MN Gardeners' World

[MissBoPeep]

Hello.

MissBoPeep here.

Tonight we are going to look at the jobs you are planning for this week in your garden.

You can share with me:

1.What you are planting in your tubs and outdoor pots so that you will have colour until the bulbs come up in January. My pansies give up the ghost long before then so any suggestions welcome. Cyclamen maybe???

2.How you are managing to plant bulbs soon if the ground is rock hard.

1. If you are planting tulips before Nov-Dec. They are in the shops and some popular varieties sell out long before end of autumn.

1. Your favourite tulips for containers.

3.& 4. Crikey, you're more organised that me, but thank you for the reminder! My neighbours (next door and opposite) have fantastic bog standard yellow and red tulips, but loads of them for fantastic effect.

1. I am planning on getting some shrubs with pertty bark for a spot of winter colour. Do cyclamen like acidic soil?

1. Not such a problem here, more trying to find somewhere bulbs don't rot in the ground.

Supplementary: when do I plant alliums? They look pretty and seem to grow well round these parts.

1. Heucheras - my new thing is semi-permanent planting in window boxes, as redoing them twice a year is too much expensive faff. I saw (in GW magazine I think) Ronaldo tulips (which are nearly black) combined with a dark purple heuchera. It was fabulous.

1. I always plant bulbs in pots because even after years of improvement my soil is too cold and wet.

1. I usually store them by the back door until planting time and sometimes beyond.

1. I like the very dark tulips - Ronaldo, Queen of Night, Abu Hassan - combined with orange pansies. Every year I rave about Prinses Irene, which looks fabulous in terracotta pots. Otherwise, I like the lily-flowered ones. Ballerina is good and the yellow one whose name I've forgotten.

Is Ronaldo darker than Qeen of the Night?

My borders are Q of the N and white and pink tulips- so want to avoid ornages etc on patio as they will clash. I have rampant heuchera so will pop some in pots.

I think they're about the same - I've never grown them side by side - but I'm always a bit disappointed by Q of N.

I'm a complete beginner, but getting ideas for what to plant in containers on pinterest. Think I'll stick to daffs, crocuses and tulips. I want two containers with different flowers popping up at different times. Wilkos looks cheap for bulbs. Using large pots only - this should avoid the hard ground issue!