Page 30 - Garden News

WHAT TO DO THIS WEEK

in your flower garden

Plant up a potted

bulb display

Celebrate the season
with a bright and
cheerful creation

ow’s the time of year when
gardeners get a little
N excited about the
imminent influx of spring blooms
and new growth, as well as the
promise of much lovelier weather
to get out in! So to celebrate the
season and create something
pretty, why not get some
colourful planting underway
and jazz up your windowsills
and outdoor tables with a It’s easy to make an
indoor bulb display
selection of potted bulbs? to brighten a table
Instead of individual clusters of
plants, plant a few pots of bulbs
together in different sizes of shallow
bowls, with taller ones at the back or
in the middle, surrounded by smaller
irises and snowdrops, for example.
You could even daintily edge your
pots in low-growing winter aconites.
Tuck in a few and then backfill tightly
with multi-purpose compost, finishing
off with your mossy topper to add a
natural woodland feel to your display.
Nothing says ‘bring on spring’ more
than lots of early-flowering bulbs to
admire! Once they’ve all finished
flowering, leave their leaves for a few
weeks, then trim them right down.
You can plant them out in the garden
once they’ve gone over.

Garden News Photos: Neil Hepworth, unless stated
RECOMMENDS

Winter iris Alamy Mini daffs Alamy Snowdrops Alamy Moss topping Shu
erstock
Garden centres have small pots Pots of mini daffs are available, Potted snowdrops from garden Use moss as a naturalistic
of winter iris for sale now for with the classic ‘Tête-à-tête’ centres add woodland wonder surface topper. It’s attractive
an instantly colourful creation. the most common, though look to your bulb displays. Once and also keeps moisture in.
I. reticulata is most common around for other colours to mix gone over you can replant them Use flower arranging cushion
and also try I. unguicularis. up your palette. in the garden ‘in the green’. moss, sphagnum or lawn moss.

30 Garden News / January 27 2018