News: Thinking About Spring

Thinking About Spring

 The continued unsettled weather has made tulip planting more tricky than usual, but we dig on. As I have said on many occasions spring is my favourite time of year, especially coming after a cold wet winter. The start for me is always the snowdrops and early crocus, with their deep intense glossy colours.

The pleasure of the spring garden may seem some way away, but excellent results are achievable for all with a bit of hard work. Well prepared soil makes planting easier and produces results even better than you would imagine. Think of the spring when planting on a cold autumn day, the job then has more purpose and becomes much more enjoyable. 

Talking yesterday about jobs in hand, somebody had to mention Christmas. It is still not too late to have winter flowering crocus in bloom for Christmas. These are a most valuable plant at this time of year adding colour and interest during the dull winter months.

Planted in pots they should now be placed in a cold frame or in the open and covered with a thin layer of bulb fibre or compost while their roots develop. They require only minimal moisture until growth starts to appear whereupon they should be kept evenly moist. 

 After flowering, the pots can be put back outside and covered with a thin layer of top-dressing compost. Once the foliage has died back, they should be moved to a dry warm area for the corms to ripen. 

As always wishing you every success in your garden,
Chris Blom