Here’s a nice spring planting combination. Tulipa ‘Pink Diamond’ with Lithodora ‘Heavenly Blue’. There ia also Juniperus ‘Blue Star’ to the left of the photo too. Lithodora is a great plant though it needs trimming every so often to stop it getting woody. This combination was an experiment. We’ll be adding more Pink Diamonds this autumn.
This is a steeply sloping, wide but shallow front garden that we planted last year. Originally turfed and a nightmare to maintain it was a typical new build garden. Poor soil and grass that was struggling. We renewed the soil and stripped off the turf. Then we used new FSC timber sleepers to create mini-tiers. We chose an Amelanchier candanensis as a feature tree against the bare two storey brick wall. It’s a great small tree with lovely blossom as you can see from the pictures, and even better autumn colour.
The rest of the site was planted with a mix of shrubs and herbaceous perennials to give year round interest. Mixed green and blue slate of different grades were used as a deep mulch.
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You know that Spring is on the way when you catch a glimpse of a clump of snowdrops. These fantastic hardy woodland plants are traditionally seen as one of the first signs of winter’s passing. To grow them successfully though they must be planted “in the green” – i.e. as plants rather than as bulbs. Don’t be tempted to buy as dry bulbs as the majority will probably fail. And once you buy them as plants get them in the ground quick.
We buy snowdrops from specialist growers around this time of year and look to offer them to our clients through the spring. Planted en masse they look great. And you can plant them in the lawn as they’ll have finished their cycle by the time it comes to give the lawn it’s first cut.
Another tip is to plant the double form Galathus nivalis ‘Flore Pleno’ which for mass plantings bulks and divides more quickly. If they do come up “blind” (i.e. they don’t flower) in the first year, don’t worry, they will the next year and every year after that.
It’s at this time of year that you long for some flowers in the garden. As spring approaches everyone looks for the first snowdrop or crocus, followed by the daffodils – especially here in Wales.
We love bulbs and try to plant some with every project – they’re great value for money and low maintenance.
If you’re looking for inspiration for bulbs then you should take a look at The Plantfinder’s Guide to Early Bulbs by Rod Leeds. Rod is one of the UK’s leading experts on Alpines and Bulbs and the book provides many unusual early flowering bulb suggestions. Lovely photography inspires and full information on each cultivar as well as planting and care information helps you decide what would be good for your garden
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