Planting in spring for summer colour!

As spring arrives, you can start to plan for that burst of summer colour and look forward to the beautiful, bright, scented seasonal displays of flowers grown from seed.

The choice of what to grow from seed is wonderful and browsing the varieties is certain to brighten any dull winter day! Look out for the old favourites like alyssum, begonias, impatiens and petunias, as well as ‘Fast Flower’ ranges that grow in under 10 weeks from sowing.

If you don’t have a heated glasshouse, don’t worry as there is a great choice of small propagators available as well as all the accessories you need in store at Armitage's to get you started.

And if you are growing your own produce this year, why not use your vegetable plot or allotment to grow flowers for cutting and bringing into the house?

Many good cut flowers such as cornflowers, sweet peas and godetias are grown from seed, generally sown in the spring. Some, sweet peas in particular, are sown into pots in a warm place early in the year to be planted out in April or May.

Some of our favourite cut flowers are grown from bulbs such as gladioli, anemones, lilies and freesias. Summer flowering bulbs are planted in the spring.

Lastly, some cut flowers are grown as shrubs or perennials. Roses are the best example of flowering shrubs for cutting but foliage plants are a real bonus to flower arrangers – eucalyptus, castor oil plants and ferns add depth and structure to floral arrangements.

Don’t hesitate to ask our friendly staff who will always ready to help and advise.