And so to business? The month of April did nothing too dramatic, though the ground did stay very dry through the early weeks and the wind remained chillingly treacherous. Things did start to grow and the Cherry blossom was all that I had wished for, quite spectacular. Anyone venturing out of Cheltenham on the London road will have found the trees on the corner of Hewlett Road stunning and so graceful.

As we move into May, confidence rises and Garden Centres burst at the seams with Spring bedding and Vegetable plants. It is time to play and whilst there are plenty of traditional plants about, the real joy should be in trying new and different. So, look out for Tomatoes with unexpected colour, for Chilli’s and Peppers as well as Kohl Rabi and Celeriac all of which are about as plants and will bring new flavours to your dinner plate. On the flower front look out for the much-extended selection, in size and colour of Petunias and a very pretty series called Angelonia (which has become a personal favourite) . This plant throws spires of flowers in shades of pink and blue and is delightful. Cuphea is another plant to watch for. I remember growing the Cigar Plant as a kid, the maturing bush covered in red tubular flowers tipped with yellow (as though alight).The modern offerings are a huge contrast and I suspect will become increasingly asked for. Do watch the weather and step carefully with your planting, the frost can still arrive unannounced across and can be merciless. In my youth I lost a commercial batch of Marigolds on the 7th of June, wiped away never to recover.

As always, there is plenty of repair and tidying to do, especially with the Spring bulbs finishing. Hold off scalping leaves for as long as you can bear. In the sunlight they continue to create food to store for next year. On the subject of bulbs, you can still be planting summer varieties and garden centres will get twitchy about clearing stock, so there are bargains about. Late plantings always catch up and even Dahlia tubers will put on a show come August.

And finally, continue successional sowing of vegetable seed. All the salads can be topped up and for a bit of spectacular joy, broadcast a few flower seeds straight into the borders. Try Eschscholzia, I will say no more.

Happy Gardening

Chris Evans
www.dundrynurseries.co.uk
www.thebutterflygarden.org