Tag Archives: Seasonal Garden Ideas

An easy way to brighten up the garden | Fiery Winter Pot

Fiery Winter Pot from Seasonal garden Ideas

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An easy way to brighten up the garden

 

Fiery Winter Pot

How gorgeous would this look next to the front door?

Just because winter is approaching, it doesn’t mean the garden needs to look lacklustre and brown.

Plant up this pot now and you’ll
have a gorgeous display come winter.

Use it to brighten up a dull spot in the garden. We have an expanse of unexciting grass in front of our house and so I am going to place it right in the centre to add drama.

 

Fiery Winter Pot

A few garden shrubs have a special display they reserve for winter – dogwood is a prime example, with bare stems that turn a blazing orange and red colour. Here they contrast spectacularly with delicate pure white snowdrops. The dogwood is a long-term occupant in this pot. Plant the snowdrops in September for a display in January-February.

Pot up the dogwood at the same time, or in spring. Included here is a fringe planting of black Mondo grass. Plant it at the same time as the other items.
Allow a couple of hours for the whole pot.

What you need

Plants

  • 20 or more snowdrop (Galanthus nivalis ‘S. Arnott’) bulbs.
  • Cornus sanguinea ‘Midwinter Fire’ shrub.
  • Four to six plants of black Mondo grass (Ophiopogon planiscapus ‘Nigrescens’ ).

Equipment

  • Large terracotta pot
  • Soil-based potting compost.
  • Broken crocks for drainage.
  • Trowel.

1 Place the pot in the position it is to occupy – a container of this size, once full of compost and plants, will be too heavy to move easily.

2 Line the pot with broken crocks for drainage. Fill about half-full, then place the dogwood, in the container it comes in, into the pot to check for level. Adjust the compost as needed, then tip the dogwood out of its container, place it in the terracotta pot, slightly to the back rather than centrally, and firm in with more compost.

3 The snowdrops need to be about 10cm (4in) deep, so put these in next at the appropriate level, spreading them all round the dogwood in the centre of the container. Cover with compost.

4 Finally put in the black Mondo grasses, setting them all round the edges of the pot to form a fringe falling over the rim.

5 Top up the compost to within 4cm (1½in) of the rim of the pot and water in well.

Tip
The colour of the dogwood stems does best – and shows to best advantage – in full sun and can be brilliant when caught in early morning or late afternoon winter sunshine.

Notes
The snowdrops will need to be lifted and divided or replaced every three years or so.
For a notable spring and summer display in the container, choose Cornus alba ‘Elegantissima’ which has cream variegated leaves; the stems do not turn quite so bright a colour as the ‘Midwinter Fire’ variety, but are still an attractive dark red in winter.
If you are interested in the Ophiopogon, bear in mind that it goes under various different common names – black Mondo grass, black lilyturf and black dragon grass are just three.

Aftercare
The dogwood has attractive mid green leaves which turn orange-red before falling in autumn.
The brilliantly coloured stems only come into their own in late autumn and winter.
To ensure a good display, the stems must be hard pruned in spring – cut to within 7.5cm-10cm (3-4in) in March.
The black Mondo grass bears tiny spikes of pinkish white flowers in summer.

 

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Fabulous Patio in One Weekend

Seasonal Garden Garden

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Fabulous Patio in One Weekend

We seem to have inadvertently created a bog in our garden by taking up some horrid old flagstones, so next weekend we plan to tackle this gorgeous project from our Seasonal Garden Ideas book.

 

I may even paint the bench too.
Doesn’t it look fabulous?

 

Granite Setts Paving

Make a private little patio corner for yourself – a perfect place to retreat to in the garden for a few quiet moments. A circular area gives a feeling of completeness and repose.
This project can be carried out at any time of year. Allow 1-2 days to complete the work.

 

What you need

Plants

  • A purple/mauve/pink colour theme has been chosen for the planting, with purple-leaved Heuchera, mauve-pink thrift (Armeria maritima), black Mondo grass (Ophiopogon planiscapus ‘Nigrescens’) and Aeonium ‘Schwarzkopf’.
  • A spot planting of scented pink ‘Stargazer’ lilies makes a bold summer statement.

Equipment

  • 60-100 granite setts.
  • Builder’s sand to cover the patio area to a depth of at least 15cm (6in).
  • More sand to brush over the complete patio to fill in between setts.
  • Wheelbarrow, spade, rake, piece of batten, mallet, trowel and garden broom.

