Oh go on then! You’ve been champing at the bit for weeks now. The daffs are long gone, the tulips are over and you are desperate to plant your summer bedding – the petunias and the tobacco plants, the French marigolds and the… well, just about everything.
Now I hate to be a wet blanket and put a dampener on things, but do keep an eye on the weather forecast.
If any late frosts are threatened, get ready to cover the newly-planted bedding with a layer of fleece. It really will save you a lot of money, as well as preventing your plants from looking as if they have been singed.
But first to the plants themselves. Buy bushy ones – not tall, spindly ones that are plastered in flowers. Choose plants with a few open blooms so that you can see the colour of the flowers, but with masses of buds that will open and give their all in the garden rather than the nursery or the garden centre.
Avoid any pots and trays that have dried out – you’ll be able to tell since the compost will have shrunk away from the sides of the pot or tray and the plants may look a bit sad.
When you get the plants home give them a good soak before planting – dry root balls are very difficult to re-wet once they are under the soil. Prepare the soil by sprinkling over it a good dusting of blood, bone and fishmeal, and then lightly forking it over to remove any weeds and loosen up the surface.
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