothed with colourful and scented climbers will help you to recharge your batteries.

Wisteria is a pergola must and provides perfume as well as fabulous flowers. Clematis alpina is a less vigorous option.

Add a carpet of camomile and thyme to release their energising perfume when they’re crushed underfoot. With that, the scene will be perfectly set for relaxation.