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Choose your winter bedding plants and give a warm glow to your garden.
Winter BeddingAll beds should be cleared of the summer flowering plants and tidied, preparing the beds as described in the page "Annuals". Wallflowers are for winter as geraniums are for summer, or they used to be but now the variety of winter colour has grown as plants have been developed to with stand all but the harshest of winters. With global warming the winters are becoming milder i.e. we do not have the continuous freezing temperatures of yesteryear when the frost went down into the ground for 30cm and more. Most winter bedding plants that are grown from seed are sown in June or July in the ground out side, or in trays within cold frames and then pricked out to grow on through the summer months. Winter flowering pansies are sown inside, and then pricked out into modules and potted on into 9cm pots, which can then be moved to a position outside the greenhouse, keeping them as cool as possible until planted out in autumn. Polyanthus can also be treated like this, but if the seeds are sown in high temperatures then they will not germinate. Best to sow in a tray outside in a sheltered and shady spot. All types of spring flowering bulbs can be intermingled with the plants after bedding out, these can be bought in September, when the best choice is available and kept in a cool place until used. The addition of small shrubs and conifers can also help to break up the flatness of the beds during the winter months. Early flowering, low growing perennials such as Aubrietia, Arabis and Alyssum saxatile are also used to provide colour in the spring border. Winter / Spring Bedding PlantsMain Plants
Bulbs
Ground or Edging plants
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Winter bedding or as some may call it "Spring bedding", requires much the same treatment as summer bedding. Plants should be set out in early October so that they can become established before the winter sets in.
