by Holly Taylor | Nov 6, 2012 | Flowers, Michael Perry's Gardening Blog
It’s autumn trade show time, when we head over to the Netherlands to see what’s up and coming in the plant world… The Dutch are second to none when it comes to innovation within the green sphere, I’m always amazed and enthralled by their ideas and designs!
Here’s a few to feast your eyes on!
A Dulux colour chart of roses
A display of Rose blooms just like the Dulux colour chart!
Preserving Rose blooms
Preserving Rose blooms that little bit longer with wax… and in any colour you desire!
Oriental Lilies
Lovely double-flowered Oriental Lilies
Orchid Vanda
The most indulgent orchid Vanda.. I’d love these in my front room for sure!
Dianthus and roses
Mix and match ‘Green Trick’ Dianthus with lovely red Roses
Orchids
The most flamboyant cut flower money can buy!
Multicoloured Echeveria
You can now have your Echeveria in ANY colour! All the rage in Italy, but in Sweden they apparently prefer the “original flavour”!
Baby Hyacinths
…and this is how baby Hyacinths grow!
by Holly Taylor | Oct 1, 2012 | Michael Perry's Gardening Blog
Primrose ‘Husky’ Mixed
Hello,
Just a few minutes planning now can make your outdoor space the envy of all once spring arrives! And this is all thanks to the queen of spring, the primrose!
When you think the garden has given up the ghost and you’re cranking up the central heating indoors, primroses are outside flourishing! ‘Husky’ is an especially hardy variety, which shrugs off cold and snow. Great colour mix, as with our new ‘Improved Mix of Alaska’, 20 different colours – wowsers!
Last season we also had some fun putting together the best fragrant types too, ‘World’s Most Scented Mix’ is a hand-selected blend… or rather nose-selected!
Primula Double ‘Lipstick’
Or you can go big and blousy with ‘Berryblossom Mixed’, tightly packed rosebud blooms in a Valentine’s style colour mix – grow a pot for your beloved this February maybe!
How’s about a designer blend too? ‘Woodland Dell’ is a true connoisseur’s variety, with blushed pink blooms on dark, nearly black foliage! Or try ‘Double Lipstick’- it’s a bit more pricey but well worth the investment for the fancy buds and blooms!
But when’s a primrose not a primrose? Well, when it’s a polyanthus. Primroses have 1 bloom per stem, but many stems. Polyanthus have just 1 stem with a cluster of blooms piled on top! ‘Crescendo’ is the oldest and still the best, colourful but very hardy too.
Polyanthus ‘Crescendo®’ Mixed
So, to get started, order young plants now, pot them on and you’ll have some nicely established plants by late autumn, when you can plant out into borders or patio pots!
Enjoy!
Michael
PS Don’t forget you can follow all the new product developments at T&M by following me on twitter @gardening_greek
by Holly Taylor | Sep 19, 2012 | Michael Perry's Gardening Blog
Tulip Everlasting Mixture
I think it has happened.
When leaving the house today; the feeling of autumn seemed to have descended. Although bright and sunny, the temperature was cooler and there were misty windows. Darn, I’ll have to start wearing socks again!
So what do we do now summer’s ‘over’?
In terms of summer bedding, there’s no need to hurry, just enjoy it while it lasts, trimming and dead-heading here and there. You might want to clear some areas to make way for bulb plantings though…
Now’s the ideal time to plant a tapestry that will burst into life next spring- just at the point where you’ve forgotten you planted it! Think colour, think fragrance and think non-stop interest. Plant up a lasagne of bulbs such as tall tulips (‘Everlasting’ Mixture is great as it comes back year after year, each time as good as the last), sprinkled with the newest and best rainbow daffs (‘Rainbow Butterflies Mixed’, and in the foreground some of our newest and rare crocus cancellatus.
Primrose Primlet Berryblossom Mixed
And, bedding isn’t just for summer – there are some fab winter and spring varieties you can try too! Save £££s by planning and buying now; the world really is your oyster. There’s as much to choose from as there is for summer! Pansies, primroses, polyanthus, wallflowers, double daisies, violas… the list goes on! A couple of my favourites are pansy ‘Frizzle Sizzle Yellow Blue Swirl’ and the lovely primrose ‘Berryblossom Mixed’.
And if you’ve wanted to try fruit for a bit, now’s the ideal time to give it a go! Strawberries planted in the autumn will actually give 50% more fruit than those planted in the same year. And <a href=”/fruit/fruit-trees”>fruit trees</a> are best planted as bareroot right now – so get out with your spade!
Follow me on twitter @gardening_greek keep up to date with all the latest plant developments!
See you for now,
Michael
