Filling the Gap.

great pictures and lovely flowers:)))

I also do this with pots and I also plant bulbs that come up at different times side by side.

Another method, used by the great gardener Gertrude Jekyll, was to grow tall perennials which would be trained forward to cover gaps of earlier-flowering ones in her borders.

Some great ideas especially pots of bulbs, I just love the Blue Cornflowers and the Lily Purple Eye is very attractive , a great blog;0)

Great ideas and pictures. Thanks

Very organised! I like these ideas! :)

I experimented growing some perennials in pots that would otherwise fail in the ground here. I hadn't considered popping them in the borders to fill gaps. I'll be using your idea to the max I think ;)

I'll try that with some lilies - a great idea. Some real beauties here!

I shall have to think about Gertrude Jekyll's methods!

Glad you liked my ideas...:-)))

Snoopdog, I don't think the Yetties are in my garden, more's the pity! LOL.

Brilliant ideas, thanks for sharing, I agree, spring bulbs' leaves going over are not pretty in the border. May I ask a question regarding clematis growing through shrubs :-) What is the general rule, stick to group 3 so they can be cut down in February? Which shrubs do you choose as the host, early flowering ones? I'm keen to do this but not sure where to start.

One of the houses we lived in had a Rhus, which I don't like very much. I grew a Nelly Moser up it, which didn't need cutting back at all. Also it depends to some extent whether you want the clem to flower at the same time as the shrub or to prolong the season of flowers. Group 3 will the the easiest to keep under control though.

Another thing to consider is rates of growth. If both the climber and the host are planted at the same time, the climber usually will romp away and smother the host. Better to give the shrub a few year's start.

Lovely pics. and informative blog Spritz.I am going to try the lily planting in border.Do you bury the pot completely or leave on show?

The pot gets hidden by foliage, Gralew. It's much easier to grow lilies in pots anyway - I line them up and inspect them for 'red perils' each day. I cross my fingers when the pots go into the borders, though!

Dawn, I choose established shrubs or trees, and usually a viticella clem. to scramble through. I know they should be cut hard back, but if I want the flowers at the top, I don't prune them. I have one growing through the contorted willow, which looks lovely. :-) The one in the damask rose is a specie viticella, and I only cut off the dead part. It really depends on the situation - I'm trying to get 'Polish Spirit' to climb up a tree, so I shan't cut that back, either.

Great ideas I grow lilies in pots but I'm not buying anymore for now because of the dreaded lily beetle, we never had them till a couple of years ago now it's every year and so time consuming killing the blighters lol, I never thought of putting the pot in the border! Might give it a go this year :)

what good ideas, I used to do the same at my old garden and had forgotten what a difference it can make to the border. I will now plant some bulbs into pots in the autumn, thanks for the reminder!

You're welcome. :-)

Skilla, I put each pot of lilies into the wheelbarrow in turn and look for beetles, then shake them off and squish them. It's much, much easier than trying to reach into the border to catch the dratted things! It only takes a few minutes a day to do.

I perhaps shouldn't say this.... and I'm touching wood while typing...I've never had any of those dratted things, have had lilies in pots over the last few years.Will start inspecting!!!

You are soooooooo lucky, Gralew! :-D)

Enjoyed this Barbara, going to look again when I have more time:-) Love that cosmea:-)

Thanks Stera, Andrew, Barbara on the clematis advice :)

You're welcome. :-) Are you going to try it out in your garden, Dawn?

I don't quite get the A. T. tip of putting three plants in one hole. Does he mean just planting plants so close together that they fit in a hole large enough for one? or is it just for bulbs (layered) in the way we do it in pots?? I love your marigold picture, the classic colour combination looks wonderful, is it s. caradonna? I'm not normally keen on calendulas, but if I had a large enough garden I would certainly go with this in your face orange and blue/purple. I don't grow lilies anymore either since the l beetle invasion. The only good thing about them is they are so brightly coloured and easy to spot:-)

I suspect he means three perennials in one large hole, Ba. You'd have to research flowering times, of course, and when they die back, like oriental poppies. I have Verbascums to take their place, planted close.

That particular Salvia is 'Ostfriesland', but I have a lot of 'Caradonna 'plants elsewhere in the garden.

What a shame not to grow lilies!

Hello Barbara, yes, definitely, I've never tried before. So now I know to choose group 3, I'll go for Viticella - I did a bit of research last night and the book I was reading said Polish Spirit was one of the best, like you have :-) I'll select an established shrub that flowers early and see how it goes. I'll leave unpruned as you suggest as most of my shrubs are within the beds so bottom part hidden. Thank you so much for the excellent advice. Good luck with Polish Spirit climbing the tree.

Thanks, Dawn, I'll post a photo if it works. The tree is an Amelanchier, so the flowers will be long gone when the Clem. flowers.

Oh yes please, love Amelanchier, mine is still in bud. Sounds like a perfect partnership. I purchased Cl. viticella polish spirit today in Morrisons, would you believe, small but healthy £2.

I do that sometimes - and grow them on before I plant them out. I've got a baby florida sieboldii atm. :-))

Hmmmm three perennials in one large hole....... isn't that the same as close planting? :-))

That's what I'll do then Barbara.

very clever idea with the pots! might just give it a go, as most of my garden is still young and not fully established, so there's plenty to holes that could do with some filling ;) I'm a big sucker for Cosmos, in any size and colours and hopefully will have a good few clumps growing in my garden this year. When would it be best to sow cosmos outdoors?

Hello Jag, I have my cosmos just coming up in seed trays in my greenhouse now, I'll plant out end of May.

How did I miss this....a most interesting blog, we do use the lily pots in the borders, especially before we open, we always grow far too many...loved the photographs B....

Thanks, Dd. :-D) I'm busy gap filling now - only three weeks to go!

Not far behind you spritz. I'm opening 7th and 8th June.

Good luck, Andrew!