1 Measure the area you want to cover (total circumference), then plan out how many granite setts you will need. Order these from a garden centre or builder’s merchant.

2 Dig the entire area to a depth of 15cm (6in) PLUS the thickness of the granite setts you are using. Ensure the site is level, firm and solid. Even out any bumps with a spade, then firm the soil by treading.

3 Spread sand over the entire area to a depth of 15cm (6in), then rake it smooth and level.

4 Start laying the outermost rings of setts, butting them up to each other as closely as you can while still maintaining the circular shape. Lay the batten on top as you go and tap the setts into place with the mallet.

5 Continue with the pattern, offsetting each ring of setts slightly for stability and using the same batten and mallet technique. Again, position the setts as close together as you can but not touching.

6 When the pattern is complete, spread a layer of sand on top and brush it into the crevices between the setts with a broom.

7 To complete your secret little corner, make a narrow circular flower bed around the patio – here, garnet-coloured decking has also been installed behind the circular setts area.

 

Tip An alternative to granite setts would be a pattern of bricks.

Note This isn’t a patio for heavy usage – if you require a firmer base for your granite setts, then lay a footing of ready-mixed concrete.

Aftercare If any of the granite setts settle down unevenly, lever them out, adjust the level of sand underneath, then replace. Remove any weeds that spring up in the sand between the setts.

 

Seasonal Garden Ideas £3.99You can buy Seasonal Garden Ideas
for just £3.99 (plus P&P).

It’s packed with fabulous and practical
projects that be tackled in less than a day.

Easy homegrown tomatoes for British Tomato Week – no greenhouse required!

Seasonal Garden Ideas

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Easy homegrown tomatoes for British Tomato Week – no greenhouse required!

I can still conjure up the sweetly acidic fragrance of ripening tomatoes in my Grandad’s rickety old greenhouse.

They were the sweetest most delicious tomatoes on the planet, though everything my Grandad grew or cooked tasted wonderful to me as an adoring granddaughter!

As this week heralds British Tomato Week, I thought I would attempt to grow my own. As I don’t own a greenhouse, this project from our book, Seasonal Garden Ideas, is perfect.

Fingers crossed, I can grow those sweet little morsels that Grandad excelled at.

 

Seasonal Garden Ideas.

Tiny Tomatoes in Terracotta

The taste of a sun-warmed tomato picked straight from the bush is leagues removed from anything you can buy in a shop.

Container-growing is easy and you are rewarded with a succession of tasty toms beyond compare.

  • Pot up young tomato plants in late spring or early summer when all danger from frost is past for cropping throughout the summer.
  • Plant in full sun.
  • Planting four to six pots shouldn’t take more than an hour.

 

What you need

Plants

  • Four to six (or more) young bush tomato plants – a wide range of different varieties is available from garden centres – including red, yellow and even purple ones. ‘Red Alert’, ‘Pixie’ and ‘Tiny Tim’ are all good small-fruited varieties with excellent flavour. ‘Roma’ is a plum-shaped variety.

Equipment

  • Terracotta, plastic or ceramic pots with drainage holes in the bottom.
  • Soil-based potting compost.
  • Broken crocks for drainage.
  • Trowel.
  • Liquid tomato fertiliser.

 

Instructions

1 Line the containers with broken crocks for drainage. Three-quarters fill with potting compost.

2 Plant the tomatoes, one to a pot, firming them in well and topping up with more compost.

3 Place the pots in a sunny, sheltered site – water well.

4 The tomato compost needs to be kept just moist at all times. Try to water regularly, little and often – an irregular regime could cause the tomatoes to split. Feed regularly with a liquid tomato fertiliser to ensure consistent development of the fruits.

 

Tips

As an alternative to pots, try raising tomatoes in growbags – the advantage here is that the bags come complete with just the right soil conditions. You can grow bush or cordon varieties in growbags. Cordons needing staking and you have to pinch out side shoots to restrict the plant to one main central stem.

 

Notes

For successful tomato growing in containers, make sure you buy an appropriate variety. Check that it is a bush variety AND check that it is suitable for outdoor cultivation – many are bred for growing in greenhouses and won’t thrive outside. Take care, too, to choose as sunny and warm a site as possible.

 

Aftercare

Bush tomato varieties don’t need any pinching out of side shoots. Pick the tomatoes as they ripen. If there are still some green tomatoes on the plants when frost seems likely, pick them all and bring them indoors to ripen.

 

Project taken from Seasonal Garden Ideas.

