Now’s the time to plant for spring colour

Autumn is always the best time to plant bulbs in the garden as you can buy them loose at a fraction of the price you would pay for pot grown plants in spring. All you need to do is remember where those green gaps were early on, or think about the parts of the garden you use in the early months and target these areas for planting your bulbs to give splashes of colour next spring.

Now which bulbs do you choose?

Narcissus – commonly known as daffodils and very reliable for their displays of colour. Plant in a sunny or partially shaded site and they will give a range of heights from 6in. up to 2ft. depending on variety.

Tulips – well known for their broad range of colours and flower types, plant these much deeper than a normal bulb (approx 5in. deep) also mix in grit sand with the soil and plant in a well-drained site.

Hyacinths – you can pot these up for colour indoors then after this, plant them out in the garden in a sunny or partially shaded site, beautiful pastel colours of pink white and blue.

Fritillaries – one of my favourites, commonly known as the snakes head fritillary and great for somewhere with more shade. Beautiful purple or white flowers and will semi naturalise after time, stunning!

To make sure you get colourful displays year on year, feed your bulbs well with a fertilizer which is high in potash just after they flower, either use Tomorite twice after flowering or sprinkle potash around the bulbs and let this soak through into the soil. Bulbs flower well without fail in the wild as they are naturally being fed by rotting leaves and other organic matter, which, in the garden, is removed before this benefits the plants, so make sure to feed once a year to ensure success!

For the very first time the nursery will be open throughout the winter. With the opening of the Garden Kitchen, this means that whatever the weather you can pay us a visit, have lunch or maybe even an afternoon tea at the same time as browsing the nursery to see what is looking colourful and enjoying our breathtaking surroundings.