Hi Youngflower.
Bet you are so excited about your new house and garden. Gardening can have many high spots and disappointments, so we do not always get the flower display we hope for every time as it depends on so many things like the weather but nature is wonderful and usually finds a way, so there is always hope.

I don't know what seeds you have planted, which makes it difficult to comment on. However in future, you would increase your chances of plenty of nice plants with lovely flowers if you could put the seed in a seed tray on your windowsill first, to help them to germinate in the warmth. You need to keep them from drying out but be careful not to overwater. When the seedlings are large enough to handle, you need to transplant them. You need to look on the packet to see if they are are 'hardy', or if you need to keep them inside until we are unlikely to get further frosts.

We all have failures at times, the important thing is to keep trying as gardening is a wonderful hobby. By growing some more seed inside, you could have some nice little plants so that if the ones in the basket don't do too well, you can pop some others in. There is still plenty of time as March is a good month for many annual seeds to be sown.

Nasturtiums are very easy to grow with seed sown straight outside or into a basket. They are very colourful, easy and reliable and a good seed to start you off.

Good luck and let us know how it goes.

Hi There,

Thank you so much for your helpfull advice and comments.

There are pertunias i believe. At least i think they are , My memory since having a baby is about as good as a chocolate kettle! (haha)

So lets say they are pertunias, Or busy lizys (thats a possibility) Should i grow them indoors first?

Or pop the seeds into the hanging baskets? The baskets already have pertunia plants i popped in with showing flowers. A beautiful deep violet colour.

I just want to create a blossiming basket this year over flowing with flowers. Hundreds if possible!! I want mine to be the most beautiful baskets in the street! (haha)

Please do reply....

Young Flower xx

i think your purple flowers may be pansies yf as it is too early for petunias to be in flower. pansies will make a lovely basket though for just now then you can have petunias for the summer :o)

Oh lovely, thank you Helen xx ;)

I will take some photos in the next few weeks and upload them so you can tell me what flowers they are .

xx

To get lots of flowers from hanging baskets you need to water them when needed(more often than you'd think) and feed with either slow release fertiliser granules mixed into the compost or add a suitable feed to the water - dilute as it says on the packet or bottle. It makes all the difference. Good luck Youngflower!

Hi there

Thank you for your advice. I will be sure write that down and stick it on the fridge in little bullet points so i remember to water them often etc.

I've also brought some bulbs. I've never planted bulbs before where do i start? Do they go into containers or do i pup them into the ground?

I'am pretty new to pretty much every aspect of gardening, However - I'am a fast leaner and Keen to learn. I also love to hear others advice.

Kind regards...

♥ Young Flower ♥

xx

What bulbs have you bought Youngflower? You can put most bulbs into containers or the ground. If they're not hardy you'll need to make sure you dig them up at the end of summer or in the autumn and store them in a cool and frost free place to replant next spring, or you'll lose them.
The packets should tell you how deep to plant them, but about twice the height of the bulb is a bit of a guide. Remember to leave the leaves on after flowering and feed the bulbs for next year. Summer flowering bulbs often need feeding before the flowers come out, spring bulbs - which are available "in the green" now need to be fed after flowering.

Helen ,

You were right they are pansys!! lol.

They are blloming at the minute aswel, they look beautiful. So ive planed some litle pertunia seeds in the basket too so hopefully by summer the baskets will be blossiming

xxxxx

And the bulbs ive brought are thirty to each packet and ive brought 3 packets. They are gladioli. A mixture of colours .

How do i plant these? In pots or in the ground? And how many flowers will one bulb produce?

xx

Gladioli are tall and tend to fall over so most people stake them. I don't as I'd rather have them flop than look like missionaries tied to stakes, but it's a matter of taste.

I'm sure you could plant them in pots but I'd choose to put them in the ground. They'd look a bit unbalanced to my eye rearing up out of pots, but you could underplant them with other flowers to make them look right.

I find you get one flower stem per bulb. And you'll need to dig them up in autumn and store them frost free if you want to keep them for next year. If I'm lazy and don't get them out for winter very few come through the next year. There are some hardier "species" gladioli, but if yours are multicoloured you've got the very popular hybrids.

You can grow bulbs in baskets and containers but you'd need to go for smaller ones. Begonias (the ones that grow from tubers) are very useful for containers and baskets in shade.
Lots of spring flowering bulbs do well, so look out for them at the end of summer and in autumn to give you flowers next year.

If you've got containers that you're busting to fill for colour this summer, some suggestions for bulbs would be anemones, begonias, lily of the valley, alliums, nerines, dutch irises.

And of course there are zillions of other suitable plants too! :-)

To: Beattie

Thank you ever so much for your advice. I too think they would look slightly odd in pots if i'am honest.

I am hoping to create an area around the outskirts of the garden where i can grow flowers and plants etc. Border is the word i think i'am looking for. ;D

If i plant them this week are they likey to bloom by the summer?

xx

Well I'm putting mine in now - some planted today and some planned for tomorrow. It might be a bit early if you're in a cold area as they don't like to get frozen.

Do post some pictures up xx