Amateur Gardening 15-Sep-2018

1 Our sorry front border lies in the rain shadow of the house and has sunken, thin soil, dead summer bedding and lots of weeds. 2 To resurrect a bed, start by removing old summer plants and weeds, making sure you remove the roots of perennial varieties such as dandelions. 3 Layer your compost of soil enricher thickly over the bed. Worms and weather will soon work it down into the soil. 4 Rake it over the soil and around shrubs. It will become incorporated into existing soil when you dig holes for your plants.…

WITH winter waiting in the wings, swapping thin duvets for thicker ones isn’t the only type of bedding switcheroo going on at the moment. Summer’s gaudy annuals are now on their last legs, so it’s time for a changing of the guard. Confusingly, autumn and spring bedding plants, which you should get in the ground now, are one and the same thing. Plant them up and they will grow and flower through autumn, then go dormant during the coldest months. Don’t worry though, because as soon as the mercury starts to rise again next year they will return to growth and provide a blanket of brilliance throughout spring. Bedding plants, including pansies and violas, wallflowers, daisy-like bellis, cyclamen, stocks and polyanthus, are relatively low maintenance. To get the best out of them, deadhead…

1 Pretty Cyclamen coum flower through January and February, and are ideal for underplanting and brightening dark shady areas. 2 The flowers of daisy-like bellis are like cheerful cushions. They flower for ages, making them excellent value for money. 3 Polyanthus and primrose are traditional early bloomers. They look gorgeous nestled close to hedges and walls, and provide early food for bees. 4 Fabulous scented dianthus and sweet Williams come in a variety of pretty shades and are excellent plants for indoor arrangements. Tender care: Tender annuals need propagating and lifting now before winter arrives – find out what to do in next week’s AG (in the shops 18 September)…

1 Water plants before getting them in the ground. Move them around on the border, still in their pots, until you get the right arrangement. 2 If you are planting through a layer of compost and the soil seems dry underneath, thoroughly moisten the planting holes first. 3 Make sure the hole is as deep as the plant’s rootball and slightly wider. Plants hate to be under or over-planted and usually fail to thrive. 4 Tease out circling and congested roots. The easier it is for them to spread, the further they can forage for water and nutrients. 5 Water after planting, even if you watered well beforehand. Saturating the soil settles it around the roots and removes air pockets. 6 Protect from slugs using wool or organic pellets. Go out at dusk and pick…

It isn’t too late to start a couple of bedding varieties from seed for next year’s show, but you need to get your skates on. Viola and forget-me-not seed germinates fast and the young flowers should be ready to go out next spring if they are grown undercover and hardened off. This month, sow them thinly in trays of seed compost. Cover, water and grow on until the seedlings are ready to prick out. Grow them somewhere cool and light, and don’t let them dry out. Gradually acclimatise them to outdoor temperatures in early spring and plant out in mid-spring.…

IF you sowed a selection of biennial plants this year, either in a nursery bed or in pots and trays, they will be ready to move to their final flowering place now. Early autumn is the perfect time to move them because they are young enough to transplant without damaging their root system. The soil will also still be holding onto some summer warmth and will have been usefully dampened by seasonal rainfall. By planting them now, you are giving their roots time to grow and start to mature before the plants go dormant during the winter. Then next spring, when the weather warms up, they will be ready to surge back to life. Don’t worry if their top growth dies back, as it will soon regenerate in the better weather. We…