You know you are starting to get old when you find yourself buying a nail gun and making wooden planters on a Saturday afternoon. With snowdrops & daffodils popping up everywhere it got me thinking it was time to start planning what to do with our garden. We have been very lucky to move into a house with a large front and back garden but presently they are both just plain plots of grass. I would love to sit in the garden during the summer , enjoying a cold glass of wine & surrounded by sweet-smelling flowers. So to face up to my mid 30’s urge to take up gardening I have googled the best plants and seeds to get in the ground and pots this month to guarantee an RHS worthy summer garden.
Sunflower Seeds – Big Smile – A great alternative to the giant sunflower for little children to grow. Fast to flower in as little as 60 days, this attractive dwarf variety is ideal for pots and border growing.
Pansy Seeds – Cassius Mixed – Blotched blooms in red, yellow and blue shades together with white, for summer or spring-flowering. And unlike other large-flowered varieties where flower size diminishes in hot weather, Cassius holds its bloom size, and plants are less likely to ‘stretch’ as they get older.”
Poppy Seeds – Rhoeas – The beautiful and iconic Field Poppy is much in demand at the moment – 100 years since the start of the 1st World War. This short-lived perennial will seed itself to provide displays from year to year.
Sweet Pea Seeds – Jet Set Mixed – What it lacks in height, it makes up for in appearance. Beautiful pastel shades of scarlet, crimson, blue, salmon, cerise and mauve look amazing in large terracotta pots or climbing through your roses and shrubs.
Lavender Seeds – Provence Blue – Fragrance is everything with lavender and this is one of the best! Provence is a compact variety but is eminently suitable for small hedges, bedding, cutting and drying.
Freesia Seeds – Dobies Coloured Hybrids – The flowers, in a wide range of colours, are a good choice for making use of a cool conservatory or greenhouse during the winter months.
If you would like some inspiration with how to design your dream garden then click here and take a look at recommendations from the experts at the RHS.
* Flower descriptions and link source Dobies