Flower colour for cutting and scent

Old cottage garden colour

The return in popularity of some of the old cottage garden favourite flowering plants is a welcome sight in any garden. Gardeners are returning to long stemmed old time favourites including foxgloves, free flowering Lupins, scented sweet peas, large flowering Peonies and hostas to name but a few. Gardeners are interested in flowering plants that flower this and every summer and are good to fill up gaps in their borders and shrub beds, they also love herbaceous perennials that are suitable for cutting as cut flowers for the home. Early May is a great time to plant a selection of summer flowering herbaceous perennials which not only offer long periods of colour they are also ideal to help fill in gaps left by dead and damaged shrubs after the harsh winter.

Plant in groups of threes or fives to help create a strong show of long lasting colour in shrub beds and flower borders. I would recommend the following perennials to plant now in your garden for colour this summer. Phygelius commonly called the cape fuchsia, Penstomens with their beautiful tubular flowers, Hostas for foliage and flower colour, coreopsis bright yellow blooms all summer and the wonderful long stemmed Lupins

Gardening Jobs to tackle this week

1. Plant a selection of hot chillies and purple and red peppers into a 10” pot using Levington Multi compost. Place the pot on a bright sunny window sill in full light for a great crop of fresh chillies and peppers all summer long. Both peppers and chillies are easy to grow and will require only regular watering and feed with ONE liquid feed weekly. Go on give then a try this summer
2. Tumbling tom Tomatoes are the perfect choice for a hanging basket or window box this summer. This trailing variety produces a mass of great tasting medium sized tomatoes all summer and can be planted on their own or with fresh basil and indeed with a selection of flowering hanging baskets including White bacopa, lobelias and busie lizzies. Remember to feed weekly from mid May with ONE liquid feed.
3. Onion, lettuce, cabbage, broccoli, scallions and Brussels sprout plants are now available for planting. Take my advice and plant a small amount of plants every two weeks to provide you with lots of fresh great tasting home grown veggies this summer. Remember you can also sow vegetables from seed throughout May and June.
4. Early Potato blight warnings will soon be given by met Eireann – so prevent potato blight affecting your home grown potatoes by treating them now and again in two weeks with a dressing of Promiximal spray. This treatment provides excellent protection if used early and often and can also be used on tomatoes to prevent blight.
5. Plant a selection of Kitchen Herbs now, choose from a wide variety of easy to grow garden herbs including Basil, parsley both French and curled, oregano, thyme, rosemary and chives. Garden herbs can be planted directly into the border soil or grown in window boxes and patio planters for ease of cutting and aftercare. Remember to cut the young growth on a regular basis to help keep your herbs young and producing lots of new growth.
6. Summer flowering fuchsias are invaluable in any garden; May is the ideal time to plant fuchsias both in your shrub borders and in patio planters and baskets. Many are just coming into flower and will continue to flower from now right up until the early frosts. Choose from a wide selection of hardy varieties which will bloom this and every summer.
7. Beautiful large trumpet shaped flowers are produced from mid summer until early winter from the Arum Lilly and now is the ideal time to plant arum lilies in your garden. This clump forming plant is easy to grow, very free flowering and will grow in virtually all gardens and soil types, however on moist wet soils it thrives and makes wonderful large clumps with masses of blooms. Arum lily will provide you with lots of long stemmed white trumpet shaped flowers all summer long.
8. Continue to sow garden pea and bean seed during May, look for the dwarf pea variety called Meteor – it produces great tasting sweet tasting peas all summer long on short compact plants. Pea seed can be sown directly into your garden soil and will germinate within two weeks. Children love to grow and pick sweet tasting garden peas. This dwarf variety will need a little support with bamboo canes.
9. For a strong splash of colour with some great scent – plant some scented Lilies. Garden lily plants are now available for planting; they come in a wide variety of colours and are perfect to add a splash of colour in patio pots, shrub borders and lower beds. Lilies planted now will flower this and ever summer and are so easy to grow.
10. Plant some fruiting blueberry plants now in your garden, Blueberries have just come into flower and will set their rich blue berries from June onwards. Plant blueberries in pots or borders, you will need two different varieties for cross pollination. Blueberries produce their fruit right throughout the summer and will fruit for many years. For the typical garden pant six plants to give you enough pickings.
11. Potatoes, vegetable plants, and fruit will all benefit from a dressing of Westland Organic chicken manure pellets – Chicken manure is easy to apply, clean to use and very effective in feeding your garden plants and providing much needed energy through may and June. Simply sprinkle the clean pellets around the bas of each plant before rain is promised.
12. Slug and snail damage is very visible at the moment, the wet start to may has encouraged a lot of damage on soft garden plants. I use Slug clear liquid to protect my garden plants, its easy to apply, invisible to pets and garden birds once applied and very effective at controlling both slug and snail infestation.