Moving house in the middle of the growing season isn’t ideal timing for a keen gardener! Knowing back in March that I’d be relocating in June, I reluctantly held back on my usual flurry of spring seed sowing, concentrating only on small batches of those plants that I just couldn’t be without in the garden.
So, travelling with the household furniture were sweet peas for daytime scent and colour (‘Sugar and Spice’ for ease of transport), Stock ‘Night Scented‘ for evening fragrance, and favourite of all; chillies – I’m a bit of an addict!
Sweet Pea ‘Sugar & Spice’
night scented stock
Chilli ‘Loco’. A T&M introduction for 2015
I’ve also brought a wide range of potted trees and shrubs with me (the less said about the way the removal men treated them the better!). Most arrived with a snapped branch or two, but better that than leaving them all behind, I suppose. With a bit of TLC and pruning they’ll pick up next season for sure.
I’m slowly developing plans for the new garden (a lovely south facing plot, backing on to open fields) aiming to make a big start in autumn. For now I’ll concentrate on container gardening.
My new south-facing garden
For quick-fix colour that will last until the autumn frosts, my first planting has been several pots of Garden Ready Geranium ‘T&M’s Choice Mixed’ F1 Hybrid. With the early growth stages out of the way all I’ve had to do is plant up, water in, set the pots on the patio and wait for them to grow and flower.
Watering in to settle my new additions into the garden
Adding these alongside the pots I moved with me, the new neighbours are already impressed with the garden. Just wait until this time next year! As and when I get to work on the garden I’ll keep you updated with developments, and share some of my timely tips and advice with you.
Kris Collins works as Thompson & Morgan’s quality control manager, making sure customers new and old are kept up to date on the latest plant developments and company news via a wide range of media sources. He trained in London’s Royal Parks and has spent more than a decade writing for UK gardening publications before joining the team at Thompson & Morgan.
When we moved house almost five years ago in November, which was quite mild, I made sure to pot up all the plants I wanted to bring with us. All survived bar the penstemon and two roses. We now have a garden full of colour, thanks in part to annuals as well as perennials, and it’s still a work in progress. Our young son gardens with us, though our two daughters prefer the fruits of our labour and sit out in the sun, eating berries and vegetables fresh from the garden.