Our lupins will be at Chelsea

Westcountry Nurseries won’t be exhibiting at Chelsea this year but our lupins will be there. We are delighted that Pollyanna Wilkinson will be using our lupins in her tribute to women in horticulture.

Her tribute will be at The Monument and Masterpiece and Salmon Star will be on display. I can’t wait to find out how she is going to use them. I am confident they will not let her down.

I will miss meeting you at Chelsea this year but my lupins look forward to seeing you there.

Spring has been a disappointment

Spring has been a disappointment. We’ve had frosts, rain and endless cold weather. Thank heavens for the glorious early flowers which have helped keep everyone cheerful. Daffodils put on a wonderful display and the tulips are still blooming.

The garden is full of blossom. Cherry and crab apple trees have put on a magnificent show. Lilac is in full bloom and the air is heady with fragrance.

Promise of more to come

There’s the promise of more to come. Dahlia shoots have appeared. Rose bushes are budding. And, the peonies are now well over a foot tall.

Clematis is best in show

But it is the clematis which has put on the best show of all. Empress has been particularly spectacular. It has beautiful double flowers. Pink outer petals with gorgeous, creamy, pompom-like centres. It keeps on flowering from now until well into the summer. It is a winner.

Avalanche Blavaal is also a great performer. Its creamy-white flowers sit on top of dark evergreen leaves.

Flowers from spring to autumn

If you choose your clematis carefully you can have flowers from spring to autumn. Armandii is flowering now. Diana’s Delight will bloom from early summer. Abundance will produce claret flowers well into the autumn.

Rainbow colours

Clematis come in a rainbow of colours. There’s purple Jan Lindmark and red Nubia. Michiko has striking yellow centres. Blue Dancer lives up to its name. There is a colour for everyone.

Warm weather is needed

We must be due some warm weather soon. Everywhere I look there are signs of better days to come. Seeds in the greenhouse were slower than normal to germinate, but the trays are now full of bright green shoots. We just need a couple of weeks of warm sunshine to bring everything on.

It is not too late to plant for summer colour. Although you can sow lupins as seeds. You can also get them as plugs. Plugs cost a little more but they are much easier to handle and give great results.

Gardening tips  Water seedlings daily. Once the danger of frost is over transplant vegetables and flowers from the cold frame or greenhouse into their final spots in the garden. Dead head spring bulbs once they have stopped flowering but do not cut back their leaves. Harden off tender plants.

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