Yippee, spring is just around the corner. That means now is the time to get planning and planting for a great garden this summer.
Here are three planting ideas that will add a splash of colour and attract wildlife to your garden this year.
All these ideas work just as well whether you’ve got a garden or pots, planters and window boxes.
Lavender
Lavender is one of those amazing garden plants that works on every level. It adds a wonderful violet hue and balmy Mediterranean look, and gives off a glorious, fresh scent.
Bees and butterflies love lavender too.
You can harvest lavender when it dies down and make fragrant lavender bags or lavender oil.
You can cut lavender back in late summer, and it will come back year after year.
It’s fine to buy lavender plants now but keep them indoors until the weather is milder. Plant them outside in a sunny location in April or May.
Sunflowers
Nothing says British summer more than sunflowers. Sunflowers make your garden look vibrant even when the sun doesn’t shine. (Try it, it’s true.)
Sunflowers can be a bit of a slow grow so now is the time to plant seeds in pots indoors. Move them outdoors when it gets a little warmer.
Not only do sunflowers attract bees and other pollinators, but the seeds make great (and free) dried bird food for next winter.
If you’re arty, you can even paint or draw them. (It worked for Van Gogh.)
Sweet peas
Sweet peas grow fast and flower abundantly. They’re perfect for transforming dreary gardens in summer. They’re colourful, fragrant and are another big hit with bees and butterflies.
The secret to success with sweet peas is to choose a variety of colours, such as pinks, lilacs, whites and brilliant blues. Sow a few seeds in succession, week by week, to keep the colour popping all summer long.
With sweet peas, you can plant seeds in indoor pots now or directly in the garden come April.
Just remember that sweet peas are toxic. (So don’t let small children get their hands on them.)
If you know someone who’d find these tips helpful, please share them.