 

Seasonal Gardens Ideas

Seasonal Garden Ideas £3.99Seasonal Garden Ideas

A beautiful book packed full of easy little projects like this and is available for just £3.99 (plus P&P).

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Pretty in Pink – step-by-step guide to a wonderful late winter basket

Pretty-in-Pink

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I would love to be green-fingered. My attempts at gardening have varying success and our garden is prettily passable.

I do love planting up pots and baskets though as I can follow a failsafe method, which yields a beautiful display. I take much inspiration from our book, Seasonal Garden Ideas, as there are lots of step-by-step projects, which take only an hour or so to create but give stunning results.

 

This easy project takes less than an hour and gives instant impact.

Pretty in Pink Planted Basket

A step-by-step guide to a wonderful late winter basket

Make a pretty basket of pink hyacinths
special by adding hoops of pussy willow
twigs with the soft grey catkins just
bursting out – a lovely display that
should last for several weeks.

When to prepare the Pretty in Pink projectPussy willow twigs are available in early spring, either in hedgerows or from florists. Pot-grown hyacinths can be found in garden centres from January through to May or even later.

Planting up a basket takes about an hour.

Plants required

  • Ten to twelve pink Dutch hyacinths just coming into flower.
  • Six to eight pussy willow twigs each about 45cm (18in) long.

Equipment required

  • Rustic-weave basket.
  • Hanging-basket liner (plastic, hessian, felt or moulded paper).
  • Bulb compost to fill.
  • Several handfuls of moss to tuck around the base of the hyacinths.
  • Trowel.

Method

1 Place the liner you have chosen in the bottom of the basket, pricking holes through for drainage if needed. Fill the basket two-thirds full with bulb compost.

2 Carefully remove each hyacinth, one at a time, from their pots and plant in the basket, adding more compost and setting each one to the same depth as it was in its pot. Place them as close together as you can, so the heavy flowerheads will support each other, and firm in well.

3 Tuck moss loosely around the base of the hyacinths to cover the soil completely. Water lightly.

4 Wedge the bottom end of a pussy willow twig into the basket weave then bend it over to form a hoop. Tuck the tip of the twig securely into the basket, then repeat with the other twigs all round the basket, overlapping the twigs slightly as you go.

5 Position your basket in a sunny spot for best display. The furry grey catkins will eventually turn bright yellow as they open.

Tips
Take great care not to knock the pussy willow catkins off the twigs as you handle them – they are quite fragile. If the hyacinth stems start bending over, insert thin bamboo canes into the compost and tie the stems to them as discreetly as possible with soft string. Bring under shelter if heavy rain is threatened.

Note
Reuse your rustic basket for a summer display by planting with nasturtiums or begonias.

Aftercare
By its very nature this is a temporary display. When the hyacinth flowers have withered, stop watering and allow the foliage to turn brown. Then remove the bulbs from the basket, clean them carefully and store in a dry, dark place until autumn, when you can plant them out in the garden. Discard the pussy willow twigs when the catkins have flowered.

 

Seasonal Garden IdeasProject taken from
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Spring gardening ideas | Summer baskets

Baskets that flower throughout the summer

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Baskets that will flower throughout the summer

Bursting out all over in a profusion of blooms, this huge blue and yellow themed hanging basket contains no fewer than ten different kinds of plant – they come into flower at different times, so providing a long-lasting display.

Plant in spring for flowering throughout the summer. There are a lot of plants here, so allow an afternoon for the job.

Plants

  • Buy all the plants needed for this basket as small container-grown plantlets.
  • Three plants are included for their foliage: Helichrysum petiolare; creeping Jenny (Lysimachia nummularia); and Swedish ivy (Plectranthus coleoides ‘Variegatus’).
  • Seven are chosen for their flowers: purple heliotrope ‘Marine’; petunia; trailing verbena; lobelia; nemesia; French marigold; tradescantia. Note: in the picture, not all plants are in flower.

Equipment

  • Large hanging basket with chains and hook.
  • Hanging basket liner (plastic, hessian, felt or moulded paper).
  • Potting compost.
  • Trowel.
  • Slow-release fertiliser spike.

Planting

1 Water all the plants thoroughly the day before you plan to plant them.

2 Insert the liner into the basket – prick small drainage holes through if necessary.

3 Planting such a large and varied basket requires a careful building up of layers of plants. Spread a sheet of newspaper or plastic on the ground, then take all your plants out of their original little pots and arrange them in size order on the sheet. Each should be placed in the basket according to the size of its rootball – bigger ones deeper in, smaller ones nearer the top.

