HGandG Blog - Late season colour in the garden
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| Late season colour in the garden |
| Fri, Nov 4, 2011 |
| Don't write your garden off too early in the season.. Yes, I may have panicked in about May this year when I came across 2 packets of Sweet Pea seeds and some Cosmos, unopened and crying out to be allowed to germinate. May is late to be sowing Sweet Peas (they are an Autumn/early Spring job really) and Cosmos can be flowering from May throughout the summer, so I didn't have much hope, but thought it worth a go. Well, what a result! My Cosmos only started flowering in late September and what a welcome relief it was. They burst through the tired and decaying early summer flowers with a wonderful crimson colour that brought height and a change of focus to the garden. The best bit is that they've reached a dizzy 4 foot in height and are still flowering away happily despite the fact that we are in November. The Sweet Peas are also still going in our window boxes and look fabulous because they are not yet spent. I recently found a few Scabious seedlings in seed trays when tidying up the polytunnel and dug those into the garden a month ago - they have also put on a great show! Most of us do assume that by September things really are over for the flowering annuals, but I recommend saving some seeds back for a late sowing in case we get another mild Autumn like this one. We should continue to push the boundaries dictated by our traditional seasons - Spring in recent years has started really early and what with this mild Autumn we have had annuals flowering in the garden from March to November which is wonderful. The motto is - don't put your garden to bed too early. Take a risk and plant out seedlings in late summer and if we're lucky with the weather then you will get a whole new display to continue enticing you outside. On another note, this rain is great for the garden. If we get prolonged wet conditions then its perfect for applying a heavy mulch on your borders over the Winter to preserve water ready for Spring growth. TJ |
