Now’s the perfect time to take heed of these spring gardening tips
by Northern Life
The clocks have changed and marked a welcome to lighter nights and warmer days, it’s one of our favourite seasons when the garden becomes a space we can really start to enjoy once again.
It’s the perfect time of year to give your garden what it needs so you can reap the rewards when summer does arrive! And as spring becomes summer, it’s time for colour – bright beds and borders, beautiful hanging baskets and containers – the choice is blooming good!
If your lawn is looking drab, now is also a great time to show your lawn a little love.
Spring gardening tips from the team at Tong Garden Centre
No matter how big or small your garden, bedding plants are a great way to instantly brighten your outdoor space – adding bold and bright colour as well as new textures and gorgeous summer scents to your pots, containers, hanging baskets, beds and borders.
The team at Tong love…
Nemesia
Nemesia for their pretty, two-tone petals, great for fitting into planting schemes.
Million bells are lovely trailing plants with masses of non-stop, small, vibrant blooms all summer in a fantastic array of colours. Perfect for hanging baskets, pots and window boxes.
Bush and trailing fuchsia adds variety, colour and texture, available in a wide range of varieties.
Bedding dahlias with their compact growth and large, colourful flowers.
Non-stop begonias with their large, bold flowers in a fantastic range of colours.
Upright and trailing geraniums as they are so easy to maintain and will flower for long periods.
Blue lobelia
French marigolds because they attract beneficial insects to the garden.
Lobelia as they are so versatile and especially good in rock gardens or containers.
Stocks because they are so beautifully scented.
Petunias with their delicate flowers, are great all rounders, they’re versatile and come in a wide choice of colours.
Top Tips for getting the best from bedding!
- Remove the dead flowers as they fade to keep plants looking tidy and encourage new blooms
- Water every day throughout the summer and twice daily in the height of summer for plants in containers and hanging baskets to ensure they never dry out
- Apply a liquid feed at least once a week. For containers and baskets, try the slow-release fertiliser in granules or tablets, and supplement with liquid feeds for an instant boost
- If a late frost is forecast, protect bedding plants with plant fleece
Don’t forget…
Condition your soil
Adding a soil conditioner will improve soil structure and drainage as well as release nutrients into the soil to provide a healthy environment for plants to thrive.
Feed your plants
For brilliant blooms and bumper crops, give plants and their root systems the boost they need by adding the right nutrients back into the soil.
Wage war on bugs and weeds
Beat the garden enemies! Those pesky pests and wicked weeds will take their toll on your garden if they’re not kept under control. For the right solution, talk to the experts at Tong Garden Centre.
