1. Water the plants in their pots immediately prior to planting.

2. Cover the drainage holes of a clean container with pieces of broken terracotta (crocs) or a few stones. (If the    holes are less than an inch across, then you can skip this step.)

3. Fill the container with peat-free compost making sure to leave enough room for the combined size of the plants’ root balls.

N.B. There should be a 2-3 cm gap between the finished soil surface and the rim of the pot – this ensures there’s room for water to soak in and make watering easier.

4. Stage the individual plants in their current pots on the surface of the compost in the new container to approve the spacing and combination.

5. Start with the largest plant, and then add smaller plants, finishing with any edging or trailing plants at the sides of the pot.

6. Once you’re happy with your arrangement, carefully remove the plants from their pots and gently tease out a few roots.

7. Position the plants in the container.

8. If necessary, add or remove soil to adjust the plants’ heights and positions.

9. Add more peat-free compost around the plants, gently firming it down to fill any spaces, leaving a 2-3cm gap between the soil surface and the top of your pot.

10. Water slowly and thoroughly. Use a rose on the end of a watering can or a hose with a fine spray to avoid disturbing the compost. If any leaves got compost on them during planting, wash it off with a gentle spray of water.

• Borders

   

  1. Dig a small hole, about 20cm deep. This depth will help prevent your tulips flopping over in spring.
  2. Tulips like good drainage. If your soil is heavy add a small handful of horticultural grit to the bottom of the planting hole. In sandy soil it is helpful to add some organic compost when planting*.
  3. Place one bulb in each hole, pointy end facing up.
  4. Cover with soil and grit mix
  5. You don’t have to water. They’ll get what they need from the soil and our winter weather.
  6. Repeat with the remaining bulbs, planting them about 8cm apart.

  To plant multiple bulbs at once, dig a trench 20cm deep, space your bulbs, pointy end up, about 8cm apart and backfill with soil, using horticultural grit if your soil is heavy, adding organic matter if it’s sandy.

  *Heavy soil sticks together when you squeeze a handful, sandy soil crumbles when you do the same.

• Containers

   

  1. Cover the drainage hole of a clean pot with a piece of broken terracotta, to stop compost falling out. 

  2. Tulips like good drainage so fill the pot with a mix of peat-free compost and horticultural grit up to 20 cm below the pot edge.

  3. Place the bulbs pointy end up in the compost mix. Bulbs can be planted closer together in pots


  7 to 10 in a 20cm pot

  
13 to 15 in a 30 cm pot


  20 to 25 in a 50 cm pot

  4.Cover the bulbs with more of the compost mix to just below the edge of the pot and water thoroughly.

  5. The top of the compost mix can be dressed with horticultural gravel, or a layer of winter flowering bedding plants, like cyclamen . The tulips will find their way through in the spring
  6. Position the pot in a reasonably sheltered, sunny spot till shoots begin to appear in spring. Then place them where you’d like to display them, ideally in full sun.

  Watering. Tulip bulbs in pots can be watered when you plant them, but they should not require any further watering.

The careful choice and use of colour is key to making a good garden.

It’s why you can browse our plants by colour scheme.

Displaying colours this way makes it easier to see how colours work together before you buy.

And easier to imagine how they might look in your garden.

Full Sun: more than six hours of direct sun per day at midsummer

Partial Shade: less than three to four hours of sun a day. (Say, sunny in the morning, shady in the afternoon.) 

Shade: little or no direct sunlight.

Heavy soil sticks together when you squeeze a handful

Sandy soil crumbles when you do the same.

Loam holds its shape, but breaks up when rubbed between your fingers.

• Herbaceous perennials

  Plants with soft, non-woody stems that reach their full height, and flower each year. In Autumn and Winter the plant dies back completely, but its roots remain alive. And it is from the roots that next year’s plant and flowers will start to grow again in Spring.

  NB Most perennials will look a little worse for wear or dead from December through to early spring.

  Plants ordered in early spring may arrive showing only modest signs of growth. Both are perfectly normal.

• Deciduous Shrubs

  Deciduous shrubs lose their leaves in winter but, unlike herbaceous plants, retain multiple woody stems above the ground.

   

We prune plants to improve their shape, encourage growth, and remove any parts that are dead, damaged or diseased.

It is an important part of keeping plants healthy and vigorous.

Always prune to something – any cuts you make should be made just above a healthy branch or side shoot, bud, or leaf.

Always use clean, sharp tools

Deadheading is the removal of faded and spent flowers.

We deadhead to encourage repeat flowering and to keep plants looking tidy.

We classify the removal of spent flowers on plants that don’t repeat flower as pruning.

Always use sharp, clean secateurs. 

A plant gets nutrients from the soil it grows in.

The addition of fertiliser to the soil around the plant, provides additional nutrients that promote good plant health and growth.

Feed is often applied after pruning to help plants recover and stimulate new growth.

Mulch is a thick layer of loose material applied to soil and around plants not more than once a year, to suppress weeds and improve moisture retention.

Organic mulch, such as decaying leaves, bark chips, well rotted manure or compost, also improves soil, adding nutrients and texture.

Inorganic mulches include gravel, stones, rocks and can be used for weed suppression, moisture retention and decoration. They provide no nutritional value to the plant and depth is a matter of personal preference.

Mulch also offers some protection to more tender plants during colder months.

Water as close to the base of the plant as you can. If water starts to run away, stop for a moment to allow the water to soak in before continuing. Don’t water the flowers or foliage as this won’t help the plant and can encourage disease.

Water in the mornings, if you can. Water at night, if you can’t. Either will mean less water lost to evaporation than watering during the day.

What constitutes ‘giving it a good water’? 

There is no definitive answer, and of course watering varies by plant type, weather conditions and soil type, but, as a rule, for small to medium plants and good water is about 5 litres, or 30-40 seconds with a hose. For large plants, you can double that.