Plant flowers now for a beautiful garden in spring

12:08:20 27th August 2010

The harsh winter meant many plants did not flower as expected - one expert has suggested it is a good idea to plant flowers now in order to ensure their survival should the winter be unforgiving again.

Sarah Raven, writing for the Telegraph, has recommended sowing flowers now rather than in the early spring alone.

She suggests that the late summer weather is perfect for quick germination and will allow roots to develop to depths where the temperature will be fairly constant, despite fluctuations above ground.

The plants can then store water and nutrients ready for the cold winter and are therefore more likely to sprout up quickly once warmer weather comes in.

"Even last year [...], almost all my plants of nearly all these varieties survived in my garden from an early September sowing and were flowering earlier and for much longer than the varieties I sowed in February," she comments.

Earlier this month, Francine Raymond of the Telegraph suggested planting flower bulbs to ensure gardens look colourful all year round.