Gardening section:Layout 1
3/23/17
1:04 PM
Page 63
GARDENING
APRIL GARDEN TIPS
● Plant out half hardy varieties of bedding plants such as Antirrhinum, Ten Week Stocks, Sweet Williams, pansies and violas, also tender bedding plants but only in the most sheltered spots in your garden, as well as frosttender shrubs such as lavender, sage, rosemary, Santolina, Osteospermum and Hebes. ● Plant out sweet peas and provide support for them to climb. ● Pinch out the shoot tips of straggly bedding and basket plants to encourage side shoots to grow. ● Prune winter flowering jasmine and shrubby honeysuckle now, to encourage new growth and give them time to initiate new flower buds for next year. ● Tie in tender shoots of clematis as they grow. ● Remove dead flower heads from bulbs, feed with a tomato liquid feed to build up the bulbs strength for next year. ● Lift and split daffodils to replant. Try to avoid damaging the roots as much as you can. ● Plant basil in pots or in the borders between your tomatoes. It always does better inside. ● If cats are coming into your garden to use your newly tilled soil as a toilet, try a sonic pest control system to keep them out. ● Protect flowers on peaches, nectarines and apricots from frost. Use a soft brush to hand pollinate blooms and increase chances of a good crop. Courtesy Cleeve Nursery
Nursery opening times: 9-6 Mon-Sat and 10-5 Sunday and Bank Holidays.
Garden guru
ELIZA Gray has been running her well-respected garden design company for more than ten years, since she qualified with a distinction in her Garden Design Diploma in 2006. Since then, she has designed many gardens, large and small, across Bristol, Bath and the Mendips. Eliza said: "I always like to make sure that I have listened carefully to my clients before I start designing their garden. With a clear idea of what my client wants, I then go on to draw up a detailed plan for them, outlining materials, plants and construction details. It is important that my design meets their brief." Aside from layout and planting plans, Eliza also carries out a more concise consultation, where she will come and visit you in your home, coming up with ideas and producing a report. Across April and May, Eliza is offering a special price of £100 for a consultation, when you mention the Mendip Times. Details: www.elizagraygardens.co.uk
MENDIP TIMES • APRIL 2017 • PAGE 63