You’ll notice that the cherry trees in Tunbridge Wells are just about to burst into bloom, with a few keen flowers already showcasing their beauty. With blossoms heralding the arrival of spring, it’s finally time to start thinking about the best season of all: summer!
We’re all in support of stylish, muted tones and perfectly matched schemes, but sometimes it’s a pop of bold colours that we get most excited about in our gardens. If you want to maximise the colour in your garden this summer, it’s best to get started now. Here are some bright ideas to get you growing.
Sweet peas
A classic for the quintessential cottage garden, sweet peas are a must for bringing colour and fragrance to your garden. Although you can get them started in autumn for early blooms you’re not too late to get started now. Begin them indoors where it’s warm, and begin to harden them off when the frost has passed in April.
Try: Super Fragrant Collection – Unwins
Nasturtiums
Bright flowers with spreading, lily-pad like leaves, nasturtiums are fast growing, full of colour and edible too. You can add the leaves to a salad as an alternative to watercress, and even the flowers pack a peppery punch.
Poppies
Another cottage garden classic, poppies give you blooms early in the season and are ideal for sunny areas where you struggle to get other plants to grow. Prepare the soil so it’s easy for these tiny seeds to get started, and be ruthless with thinning out inevitable clusters once they get started.
Try: Wild Poppies – Thompson and Morgan
Cosmos
Easy to grow with pretty flowers in practically any colour bobbing above feathery foliage, cosmos offer flowers over a long season. With diligent deadheading, you may well see flowers all the way through into early autumn.
Try: Cosmos Brightness – Mr Fothergills
Sunflowers
Super easy to grow and a fun introduction to gardening for children, with potential to grow ginormous blooms. To get the tallest possible, start them off now on a warm windowsill now and move them outside in a couple of weeks. You can start them off in April where they are to grow, but you might lose the competitive edge!
Try: Giraffe – it can grow up to 4.5m tall! – Suttons
