Gardeners World episode 23 2012: The last days of summer are when gardeners start planning for spring colour and it is a perfect time to choose and plant bulbs. At Longmeadow, Monty Don gives his recommendations.
Carol Klein responds to another viewer’s dilemma at Glebe Cottage in Devon and shows how best to propagate favourite plants during a house move. From taking cuttings to saving seed, she demonstrates which plants can quickly make a new garden feel like home.
Joe Swift visits Hestercombe Gardens in Somerset, once the home of the Somerset Fire and Rescue Service, to see one of the best restorations of the Edwin Lutyens and Gertrude Jekyll partnerships in the country. He takes a close look at how design and colour can evoke mood in a garden.
Gardeners World episode 23 2012
Potting up cuttings
Once cuttings have taken root, it’s worth potting each one up and nipping out the tops. You’ll end up with bigger and better plants as Carol Klein explains.
Digging
Digging over bare soil is often seen as a major chore, not least because it can be very exhausting and often takes a long time. But using the right tool in the correct way will make the job a lot easier according to Monty Don.
Bulbs
Some of our favourite garden plants are bulbs, including daffodils, tulips, snowdrops, crocus, lilies and gladioli. Planted while they are dormant, it usually takes just a few months for them to grow and bloom. They really are the buried treasure of the garden.
All bulbs need adequate water while in growth, and for six weeks after flowering. Check pots to make sure they don’t dry out during the growing period. The compost should feel moist but not wet to the touch.
Apply a general-purpose fertiliser, such as Growmore (35g per square metre/1 oz per square yard), to borders in late February to encourage bulbs to flower well in the following season. In containers, use a liquid high-potassium feed, such as tomato fertiliser, from early spring until six weeks after flowering.