Easy-going forget-me-nots bring joy to every garden
The twinkling blue of a clump of forget-me-nots is one of the sweetest sights of spring.
They are incredibly easy to grow and once you’ve added them to your garden, they are with you for the long haul thanks to their propensity to self-seed with abandon.
I love them, and they love our garden, possibly because there is plenty of dappled shade cast by several trees – the ‘sylvatica’ in their name hints at the plant’s woodland origins.
Forget-me-nots are biennials and if sown now, either directly onto prepared soil or in pots of good quality seed compost, they will spring up and open their sweet blue eyes next spring, providing essential food for early pollinators.
‘Royal Blue Improved’ is a smashing variety that flowers early in the season, producing a mass of indigo-blue flowers.
Not only are these blooms a magnet for bees and bee-flies, they carry a delicious scent and make a wonderful visual feast when sprinkled over desserts.
Forget-me-nots will grow well in sun and light shade, so decide where you want to spw them and prepare the soil by clearing away weeds and stones and raking it to a fine crumbly tilth before watering.
Scatter the seeds thinly and cover with a light layer of ore soil. Mark the border to avoid disturbing it when gardening, and thin any seedlings that are growing too close together when they start to emerge.
In autumn, carefully transplant seedlings to their final flowering position and look forward to a blaze of blue heralding the spring in a few months’ time.
On red alert for summer colour
These easy annuals are great value for money
- If you’re looking for an easy-going annual that packs a punch of colour and is happy in poor soil, then California poppies are the gardener’s go-to.
- Although the most common colour is a glossy, deep orange, the variety ‘Red Chief’ lives up to its name and produces flowers in an eye-popping shade of fire-engine red set above delicate grey-green foliage.
- These poppies are the state flower of California, where they thrive in warm dry conditions, and they will grow just as well in free-draining UK gardens, even those with poor, thin soil.
- Prepare the ground as you would with the forget me nots, and cast the seeds freely. Cover with a little more soil and gently firm it down.
- Keep the seedbed just damp and weed-free and deter cats by puffing some pepper or chilli powder over the top.
- California poppies will flower right through to the autumn and happily self-seed.
WHATS ON
30-31 May: Scone Palace Garden Fair, Scone Palace, Perth, Scotland, PH2 6BD. 10am-5pm.
30 May: Bournemouth Orchid Society AGM & Plant Auction, 39 Christchurch Road, Boscombe, Bournemouth, Dorset, BH1 3NS.
31 May: Dundonnell House Garden Opening & Plant Stall, Little Loch Broom, Wester Ross, Scotland, IV23 2QW. 2-5pm.
31 May: Lindfield Village Day, The Common in Lindfield, Haywards Heath, West Sussex, RH16 2EB. Noon-5pm.
31 May: Rhododendrons at Mellerstain, Mellerstain House and Gardens, Gordon, Scotland, TD3 6LG. 11am-5pm.
1 June: Plant Fairs Roadshow Early Summer Plant Fair, Hole Park Gardens, Benenden Road, Rolvenden, Cranbrook, Kent, TN17 4JA. 11am-4pm.
1 June: Felley Priory June Plant Fair, Felley Priory, Underwood, Nottinghamshire, NG16 5FJ. 10am-3pm.
1 June: Rare Plant Fair, High Glanau Manor, Lydart, Monmouth, Monmouthshire, Wales, NP25 4AD. 11am-4pm.
1 June: Quercus Garden Plants’ Charity Opening, Quercus Garden Plants, Whitmuir Farm, West Linton, Scotland, EH46 7BB. 10am-5pm.
1 June: Norton Priory Plant Hunters’ Fair, Norton Priory, Runcorn, Cheshire, WA7 1SX. 10am-4pm.
5-7 June: Wealden Times Midsummer Fair, Hole Park, Benenden Road, Rolvenden, Kent, TN17 4JA.
6-8 June: The Garden Show at Broadlands, Broadlands, Romsey, Hampshire SO51 9ZD.
6-8 June: Chatsworth Garden Fair, Chatsworth House, Bakewell, Derbyshire, East Midlands, DE45 1PP.
6-7 June: Jekka’s June Herb Days: Bee & Pollinator Herbs, Jekka’s, Rose Cottage, Shellards Lane, Avon, Bristol, BS35 3SY. 9am-4pm.
7-8 June: Hellens Garden Festival, Hellens, Much Marcle, Near Ledbury, Herefordshire, HR8 2LY. 10am-5pm.
7 June: East Ruston Old Vicarage Plant Fair, East Ruston Old Vicarage, East Ruston, Norwich, Norfolk, NR12 9HN. 10am-4.30pm.
7-8 June: Gardeners’ Fair at Burton Agnes Hall, Burton Agnes Hall, Driffield, East Yorkshire, YO25 4NE. 10am-5pm.
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