Did you visit Bloom in the Phoenix Park this year? Did you come away inspired and ready to get cracking, or a little daunted and thinking “I could never get my garden to look that good?”
Well now is a great time to brighten up your garden with summer colour, and the quickest way to do it at this time of year is to get hold of what we call summer bedding – those brightly coloured flowering plants you see in pots, window boxes and hanging baskets – and you can use them to bring a burst of colour to dull looking beds and borders too.
Garden centres have lots to choose from right now – my favourites are petunia, verbena, nemesia, trailing pelargoniums and summer-flowering pansies. Consider a blend of soothing complementary colours – for instance soft pinks, purples and whites – or a blast of hot reds, yellows and oranges if that’s more your thing. Pack them generously into the biggest pots you can - they’ll only last for the season so you want them to make a good show and look fabulous.
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Summer flowering pansies and violas
If planting in containers, use fresh compost – you’ll find a bewildering array of different kinds available but any good multi- purpose one will do – water them well and keep an eye on the compost to make sure it doesn’t dry out. In hot, dry weather (fingers crossed! ) water in late evening or early morning if you can to reduce evaporation. After about four weeks or so, you can add a little liquid feed to the water once a week, as the plants will have exhausted all the nutrients in the compost by then, and you want them to keep flowering till the first frosts.
Pinching off the dead flower heads keeps the display going longer as it stops the flowers setting seed, at which point it’s game over. Wishing you a colourful and flower-filled summer!
TIP OF THE WEEK:
Pop in a few plugs of night-scented stock among your bedding plants for a fabulous burst of evening perfume – if you hurry you might pick up a tray at your local garden centre.
Anne Byrne Garden Design provides easy to follow Garden Plans that you can implement right away or in stages. Anne’s design flair and passion for plants brings a touch of magic to gardens of all sizes.
Anne Byrne, Garden Design – Creative Ideas – Practical Solutions – Stunning Gardens
T: 086 683 8098
