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September is coming to an end, and even though I'm new to this gardening malarkey, even I have figured out that September to December seems to be prime planting season for spring bulbs and seeds. So, last month I started planning out my wish-list for next year's first flowers and, rather excitingly, they've arrived and I've been busy planting for next year!
Big shout-out to Farmer Gracy for these fabulous varieties! Although they do get imported from Holland, I like the way they're sent in recyclable packaging and - apparently - all their deliveries are now carbon neutral. I've had a field-day choosing which flowers to plant, and here's what I've chosen for next year.
This variety is the one I'm most excited about growing. As the name suggests, these flowers will grow in a range of beautiful pastel colours. The blurb states that some are bi-colour, while others will be tinted or solid block colours - each one will be a surprise! This makes me happy, and I just know they're going to look ridiculously beautiful in a bouquet. These are an Israeli variety and need a sheltered spot and covering in winter, so I've placed them in the bottom of my greenhouse in the pot I'm growing them in so I don't have to disturb their roots by potting them on. I'm not sure if that's definitely the right thing to do, but I'm quickly discovering that gardening is a case of trial and error! I cannot wait for these to grow - my only regret is that I bought 10 bulbs rather than 30!
Alliums were amongst the first on my list thanks to their usefulness as filler flowers in bouquets (plus I love their lacy delicateness). The contrast of white and deep red in this mixed collection is just beautiful, and I know it'll come in useful at some point when I'm planning my arrangements next year! The bulbs almost look like little onions, and I placed them in a large 50cm pot to give these generous sized varieties plenty of room to grow. After I took this photo, I doubted myself and watched a YouTube video to double-check which side down I needed to plant them! Turns out, the pointed side needs to be facing up. Phew, thank goodness I checked!
I was so spooked when I was buying this that I decided to play it safe and buy a pretty standard variety of ranunculus at 15 bulbs for £2.70. I've heard quite a few horror stories about growing ranunculus and I feel like maybe I was already admitting defeat that they may not grow! For £2.70, I'll be pleasantly surprised if these pretty ruffled flowers in pink, red, yellow and peach colours begin to bloom next year, and if not I'll have only lost a small amount of money. These were planted in a 30cm pot, which I realised when planting was rather too small, and have been placed at the bottom of my greenhouse next to the anemones.
When I was reading about the best bulbs to plant now ready for spring, irises were mentioned time and again, and I couldn't find any as pretty as this Tiger Mix variety. Farmer Gracy describes them as a combination of amber, copper and violet, which is just as stunning as it sounds! These grow to a whopping 50cm despite their small stature as a bulb, so I made sure to plant them in a sturdy 55cm-long rectangular planter and spaced them carefully. When they begin growing I will likely stake them and make sure the planter is weighted down so there's no toppling over. Finally, I planted some winter pansies over the top to add a splash of autumn colour while I wait for the bulbs to grow.
These beauties certainly don't look like the tulips you would traditionally think of! Apparently known as 'double tulips', they have full, round heads rather than the fluted shape you would usually associate with this type of flower, and their pink-orange colour is what made me add them to my shopping basket. These would make perfect focal flowers in a bouquet, however as I only bought 5 bulbs (for £3.75) I'm not sure these are necessarily going to be picked! Another rookie error - if you're growing tulips as cut flowers, make sure you buy enough quantities! I waited right until the very end of September to plant these, as the weather has cooled considerably. Potentially this still may have been a tad too early, but I won't know until next year!
What have you been planting this month? I'd love to know which varieties you chose!
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