green leaf mixture, spring onions give salad rolls an extra zing, and chives are a must with scrambled eggs. 2011 was a bad year for tomatoes, so this year, take extra precautions by siting French marigolds in pots around them. Planting basil nearby also helps, as it’s natural repellent to flies.
Soft Fruit in pots We all love soft fruit, and I’ve just discovered a new range which have a more upright habit, so gooseberries and blackcurrants can be potted up and sited on the patio. Try blackcurrant Noiroma, which is a very sweet, large fruited variety, and gooseberry Lady Sun, an almost thornless yellow variety, both available from Suttons Seeds.
The Flower Garden
Manor Garden Centre Cheney Manor, Swindon SN2 2QJ. 01793 526691 Open 7 Days a week
Dahlias are making a big comeback. Grown as part of the general planting scheme, Quality TGB garden the canny gardener buildings for any situation knows that when Bespoke sizes available perennials such as Base laying & delphiniums and lupins are past their installation available best, dahlias will be coming into their Stockists of own, continuing to flower at full pitch until the first frost. The tall varieties can provide dramatic accents of colour at the back of the flower beds, and the smaller And finally, don’t forget the pleasure of varieties add interest throughout the growing flowers from seed. As soon as the garden, and provide plenty of cut soil has warmed up, rake over odd bare flowers for the house. Taller dahlias patches and scatter a mixture of marigolds need to be staked, so position these and cornflowers. Surround the sown area before planting the tubers, to avoid with a drizzle of sand, to remind yourself of any accidental damage. I’ve found where they were planted, and be rewarded that although the large flowered with a wonderful splash of colour later in pompom varieties look sensational, the summer. This works in pots as well. in a wet summer the flower heads Love in the Mist seeds scattered amongst retain too much rain and become the geraniums, candytuft in troughs, and too heavy for the stems, which bend nasturtiums amongst the tomatoes. All under the weight. I generally go for you need is a packet of seeds and a little the single flowering varieties, which imagination, and sometimes, the results are also look more at home in a mixed spectacular. herbaceous planting. Gardening can be hard work, but consider Dahlias grow in almost any location, the rewards. All those seeds producing food and on any soil, although, for best to eat, and beauty to enjoy. Is there anything results, good drainage is essential. that comes close? They can be obtained in almost any colour and any height, as singles, doubles, cactus or dwarf, and at the end of the year, the tubers can be lifted and stored for next year so they’re very economical to grow.
www.conservatorycentres.co.uk
Happy gardening.
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