This is a strange Easter. Quite apart from the other changes to our usual routine we cannot get to garden centres. Easter weekend is the start of the garden year for many gardeners, though the more dedicated will know that the gardening year starts a lot earlier. It is all about the planning.
I started planting the daffodils down the drive two years ago, before the house was complete – a few hours snatched here and there when I should have been painting or tiling – but this year more than ever I am glad I did. Perhaps, although we can’t buy plants right now, make a note to plant more spring bulbs this autumn.
Garden centres, like our gardens, should be packed with colour and tempting plants to buy. One of the features that made Nags Hall unique in the 70s when I was working there, was the selection of alpines that were regularly delivered from Ingwersens’ nursery near East Grinstead. These often included rarities and unusual plants that were not as obviously decorative as pots full of flowering campanulas and aubrietas but they were exciting for anyone looking for something special.
These days some of these alpines are much more common. In those days lewisias were rarities and difficult to grow but today they are sold as patio plants for instant colour and are not just easier to grow, they are much more colourful.
Other plants that were once rare are polyanthus and primroses. I am not talking about the huge primroses that are sold for Mother’s Day and are trying to be petunias. These are spectacular but they are not very hardy and they rarely survive more than a few weeks – they are certainly not good garden plants. Instead I mean the perennial types that were commonly grown a century ago but were hard to find in the 70s and 80s. A few would be included in the Ingwersen’s selection, such as ‘Garryarde Guinevere’ with pink flowers and the delicate pale yellow of ‘Lady Greere’. Now we can easily enjoy some of the beauty of these old cottage garden flowers thanks to the work of Joe Kennedy who has painstakingly produced his ‘Irish Primroses’ over thirty years. These are delightful plants that get better every year and will thrive in sun or shade. My favourite is ‘Avondale’ – worth looking out for.
Easter jobs
There is so much we can do in the garden right now. Weeding is an essential but with dry weather lots of the annual weeds can be hoed off and allowed to wither. Keep the grass cut, mowing little and often and don’t forget to trim the edges too – it makes such a difference.
Painting
I have been making the most of the good weather by finally painting the garden shed which has been looking very brown since December. It is going to be the backdrop of what will become my ‘seaside’ garden. There is a lot to do in the garden part of it but just a few hours with a tin (well two) of garden paint makes the whole garden a bit brighter. Maybe you have fences and trellis that would benefit in the same way.
Sowing veg
With the soil nice and warm now it is the perfect time to sow vegetables including carrots, lettuce, beet, turnips and peas – but make sure you water them after sowing if the weather is dry. It is still a bit early for sweet corn, French and Runner beans outside but they can be sown in pots or trays in the greenhouse, polytunnel or on the windowsill ready for planting out.
Grow some biennials
Now is a good time to sow biennials to bloom next spring and summer. I have been sowing foxgloves and Canterbury bells but you can also sow sweet Williams, forget-me-nots, wallflowers and many perennials now too.
Wallflowers are best grown in the ground. Sow the seeds carefully in rows and when they are about 10cm high, transplant them 10cm apart and pinch out the tips to make them branch. They will then be strong, bushy plants to put into their flowering places in October.
Foxgloves can be sown any time between now and late May. I sow them in trays and then grow them in cell trays. By sowing so early I will have really big plants to bloom next year though I will plant them out in May or June and they will take up a lot of room all summer. Remember that foxglove seeds need light to germinate so do not cover them with compost. I cover with Perlite and water from below so I do not wash out the tiny seeds. I leave the seedlings till they have a few tiny true leaves so the seedlings are easier to handle.
Grow cosmos
Few plants give me more pleasure each summer than cosmos. They are easy to grow, the seeds are large and easy to handle and the seedlings are easy to transplant. They also grow quickly from seed and now is the perfect time to sow so they are ready to plant out in late May. You could sow them in pots or cell trays or even sow two per cell in a tray and save on transplanting. Some are quite dwarf but the taller kinds are perfect for filling large areas in the border and they will flower all summer, right to the frosts. All they ask is decent soil and full sun. They even do well in large pots and they attract bees and butterflies too.
Whatever you are doing this Easter weekend, enjoy the weather and please keep safe.