Garden News March 7

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March 7, 2015

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Expert advice for daring displays this year

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EXCLUSIV E INTERVIE W

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Carol Klein's top tips for spring bulbs PLUS All the gossip from behind the scenes of her new show

CREATIVE WAYS WITH CORNUS PAGES OF IDEAS FOR THIS WEEK! Lift and divide your snowdrops Sow hardy annuals Give your lawn its first mow of the year!

GROW AN AWARDWINNING GARDEN! Fill your plot with Oscar-worthy plants!

EN IN THE FLOWER GARD

Sow hardy annuals Start sowing these great-value colourpacked plants from seed now, says Clare OU JUSTHNÕT lose with hardy annuals! They can be sown outside this month in borders to add loads of colourful flowers for little expense. Unlike more delicate annuals, such as cosmos and zinnias, these plants will produce tough seedlings that can cope with the cold nights of March and April, resulting in flowers early in summer.

Bedding plants and big perennials don’t always come cheap, but hardy annual seeds can fill a whole border for the cost of just a couple of plants. A sea of Californian poppies (such as this week’s free seeds), love-in-a-mist or pot marigold flowers is a treat to see in the garden in summer, and it all starts with sowing the seed directly onto the soil.

Choose a sunny spot and look out for gaps that need to be filled. Bear in mind how big the gaps will be once plants are in full growth in spring, so the border doesn’t become too crammed.

There are other hardy annuals, such as sunflowers, cerinthe and sweet peas, that work well if you sow them in pots or cell trays, so you can have sturdy homegrown ‘plug plants’ to plant out in late April and early May.

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How to sow hardy annuals

Identify large sunny gaps in your border that you want to look colourful. Hoe out any weeds and use a rake to break up large clods of soil, then rake it level.

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Fill a bo le with sand and use it to ‘draw’ out shapes in the border to group together certain plants. This way you can create a tiered, colour co-ordinated border.

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If seeds are big, sprinkle them on the soil surface by hand. If they are tiny, try mixing them in sand before you sow to help spread them evenly over the surface of the soil.

UK digital readers tel: 01733 395076 or email gn.le ers@bauermedia.co.uk to claim your free seeds

22 Garden News / March 7 2015

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Rake the seed lightly into the soil, then water it well using a watering can with a rose-end a achment. Water again if the soil goes very dry, but make sure the seeds aren’t si ing in water.

Photos: Neil Hepworth unless stated

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Former head gardener, TV and radio broadcaster and RHS judge

Martin Fish The undercover

GARDENER Martin’s sowing tomatoes and a selection of sweet and chilli peppers

Jobs to do now

Start succulents into growth Over winter, I’ve been watering the few succulent plants that I grow in the greenhouse sparingly. Now it’s time to gradually increase the water to start them into growth.

Photos: Martin Fish

The first half of March is Martin’s chilli sowing time VER THE NEXT few weeks I’ll be sowing a selection of vegetable and flower seeds in the greenhouse propagator and on my heated bench in the polytunnel.

First on the list are tomatoes and peppers which both need warmth for germination.

Some people sow even earlier, but I think sowing in the first half of March is the ideal time for both.

Days are now lengthening and temperatures are rising a little, meaning seeds will germinate faster and seedlings will quickly establish. I aim to have strong plants for planting into larger pots or the polytunnel border by late April.

I need to try and hit that planting time because we have our first group of visitors looking around the garden at the end of May and I want the greenhouse and tunnel to look good for them.

I’m growing a selection of different

O

tomatoes to provide cherry, standard and beefsteak-sized fruits and I also like a mixture of colours for variety, so I will be including ’Sungold’, ‘Chocolate Cherry’ and ‘Artisan Bumble Bee Mix’ as well as the conventional red varieties.

I’ve decided to grow a selection of sweet and chilli peppers. First to be sown is the variety called ‘Fish’, a variegated form, which along with several other varieties such as ‘Bangalore Torpedo’, ‘Jalapeno’ and ‘Hungarian Hot Wax’ have been sent to me

by Robinson’s Seeds.

Tomatoes and peppers are sown in the same way. I put the seeds in small pots of multi-purpose compost and lightly cover them with a thin layer of Vermiculite, although sieved compost can also be used.

At 18-21C (65-70F) in the propagator, the seedlings should start to peep through in seven to 10 days. I’ll prick them out individually when they’re big enough.

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Move sweet pea seedlings The sweet pea seed that was sown a few weeks ago in the propagator has germinated very well. To prevent the seedlings ge ing leggy, they now need cooler conditions.

Dead stems need cu ing back My stock plant pelargoniums from last year are making new shoots, but I have noticed some dead stems. These need cu ing out completely back to living wood.

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Tel: 01531 633659 www.haygrove.co.uk March 7 2015 / Garden News 27

RHS/Louise Bargus

ories this week The big gardeningEditst ge ed by IAN HODGSON Editor-at-lar

Stunning: oncidium St Clements Classic

Orchidmania!

Major event to blossom across London

L

and free talks.

“This is probably the last time we will see an orchid event on this scale as it’s just getting too expensive to stage,” said Johan Hermans, President of the European Orchid Council and Chair of the RHS Orchid Committee. “It’s a real coup to get such a diversity of exhibitors and speakers from around the world.” ● The 17th European Orchid Show and Conference takes place at The Royal Horticultural Halls, Westminster, London SW1P 2PE. Preview evening: 8 April, 6.30pm–9.00pm; main show: 9-12 April, 10am-5pm. Prices: preview £18, main show £11.

Discounts for advance booking and RHS members.

For full details visit www.rhs.org.uk/eoclondon2015

Plants, talks and lectures will enthrall visitors

RHS/Sarah Cu le

ONDON WILL BE the focus of the orchid world this spring when a trienniel international show celebrating all aspects of these exciting and exotic plants bursts to life in April.

The 17th European Orchid Show and Conference, staged in London for only the third time, is being hosted via a unique partnership between the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) and the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. The RHS will stage the main four-day show at its headquarters in Vincent Square, with around 60 European and international exhibitors set to attend from as far afeld as the USA, Ecuador, Peru, Japan, Taiwan, China and Australia. The two-day conference, split between Kew and the RHS, will see speakers from 18 countries talk on a wide range of topics including hardy orchids, pollination, growing techniques, conservation and orchids in the wild.

Besides buying plants, the show will also give visitors the opportunity to obtain expert tips from nurserymen and RHS experts, and attend practical demonstrations

RHS/Sarah Cu le

Wow factor – RHS halls will be awash with 60 different orchid exhibitors from around the world

36 Garden News / March 7 2015