“Flowers always make people better, happier, and more helpful; they are sunshine, food and medicine to the mind.”
I love growing flowers on my allotment plot. To me, they look stunning, they attract pollinators and very importantly are they can be used as an environmentally friendly bug barrier!
I’m currently growing perennial flowers such as daffodils, verbena, hydrangeas, lavender and rudbeckia but I also grow a number of annual flowers such nasturtiums, sunflowers, sweet peas and marigolds.
This year I’ve decided to dedicate Plot 5A to flowers. So far, I’ve planted 2 beds of bulbs and they’re already up!
In 2016 I have to admit that I was very disappointed with the results of ‘direct sown’ seeds – they either didn’t germinate or produced 3 inch high plants 😦 so this year I’ll be starting ALL my flowers off in the greenhouse. I’ve already started stockpiling a few beauties (these will go straight into the ground)…Any tips on growing dahlias will be gratefully received 🙂 Look at these gorgeous ‘dinner plate’ varieties!
I’ve managed to gather a few basic planting tips:
- Don’t rush to plant – dahlias hate cold soil. Wait until all chance of frost is past.
- Plant in full sun. They need 6 to 8 hours of sunlight to thrive.
- Protect from the wind.
- Soil should be rich and well-drained.
- You can start tubers indoors.
- Be cautious with watering – tubers rot easily.
- You can expect flowers within around 8 weeks of planting, starting in mid-July.
Do you have any tips or advice on growing Dahlias?
On my wanders around gardens in the UK, it’s clear that most kitchen gardens combine flowers and veggies.
These two pictures show the Agatha Christie’s kitchen gardens at Greenway House…
Love the combined planting!
I’m aiming to create a mini version of this sweet pea and bean (the beans have been cleared) arch (at the National Botanical Gardens of Wales) over the central pathway on Plot 5A…
Do you grow flowers on your allotment? How do you ‘mix them up’? What are you most looking forward to growing in 2017?
beentheredugthat 
I’m planning an all out cutting patch this year and I have waaay too many seeds – not to mention dahlias, crysanths and gladioli on order. For several years, I had a dahlia in the garden and it came up every year, then the big freeze of 2010 came and my lovely magenta dahlia was no more. Cold, wet soil will rot the tuber. Monty recommends plenty of grit in the planting hole but lift every year and store upside down to allow moisture to drain away from the tuber. I look forward to seeing the flowers later in the year.
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Looks great. What a nice beginning to the year.
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Thank you 😆
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