Instant gardening and colour throughout the summer (Bedding Plants in General)

Member Name: lellagrace

Product:	Bedding Plants in General
Date:	25/05/07 (1289 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Quick and easy to brighten up the garden

Disadvantages: Fiddly to grow from seed

BANK HOLIDAY

The sun is shining and it is a Bank Holiday weekend, no doubt the garden centres and nurseries will be busy with people stocking up on bedding plants.

WHAT ARE BEDDING PLANTS?

So what are "bedding" plants? They are grown from seed and are usually annuals, which means they are sown and flower the same season, then die off.

GROW FROM SEED?

You can grow them yourself but the seeds need to be sown early in the year so it is a bit late to do this for this season. However, the garden centres, markets, nurseries and a few roadside stalls will all have bedding plants for sale at the moment. Lots of people grow their own and then find they have surplus plants which they sell, so look out for signs outside other people's gardens.

INSTANT COLOUR

They are ideal for bringing instant colour into your garden, maybe you have just moved into a new house and need your garden prettying up, or perhaps the spring bedding in your garden has now finished and you need to bring back some colour.

CONTAINERS

Bedding plants are also ideal for tubs and hanging baskets and other types of containers. If you live in an apartment with a balcony, then a tub of bedding plants will liven up the area, or maybe you have a window box which again is ideal for these.

PLANTING

The plants are usually sold in strips which contain about 6 plants, you just break off the polystyrene strips and gently remove the plants. Then plant them, spacing them according to the instructions on the label, and make sure you water them well, on a daily basis. Initially they plants will look rather sparse when spaced out, but as the weeks progress throughout the summer they will spread and your garden should be a riot of colour. Give them a liquid feed about once a week and water them every evening.

VARIETIES

There are lots of varieties of bedding plants. I love petunias and busy lizzies and begonias for their long flowering season and their range of colours. I plant these into containers for colour throughout the summer.

White alyssum and blue lobelia, alternated, is another very attractive planting scheme, particularly for a border around a lawn or paved area. Behind these plant a row of orange tagetes and behind them some stocks. This will give a very colourful border and the stocks are highly scented so it is not only colourful, but smells good too.

I also like African marigolds, these are larger then French marigolds and are bright orange or yellow, a great colour for shady areas in the garden as it livens it up.

Salvias are red and when planted with silver foliage plants they make a striking balance.

IDEAS

When I was a child my grandad used to grow his own bedding plants and one year I remember he devised a planting scheme where my name was spelt out in flowers. I was delighted! Maybe you could try this yourself. Just mark out in the soil the letters and then plant the flowers accordingly.

CHECK THE PLANTS

When buying bedding plants check that they have been watered and are not too dry, look for signs of discolouration on the leaves too. Avoid buying anything that doesn't look too healthy.

HANGING BASKETS

Bedding plants can be used for planting your own hanging baskets too. Much cheaper than buying the ready made ones, especially if you already have last year's basket. For baskets you will need bedding plants that trail down the sides, such as trailing lobelia and geraniums or fuschias.

Fuschias are available in various shades of red and pink, and their dangling flowers look pretty in baskets or tubs.

Geraniums are available in many different shades, from white through to pink then reds. Look around at what is on offer and devise your own colour scheme.

HANDY TIP

One tip, if you buy at the peak times when the bedding plants first become available you will pay top price. I usually wait a few days after the Bank Holiday then buy them, often at reduced prices. However, the choice is not always as good, as most of the stocks will have been depleted, but if you are not too bothered about what colours or varieties you want then it is a good tip.

COST

Do remember to nurture your plants or they will die and you will have wasted your money! And if you like this year's plants, why not grow your own from seed next year?

You will need to invest in some seed trays and potting compose and have a sunny, warm place where the trays can be left while the seedlings sprout. I used to grow my own, it is much cheaper, but a lot of work if you don't have much time. Once the seedlings begin to grow you need to carefully lift them out individually and replant with more space between them to enable them to grow larger. I found this too fiddly and messy, but I did give it a go and it was fulfilling to see all those tiny seeds sprout into colourful flowers.

FIND A LIKING FOR GARDENING

Even if you don't like gardening, you could get a few bedding plants to liven up your garden. If you buy the ready to plant ones it is very easy and very satisfying, especially when people tell you how nice your garden looks.

Summary: Bedding plants are ideal for giving your garden a facelift