Adding Colour this Winter
It’s a good time to be planting seasonal bedding plants, they brighten up your garden and some can also be beneficial to insects at this time of year. Plants tend to grow slower from November onwards, so to make an impact you need to plant flower seedlings in large groups, and closer together than you would allow for in summer, to make sure they’ll really stand out.
Outdoor cyclamens
Cyclamens give you an unrivalled splash of colour, and they love the cold so they are perfect for a November planting. They are also good for pollinators, at a time of year when not too much is flowering, Good drainage is important for them, so if you can, add some grit to your soil or potting mixture to make sure they don’t get too wet. Apart from that, they are no-nonsense plants that will look after themselves – just remember to keep on removing dead flowers to keep more coming.
Pansies
Pansies are hardy annuals that are easy to grow, need very little care and work well in beds, pots or containers. They have large hardy blooms and come in a range of bright colours. They are pretty much always disease and pest free and will give a long display of brilliant colours. Pansies and violas are the same family and the names are often used interchangeably. Violas are very similar plants just with smaller flowers and are even harder in winter. They work great together in pots.
When buying seedlings, choose the smaller plants that are just starting to have buds or blooms and you’ll get more flowers from them in the long run. Pansies are not fussy plants and will grow best in rich soil with steady moisture, partial sun, and appreciate some fertilizer.
Primulas
Primulas or primroses as they are commonly known enjoy the partial shade and rich, humus-filled soil. They tolerate shade better than a lot of flowers, so if you have a lot of shade, this the flower for you. They are great, reliable plants for winter and spring. They flower over a long period and don’t need much maintenance
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