Do you look around enviously every spring at all those magnificent gardens bursting with colour and full of flowers? Do you think to yourself, “That’s how ours is going to look next year?”, but then are unsure how to do it?
Help is at hand! The Catscapes team have put together our best spring garden tips to ensure that your garden will be picture perfect!
Tip #1 Plan for success
Those gardens you admire every year – most of them select fairly easy to grow annuals and that is why they are always successful! Here are just a few of our all-time favourites:
Fairy primulas – Primula malacoides – so rewarding, so easy to grow, a guaranteed winner! Available in pinks, white, lavender, and wine tones, flower spikes up to about 30cm
• Pansies – shorter growing, about 15-20cm high, available in all colours from pastel to bright, with faces or clear – so beautiful
• Violas – look just like miniature pansies, little plants laden with bright happy little faces
• Poppies are another real winner in the garden and so lovely as cut flowers in your home too!
• If you have a slightly bigger area in full sun Namaqualand daisies are always a winner! And planted from seed very cost effective too! You can go traditional with the bright oranges and yellows or all white. A fun thing to do is to mix white Namaqualand daisy seeds and Virginia Stocks seeds and plant together for a stunning mauve and white look. Just be aware that Namaqualand daisies close their flowers when not in full sun so don’t plant in shade spots
• If you are keen to give bulbs a go – Tulips, Ranunculus, Daffodils, Freesias and Amaryllis are always fabulous. You can order these directly from the Hadeco website and then will deliver to your door in time for planting.
Don’t feel restricted to only these plants, there are lots of other fabulous choices, these are just a few of our favourites!
Tip #2 Winter and Spring Gardens are Planted by Easter
We know, the weather is still too warm to even be thinking of winter just yet let alone spring! But the weather turns quickly and soil temperatures start to drop resulting in growth slowing down so an easy rule of thumb is to try and get your winter and spring flowers planted as close to the Easter Weekend as possible. Remember to prepare your soil well beforehand by digging in some nice rich weed-free compost (and be careful not to disturb the roots of sensitive plants like roses). Also, for maximum effect pay close attention to plant spacing (check the plant label).
Tip #3 Water and Feed Regularly
Particularly in the days and weeks following planting it is critical to keep your seedlings well- watered, especially when the weather is still quite warm to try and get them established and actively growing before the cold weather slows them down. To give your plants a boost it is really effective to feed them fortnightly – either with and organic fertilizer or a chemical one like Mulitfeed (1 flat teaspoon in 1 litre of water). Do not over fertilize or increase the dose as it can cause root burn which will adversely affect these young plants.
Tip #4 Sit Back and Enjoy Your Beautiful Garden!
You’ve done all the hard work, all that is left is to enjoy the fruits of your labour !
Happy gardening everyone!
