Eye-catching spring colour and interest

So, we've reached mid April, which means we're now in mid Spring, and despite the lasting coolness at night, many of the containers prepared for this time of year are providing us with a colourful show.

Not only this, with the shrubs and trees beginning to break bud, it really is a wonderful time to be involved in the garden, and the great outdoors..

Container wise, while the early Spring bulbs have mostly finished, the later bulbs are just coming in to their own. In fact, during the Autumn months I (sometimes) deliberately plant some of the bulbs late into their pots to delay when the colour shows. It's a good way of avoiding the gap in colour between the spring bulbs and summer bedding. Throw in a few flowering pansies and you're flying. By the way, the container made up with the sample Unwins bulb pads has really come into its own now, as you can see.

Last year I was very conscious that there was an unbalanced, albeit enthusiastic, focus from this blog on Summer colour, particularly on my Fuchsia, Hemerocallis and Dahlia collections as they came into their own. So this year I'm redressing this a little to ensure I capture some of the earlier colour and interest in the garden. 

I should give a special mention to the container Camellias, which are just flowering away, doing their thing. I lost the variety 'Debbie' last year, which I do miss, particularly as the plant was getting to a nice size, so I'll look out for this again. 

Maintenance wise, plants do require watering at this time of year if they begin to get dry, so do check them regularly. I know I've covered  feeding both spring bulbs and Camellias in previous blogposts, and the importance of using good potting mix, however these are worth a mention again here too to get the best out of your plants and colour, now and in preparation for next year. 

Happy gardening