11/5/2007

Home and Garden

Big blooms for small spaces

Make an impact with rhododendrons

Do you love the idea of bringing colour to your garden this spring? Have you got guests coming, or simply want to achieve some instant impact for the family to enjoy? The answer is easy. Get into rhododendrons.

Spring is the time when garden centres and nurseries all over the country are putting on shows of fabulous rhododendrons in bud and coming into flower.

For plant buffs or novices, get out gardening (and shopping) this spring and enjoy this really wonderful family of plants.

Let’s start with the dwarf varieties. Perfect for pots and containers, these will flower year after year with only a small amount of basic attention. 

If your soil is acidic, either dwarf or bigger shrubs will thrive in the ground. To find out, get a testing kit from the garden centre, ask neighbours or simply look at the kind of garden plants that seem to do well in the locality — magnolia, pieris or heathers are indicators of an acid soil. 

Many rhodos are evergreens, offering the added benefit of green foliage through winter.

Potted dwarf rhodos are perfect for people who have to move house frequently, as well as making an impressive gift — unlike a bouquet of flowers, they last for years. They’re also great if your outside space is restricted to a patio or even a doorstep.

They’re a great way into gardening — looking after them is easy, but removing the dead blooms after flowering, a little bit of pruning plus feeding and adding compost early in spring will give a sense of fulfilment and help to build confidence. 

For the dedicated gardener, the world of rhodos is absorbing and rewarding.

If you’re making a shopping list, some possibilities to include might be Blue Tit. This bears grey-blue flowers and makes a great choice for a rock garden. 

Another attractive choice is Baden-Baden, with its cherry-red flowers. Each of these are compact evergreens and won’t exceed 5ft in height and spread. 

For exceptionally free-flowering varieties, go for Scarlet Wonder, which bears bright red flowers in mid-spring and reaches up to 6½ft in height and spread. 

Shamrock is a little star at only 2½ft fully grown. It’s very hardy, tolerates sun and drought and bears pale yellow flowers in profusion in early to mid-spring. Moerheim is even smaller at only 2ft. Flowers are violet-blue and profuse in mid-spring. Another very hardy little shrub, it is happiest in full-sun.

If you’re buying plants that are’t already potted, make sure you pick up ericaceous compost (for acid-loving plants), put stones or broken crocks in the bottom of the pots to aid drainage and water regularly until plants are established.

If you thought it was too late to enjoy a fabulous, flower-filled garden or patio this spring, then check out the options from rhodos and prepare to be surprised.

Seasonal highlights

Colour, sound, life. Don’t wait for summer — get outside and get some spring.

Stunning perennials and flowering shrubs make a huge impression. What about buying a new patio pot and flowering plant to mark the season.

For inspiring displays of spring borders and flowering bulbs, make sure you visit some of your local gardens which are open to the public.

First printed in: Aldershot News and Mail