Now is the perfect time to start planning your summer garden, pots or hanging baskets for a vibrant pop of colour and joy throughout the season. You may like to consider a special planter of geraniums, begonias or petunias by the door, herbs on the windowsill or a signature scented rose or plant that evokes memories.
We gather seeds from the Newlands garden from one year to sow another. Some families and friends also give us seeds from plants that they know mean a lot to our residents. We grow almost all of our hollyhocks from seed, along with cottage garden favourites like lupins, delphiniums, larkspur, phlox, aquilegias and foxgloves. Many need a year to mature to flowering plants so you need to be patient - unless you buy established plants of course.
Gladioli bulbs and corms can be planted in position for a striking show of colour this summer. Their tall and colourful blooms add texture and excitement to beds, borders or any sunny spot, and they also attract invaluable pollinators.
Our huge Hidcote lavender beds at Newlands have already been cut back to stimulate new growth and the show-stopping display of hundreds upon hundreds of fragrant, bee-friendly flower spikes. That massive haze of blooms never fails to amaze and the scent wafts its way delightfully over the garden. And as you’d expect, our formal borders and box hedging are constantly being attended to and replenished - along with all our flowering plants.
As we’re into spring and early summer there’s always something in our gardens to look forward to and enjoy!
