The yellow blossom of Mimosa (Acacia dealbata) has been flowering since February with its pretty fluffy perfumed flowers and attractive foliage. It was planted from a cutting I took from my last garden and it will continue flowering long into spring. The original tree was also a cutting taken by my late father, whose cousin was Eric Savill, Deputy Surveyor to King George VI, who in 1932 began laying out the famed Savill and Valley Gardens at Windsor Great Park. Eric became Director of Gardens from 1959 until 1970. He died in April 1980 two years before the Golden Jubilee of the garden. Eric had a great eye for landscaping and creating great vistas. My first visit to the 35 acre Savill Garden and the 220 acres of the Valley Garden was in the mid 1980’s with my parents.
The Japanese quinces (Chaenomeles), honeysuckle (Lonicera purpusii Winter Beauty) and Daphnes may have faded but spring is here with a riot of yellows, creams and whites of the daffodils competing for insects along with the primroses. Tulips will shortly add their kaleidoscopic range of colours to the mix, popping through carpets of Forget-Me-Not (Myosotis).
Mahonia Winter Sun, Viburnham bodnantense Dawn, Garrya elliptica and other winter flowering shrubs should be pruned, removing entangled branches that criss-cross one another. Prune roses to an outside shoot and cut out dead wood. Buddleias need a chop too, removing old, diseased branches and Dogwoods (Cornus) grown primarily for their colourful red and yellow stems should be cut right back. Straggly climbers and winter jasmine can now be tidied along with the removal of shrivelled hydrangea flowers and old lifeless stems.
Snowdrops can be divided to increase next year’s display. Pull out dead growth on ornamental grasses and trim to reveal new shoots. Remove invasive razor-sharp sedge grass to prevent thousands of unwanted seeds spreading into your garden. Cut back perennials such as fuchsias and penstemons.
Ground elder and bindweed need forking out to minimise roots being sliced as tiny amounts of spaghetti-like root make new weeds. Invasive clumps of wild garlic should be removed. Do not place pernicious weeds in your compost. Nettles need to be kept in check but as they are soil improvers and caterpillars enjoy them, a small patch is permissible near a compost area but well away from raspberry canes and your vegetable patch/allotment.
English lavenders thrive in our climate and the French varieties (Stoechas) though not so hardy do well in Felixstowe when planted in well-draining soil in a sunny aspect. If your lavenders are leggy and woody a slight trim now before flowering will help to keep them tidy but do not cut into woody stems as new growth will not appear. Rosemary does well here but look out for small shiny oval beetles which defoliate the leaves.
Fill empty unloved containers/window boxes with bright summer bedding. Geraniums surrounded by Lobelia, or Violas with French Marigolds, give fantastic colour throughout the summer and will brighten any balcony. Encourage more flowers by deadheading and water when needed.
Colourful and scented wallflowers (Erysimum) – annuals or the perennial Bowles Mauve – are great value. Continue deadheading to prolong their flowering, and then save the seeds for sprinkling to add colour for next year.
Written by Heather Pratt