5 YEAR GUARANTEE 
There is a certain beauty to winter, but it can feel a bit monochrome at times. I love it when springtime comes and the splashes of colour shoot through the hard soil, signalling the end of the darker, chillier nights.
It fills me with hope and joy to see the sunshine daffs, majestic crocuses and velvety tulips poke through and welcome the onset of what I hope will be brighter days.
As a fledgling gardener, I would love to know how to bring some of that magic into my own garden so I sought out Grovewell’s Head of Horticulture – James May – for his top tips to help me create my own flourishing flowers this spring.
James told me that a pop of colour isn’t hard to achieve but there are some smart ways of making sure that joy lasts longer.
He suggested starting with a pot or two. The beauty of using pots, he explained, is threefold:
- You can design and build the pots anywhere that suits you – you can bring them up to eye level, work on an outdoor table or even indoors.
- You can move the finished pots around, so you might like to place them on a patio or in your line of sight from another window.
- You can transfer the herbaceous elements to your borders for the summer for even longer lasting garden colour.
James suggested starting with an evergreen shrub (such as euonymus) to provide foliage all year round, followed by something herbaceous – his favourite choice would be a hellebore and I have spotted a sultry purple one that I adore.
James explained the benefits of underplanting the soil with bulbs for prolonged interest and this is where I can choose my crocuses, daffodils and tulips (I think I’ll stick to a purple theme to stand up to the brightness of the daffs). Next, he advised me to choose some spring bedding plants for the instant colour I want such as violas, pansies and primroses. For the final flourish, he suggested I take a look at some winter interest plants, maybe with colourful stems or berries.
