Plant up colourful bedding plants now to brighten up the winter border.

The long winter months are often associated with bleak, bare and colourless spaces in the garden. This need not be the case. The solution is to fill the gaps with winter-flowering bedding plants. These are now available at nurseries and garden centres. Plant these annuals during the autumn months of April and May to guarantee glorious colour from winter into spring.
When choosing plants, find out the height they reach at maturity. Create a layered effect in the border by planting the taller varieties like foxgloves (digitalis) at the back. Medium height plants such as poppies work well when planted in the middle. Low growing annuals like pansies, fairy primula and lobelia look stunning as edging plants at the front of the border.
Bedding plants often have more aesthetic appeal when mass planted. Also remember that you can create a more colourful effect when spring-flowering bulbs are planted in-between bedding plants. For a colourful patio or front entrance plant the bedding plants in containers.

What to plant for winter colour
There are bedding plants that are suitable for both sunny and shady positions.

• For sun: Alyssum, calendula, candytuft, cornflower, dianthus, Bokbaai vygie, Iceland poppy, lavatera, lobelia, nemesia, ornamental kale, pansy, petunia, phlox, salpiglossis, snapdragons (are available in low, medium or tall varieties), stock, sweet pea, sweet William, viola.

• For light shade: English daisy, forget-me-not, pansy, fairy primula, primrose, schizanthus.

Bedding plant success
Life is a garden. Now is the time to follow these tips for success with your annuals:

• Soil preparation

Before planting the annuals, prepare the soil well. Add liberal quantities of compost to poor sandy soils (two 30dm bags of compost to 4 square metres). To improve loam, add 1 bag (30dm) to 4 square metres. Before digging over the flowerbed, sprinkle one handful of planting fertiliser over each square metre. Remove any debris, grass, weeds and stones, and then level the bed with a rake.

• Transplant the bedding plants

Avoid transplanting them in the heat of the day. Water both the plant and the soil thoroughly. Carefully remove each tiny plant but avoid damaging their roots. Avoid pulling it up by the stem; rather push it gently from below. Place the plant in a hole in the prepared bed and plant it at the same depth as it was in the tray. After they have all been planted, water well using a fine sprinkler.

• Water requirements

Newly planted bedding plants need daily watering until they are established. Once they are settled in, they can be watered deeply but less often. This method of watering encourages deep root growth and is more beneficial for healthy plants than regular light sprinklings.

• Fertilise

To promote healthy growth, bedding plants require fertiliser every two weeks. Winter-flowering annuals benefit from foliar fertilser. Instead of applying fertiliser to the soil around the plants, foliar fertilising refers to spraying fertiliser onto the foliage of plants. Foliar feed with a half-strength of Multifeed or Nitrosol mixed with water. This method is helpful where plants are in constant competition with the roots of shrubs and trees for nutrition. Foliar fertilisation improves the performance of bedding plants and encourages prolific flowering.

• Deadhead

Throughout flowering time, remove spent blooms to encourage more flowers.

Spring-flowering bulbs are available in garden centres from April – plant them in April and May and they will reward you with a dazzling display come spring.
Did you know that bulbs are the easiest plants to grow? This is because a bulb is really a plant’s underground pantry – a place where nutrients and water can be stored. All the bulbs that are available in nurseries already have a beautiful bloom waiting inside. In addition, each bulb comes complete with its own initial food supply stored in the bulb. All they ask for after planting is a good supply of water and reasonable soil, and in a few months’ time they will provide a spectacular and regal show.
April is the best time to plant spring-flowering bulbs as the soil has cooled down sufficiently by this time. Tulips are the one exception and are best planted in May. A constant supply of water, from planting time onwards, is the single biggest factor in ensuring success from spring-flowering bulbs. Water thoroughly after planting, and thereafter twice a week until the bulbs go dormant in early summer.
Plant your bulbs according to the instructions on the packet in any ordinary garden soil – the only condition is that it must drain well. Loosen the soil beforehand to a depth of about 20cm, and add some well-decomposed manure, compost or leaf mould. A very sandy soil can be improved by digging in organic matter such as compost as well as water retaining polymers. A clay soil will benefit from the addition of some coarse sand and lots of organic matter such as compost to improve drainage and texture.
Choose the best position
Bulbs that do best in a full sun position include babiana, ixia, ornithogalum, sparaxis, tritonia and ranunculus. Allium, hyacinth, freesia, and leucojum (snowflakes) need a shady spot, but can take a few hours of sun early in the morning or afternoon. Bulbs that like sun but require protection from the hot midday sun include hyacinth, anemones, tulips, narcissus, daffodils, ixia, muscari, lachenalia and Dutch iris. An east-facing bed which receives morning sun and afternoon shade is ideal for most bulbs in the summer rainfall and dry continental regions, as September can be a very hot month in these regions.
Design considerations
Spring-flowering bulbs create a lovely effect in the garden border, especially when thought is given to colour schemes. Those with striking foliage look particularly good in containers.
Formal plantings: Ribbon planting in solid blocks of colour can be very effective, particularly in large gardens, or alongside paths or driveways.
Informal plantings: For a more natural look plant bulbs in drifts and clumps.
In a rock garden: The bulbs of indigenous plants are the most suitable for a rockery as they will grow under warmer conditions than some of their European relations. Examples are freesia, sparaxis, ixia and tritonia. However, they to have cool roots, so plant them well tucked in-between rocks.
In containers: When planted in containers, bulbs add an instant splash of colour and impact where needed. Place a layer of broken crocks, stone or bark chips at the bottom of the pot for drainage and to prevent loss of soil out of the drainage holes. A good soil mixture for bulbs consists of two parts medium grained river sand, one part loam and one part fine compost. Never allow the soil to become dry – watering every day may be necessary.

Caramello’s Green is opening 1 April 2012 at Pretty Gardens!

Caramello’s is a gathering place where friends with different cultures from all walks of life can meet and celebrate life with food as the dough that binds them together.

Their menu is full of temptation, appetizing and suitable to all tastes and budgets.

You can find Caramello’s at shop 23 and 24 from 1 April 2012