4 Put a layer of compost into the bottom of the basket. Start planting, spacing the different plants around the basket, firming in, then topping up with more compost. Plant another layer and repeat the procedure. Note that the three foliage plants – the helichrysum, creeping Jenny and Swedish ivy – are all placed at the front so they can trail downwards, while the double-flowered petunia is placed centrally. Deep blue lobelias have been positioned all round the edges.

5 When the planting is complete, top up the compost to within 2.5cm (1in) of the top of the basket and insert a slow-release fertiliser spike. Hang it up in its designated position, making sure the hook and fixings are strong enough to take the considerable weight. Water thoroughly.

Tip
Invest in a long-handled, pump-action watering can to make watering your hanging basket easier – and to save you taking it down every day or climbing up a ladder to reach it.

Note
Many, but not all, of these plants are annuals and will not survive the winter. However, even those that are hardy and evergreen, such as the Swedish ivy, will be exhausted by the end of summer – so it’s best to discard the whole lot when flowering stops and plant anew in spring.

Aftercare
Water regularly – at least once a day in hot weather. Deadhead withered and faded blooms to prolong flowering and remove any damaged or discoloured foliage.

Project taken from Seasonal Garden Ideas. Available now.

 

Plant a spring flower medley in one hour

How to plant a spring flower medley

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Celebrate the start of spring with these easy planted pots

Well thank goodness……..spring begins on Wednesday.

Let’s hope it heralds plenty
of sunshine and new growth.

I have already glimpsed swathes of crocuses and the daffodils are bravely shooting through our lawn at the moment. The front garden does need a little help though as it’s still looking pretty sparse.

Seasonal Garden IdeasThis easy project from Seasonal Garden Ideas
(£3.99 dairydiary.co.uk) is perfect to brighten it up!

 

 

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Spring Flower Medley

Spring-Flower-Medley-2The beauty of growing plants in pots is that you can bring very different species together to form interesting associations – as proved by this captivating little group themed around the colour blue.

Buy the different plants in March and pot up for flowering in April and May. Takes about one hour. Plant in full sun.

What you need

Plants

  • Three deep blue hyacinths (Hyacinthus orientalis ‘Delft Blue’), in leaf, flower buds showing.
  • Five to seven Iris reticulata ‘Harmony’ in leaf.
  • Ten to twenty grape hyacinths (Muscari armeniacum).
  • Three small pots of Anemone blanda ‘Violet Star’.
  • One large pot of trailing variegated ivy (Hedera).

Materials

  • Three blue ceramic pots (or any other containers of your choice).
  • Two small terracotta pots.
  • One watering can with a wide mouth.
  • Enough soil-based potting compost to fill all the containers.
  • Broken crocks for drainage.
  • Horticultural grit or gravel (optional).
  • Trowel.

Instructions

1 Water all the plants thoroughly so the rootballs are moist right through. Line all the containers with a layer of broken crocks for drainage.

2 Start filling each container with compost. About halfway up, place the plant in its pot into the container to check for the right level. The top of the rootball should be about 4cm (1½in) below the rim of the container. Add more compost as needed.

3 Carefully tip each plant out of its pot, supporting the rootball and compost with your fingers on each side of the plant stems. Place in the container, firming in gently, then top up with more compost all round the plant, aiming to keep the top of the compost 4cm (1½ in) below the container rim. Firm the plant(s) again, then lift the whole container and tap or bump it gently against the ground to settle the compost and even it out all round.

4 Repeat the planting procedure for all the containers and plants. Water them all thoroughly using a fine rose on your watering can. If you like, scatter a layer of horticultural grit or gravel on top – this will keep weeds at bay, help to retain moisture and give a neat appearance.

5 Finally, position the newly planted containers in their allotted spot and wait for them to flower.

Tips
Choose a spot in full sun for the Anemone blanda – these only open fully when the sun is shining right on them.

Notes
When choosing your containers, bear in mind overall size and height. The aim is to have a range of sizes from short at the front to tall at the back.

Aftercare
Support the top-heavy hyacinths with discreet bamboo canes and soft string ties if needed. As with most bulbous plants, when the hyacinths, grape hyacinths and iris have finished flowering, allow the leaves to die back completely before lifting the bulbs/corms/rhizomes and planting in the garden. Alternatively, discard the old plants and replace next year with new.

Project taken from Seasonal Garden Ideas.

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