Amateur Gardening – 10 August 2019

10 AUGUST 2019AMATEUR GARDENING 13

Thin ontop:Onceseedlingsgerminateandarelargeenough

tohandle,thinthemoutsothoseremaininghave

enough room to grow healthily without being cramped.

Larks ascending in borders

T

HEbestwayofgettingyour
bordertolookitsbestis to
includeplantsofvarying
heights– creepingordwarf
varietiesatthefront,medium-height
in themiddle,maybewithsome
ornamentalgrasses,thena statuesque,
colourfulpresence towards the middle
orback.
MrFothergill’sLarkspur‘GiantMixed’
growtoa stately3ft(90cm)tallandwill
providebeautifulspiresof pinks,purples
andbluesin themiddleand towards the
backof yourborders.
Hardyannuals,youcansowthem
nowornextspringandtheywillflower
fromJunethroughtoSeptember,though
thosesownnow may flower before next
year’sbatch.
Sowthemin a well-prepared
seedbedof raked,crumblysoilthathas
already been watered. Scatter the seeds

in swirlsanddrifts,ratherthanstraight

lines,fora morenaturaldisplaythatwill

workwellwithother annuals, perennials

andgrasses.

Covertheseedswitha littlesoiland

makesurethegerminatingseedlingsare

keptwateredwhiletheygetestablished.

Larkspurgrowwellin lightsoil,soif

yougardenonclayyoucanexpect

betterresultsif youdigin plentyof

organicmatter(well-rottedmanure or

compost)orgritbeforesowing.

Theythrivein sunandlightshade

andarebelovedof beesandbutterflies,

makingthemworthwhile additions to

everygarden.

Larkspur,especiallythe‘Giant

Imperials’variety,is alsoa popular

plantwithflowerarrangersastheirspires

of denselypigmentedflowersareheld

onsturdystalksthatgrow straight and

don’t need staking.

Soaring Larkspur is a graceful garden addition, saysRuth

Larkspur ‘Giant Imperial Mixed’

1

Startbyrakingtheareayou

wanttosow,breakingupthesoil

andremovingweeds,stones and

other bits of debris.

2

Givethesoila goodsoaking

beforesowing,especiallyif

conditionshavebeendry.It is also

worth watering afterwards too.

3

Theseedsoflarkspurarequite

largesoarerelativelyeasyto

sow.Scatterthemover the soil as

thinly as possible.

4

Labelyourseedbedsoyou

don’tdisturbortreadonit

whilegardening.Protectit witha

layeroftwigstokeep off cats and

hungry birds.

Sow where

they’ll grow

Raked soil gives seeds a chance

Step

by step

Keepplantingout your mature

seedlingsnow.

Depending on whether they are

Checking seeds and planting out

annuals,biennialsorperennials,they

willeitherflowerlaterthissummeror

sitanddeveloprootsoverwinterand

comebacktogrowthnextspring.

Plantthemat thesamedepth as

theirrootsandwaterwell.

Youmayhaveleft-overseedsfrom

lastyearandwanttomakesure they

arestillviableforsowing.

Placethemondampkitchenpaper,

somewherewarm,andif theyare

sound they will shoot in a few days.

Afterplanting,waterregularly and

keep the area pest-free

Larkspurusedtobefound

growingwildin cornfields,

soarea naturalplanting

companiontotraditional

flowerssuchas

poppies,cornflowers

and borage.