Thursday 22 February 2007

A splash of colour.


Nowadays, the spread and growth of the perennial plants in our garden has left insufficient space for some of the annuals to reach maturity. I have to be careful, therefore, where and how I sow them. Seeds such as poppies, corncockle and cornflower are sown broadcast near the front of borders in areas which have ox-eye daisy and wild campion growing there already.

For smaller seeds such as violas, fennel, dill and marigolds, I grow them firstly in trays, thinning them out when they are about an inch high and potting them up until they are sturdy enough to be planted in the garden. For larger individual seeds, such as sunflowers and artichokes, I use plastic trays called root-trainers, which facilitate the growth of a deep root system on each individual plant. After that stage, I pot them up, and transplant them when they fully grown.

Climbing annuals such as nasturtium, convolvulus and canary creeper are planted in situ, often where they will grow over arches, up trellis or through a hedge. The speed with which these tiny seeds grow, as well as the height they achieve, and, best of all, their vibrant palette of colours, never fails to amaze me.

3 comments:

RUTH said...

Thanks for visiting my blog and for your kind words about my computer skills. That would make my son laugh!!! I think your blog is lovely; beautiful photos & really interesting text. I'll add you as a link in my side bar. Would you be willing to say what county you are in...it's handy to know as far as comparing flowering times etc. And oh! how I understand"lack of space"....we are such plantaholics and all the "must have" plants we have such a job fitting into our little garden.
Happy Gardening
Ruth

A wildlife gardener said...

I live in Scotland. Our garden is 225 metres above sea-level and very open and windswept. I can't grow eg. lavender, escallonia, pyracantha, rosemary as they are burned black due to windburn! If you draw a triangle from your sister's to Edinburgh, we are at the other point of the triangle! My blog is all about how we created a garden for wildlife, by hand, from a derelict half acre plot - a corner of a farmer's field - covered in pernicious weeds, when we came here 16 years ago. I'm doing it for my sons and any future grandchildren.

RUTH said...

A massive challenge to undertake but how rewarding and what a wonderful legacy to leave behind you for those yet to come. Have a wonderful weekend. I'm looking forward to my next visit.