Keeping the garden looking pretty throughout the year is a difficult task and needs a bit of planning and preparation. Many books and articles have been written on the subject of succession planning, but it’s not really that hard. For example planting a few spring bulbs under a shrub or perennial is one easy way of providing a longer period of interest. You can still lift and divide your snowdrops if you are quick, they prefer to be moved ‘in the green’ and will spread more quickly if you give them a helping hand. They grow well in grass as well as borders.

Now is the time to plan for a late summer show. Sow a few annuals such as Cosmos; its not too late and they come up really quick. You can then plant them out in the gaps left by earlier flowering perennials such as oriental poppies. Tobacco plants will do the same job and they come in wide range of sizes and colours, I’ve ordered some plug plants by mail order. Cut the poppies hard back first, they will survive and grow fresh new leaves. If you have successfully overwintered dahlia tubers, get them off to a good start by planting them in some compost and give them a little heat. When all risk of frost is over and they have started to grow leaves, you can pop them in for a long summer and autumn show as long as you feed and water them well.

Other combinations which work well and are easy:

• Primroses planted among herbaceous peonies – the emerging red peony stems set off the pale yellow flowers really well.
• The smaller daffodils such as ‘Hawera’ among beefier plants such as day lilies or hardy geraniums. The Day Lily will grow over and so hide the fading daffodil leaves.
• A clematis growing through a wall trained shrub such as firethorn. We’ve a large, white flowered clematis doing just that. It contrasts well with the small, dense canopy of (the rather boring) firethorn leaves.
• Spring bulbs such as wood anemones which flower for ages and look lovely in a woodland setting with Hostas or Gunnera both of which tend to come into leaf rather late. Soak the anenomes for a few hours before planting and give them some leafmould if you have it.
• The bronze leaved celandine, ‘brazen hussy’ hugs the ground, spreading like mad so needs a bit of a careful eye on it. The bright yellow flowers contrast beautifully with its dark leaves in Spring, but it is not for the faint hearted gardener who likes soft colours! The whole plant dies back by midsummer, so it is good to let it run through later performing shrubs and perennials.

I’m writing this mid April in a slight panic as we open the garden to the public in 2 weeks’ time. So thank you in anticipation to those of you who took the time to visit. We are open again in June, so hope to see you then when ‘Charnwood’ will be in her summer dress!