Get Set for Summer!

Simple gardening ideas to kick start the season...

Looking for a big, bold burst of colour in a bed or border? This multi-branched sunflower (available from June) will bloom all summer long with a procession of sunshine-yellow, insect-friendly flowers. Snip off dead and fading flowerheads to keep those blooms coming.

Pretty as a picture

Add a touch of romance to summer containers with Calibrachoa 'PinkTastic' - an enchanting double-flowered annual. Contrast with a delicate white-flowered trailer, like bacopa or lobelia, and a striking purple-leaved heuchera.

Here come the girls...

Super-versatile, these five elegant Bella Fuchsias can be grown in full sun or part-shade. Add semi-trailing Nora to hanging baskets and wall-mounted planters, and use upright bushy varieties Evita, Mariska and Miranda in pots, beds and borders.

Make time to...

Feed plants in pots. A fast-acting liquid feed such as Miracle-Gro All Purpose Plant Food can give results in a week.

Water well. Save water by aiming it at your plants' roots, not the leaves.

Stake & support. Put stakes in place before border plants become too tall and bushy.

Simple flower tips...

Use bedding plants, dahlias and potted lilies to fill gaps in mixed flower borders. Deadhead roses and petunias, and remove faded spikes of lupins for a flush of new flowers!