plant growing

[leon-b]

hi guys, as spring is nearly here i was thinking about growing some plants and flowers, growing them in pots and then introducing them to the garden. what plants are easy to grow ?
also i have a cactus in a pot, could it be planted in the garden ? my guess is no but just want to here some of your opinions
chow for now
leon

[badgerwatcher]

Everything's fairly easy to grow if you follow the advise on the seed packet, Leon, but it's keeping it going that's the hard part.
Firstly, what sort of soil do you have, chalky or otherwise, and is your garden very sunny or rather shady?
If it's very shady, go for hostas, arums, aspadistra, sweet woodruff, anemones, periwinkle.
Very sunny, sunflowers, gaillardia.
Things like nasturtiums are quite easy to get going in most places I think, and keep seeding themselves if they like it. So are hollyhocks, foxgloves, delphiniums, marigolds, and red valarian, cosmos, love-in-the-mist, fuchias, and pansies.
The bulbs of course are useful to shove in first, as the will keep coming up year after year through whatever else you plant and you can get bulbs that flower at all points in the year. Montbretia is one of my favourites.

[smartie]

I agree with all those recommended by BW. Lavender is very good for bees and will grow almost anywhere, though it prefers sun. It seeds itself about so in a few years you can have quite a lot of plants. Honeysuckle will grow up a wall or fence if you have one and give you good flowers and shelter for small birds. Scabious is good for butterflies.

I don't think your cactus would do well outdoors. Hardly any will survive.

[goosey]

Hi Leon, I think you'll find Nigella (love in a mist) and poppies very easy to grow from seed. The bees love them and last year the comma butterflies seemed to favour the nigella,they also produce great seed heads for the birds after flowering- but keep a couple back for yourself so you can re sow next year. Mind you both these do tend to self sow very well on their own.
Foxgloves are also a must as BW says but bear in mind if you plant them now they wont flower untill next year - but they are deffinately worth planting.
What about some Sun Flowers - very easy to grow and the ones with the massive heads are brilliant for the birds when they turn to seed. Two years running we had a woodpecker visiting to eat them, but it's the tits that really tuck in.
I ve just realised everything I reccomended BW was there before - oh well -great minds!

[Lincs Yellowbelly]

Leon,

You can get some great Wildflower mixes from Nicky's Nursery

Wildflower Mix


I've got a couple of these ready to plant within the next month, I've also got some Garlic Mustard and French Sorrel, agin to plant for the butterflies

[Lance Morgan]

Most of the seeds you can sow directly into the soil in your garden and they will grow and flower this year.
At this time of the year its a bit early so beware frosts. .
I grow lots of flowers by sowing seed into pots and keeping them on the windowsill. Its quite easy

[Lance Morgan]

Originally Posted by Lincs Yellowbelly

Leon,

You can get some great Wildflower mixes from Nicky's Nursery

Wildflower Mix


I've got a couple of these ready to plant within the next month, I've also got some Garlic Mustard and French Sorrel, agin to plant for the butterflies

Hello LY
I am going to plant some sorrell this year for small coppers.

[Lincs Yellowbelly]

That was exactly my plan

[leon-b]

thanks guys, im not really sure what soil we get, i live in suffolk does that help ? we have a small clay cliff nearby aswell, does this mean weve got chalky soil ?
we get a fair amount of sun
i want a medium sized plant that will live for a fairly long time and maybe provide the birds with some food
thanks leon

[Kayleigh]

Hi Leon
Do you know if your soil or lawn is water logged or its free draining? Does the ground crack up and bake hard in summer? If so it may be clay. If you take some soul in your hand and give it a squeeze if its free draining it will crumble if its heavy clay it stick together in a lump. Do this when the soil is dry.

Either way its good to improve it before you plant anything. You can buy well rotted farmyard manure in bags they are safe to use as the will not burn the roots as can happen if its not rotted properly, And it will be weed free.
Just dig it into the soil a few weeks before planting and you will get bigger better healthier plants. We are on heavy clay. If you grow herbs or Lavender they like well drained soil and will not do well if they get water logged. I wish you well with your garden.