The long winter months are often associated with bare and colourless spaces in the garden, but this need not be the case.
The solution is to fill the gaps with winter-flowering bedding plants that are now available at nurseries and garden centres.
Plant these annuals during the autumn months of April and May to guarantee glorious colour from winter into spring.
When choosing plants, find out the height they reach at maturity.
Create a layered effect in the border by planting the taller varieties like foxgloves (digitalis) at the back. Medium height plants such as poppies work well when planted in the middle.
Low growing annuals like pansies, fairy primula and lobelia look stunning as edging plants at the front of the border.
Bedding plants often have more aesthetic appeal when mass planted.
Also remember that you can create a more colourful effect when spring-flowering bulbs are planted in between bedding plants.
For a colourful patio or front entrance plant the bedding plants in containers.
Follow these tips for success with your annuals
Soil preparation
Before planting the annuals, prepare the soil well. Add liberal quantities of compost to poor sandy soil (two 30dm bags of compost to 4m2). To improve loam, add 1 bag (30dm) to 4m2. Before digging over the flowerbed, sprinkle one handful of planting fertiliser over each square metre.
Remove any debris, grass, weeds and stones, and then level the bed with a rake.
Transplant the bedding plants
Avoid transplanting them in the heat of the day. Water the plant and the soil thoroughly. Carefully remove each tiny plant but avoid damaging their roots. Avoid pulling it up by the stem, rather push it gently from below. Place the plant in a hole in the prepared bed and plant it at the same depth as it was in the tray. After they have all been planted, water well using a fine sprinkler.
Water requirements
Newly planted bedding plants need daily watering until they are established. Once they are settled in, they can be watered deeply but less often. This method of watering encourages deep root growth and is more beneficial for healthy plants than regular light sprinklings.
Fertilise
To promote healthy growth, bedding plants require fertiliser every two weeks. Winter-flowering annuals benefit from foliar fertiliser.
Instead of applying fertiliser to the soil around the plants, foliar fertilising refers to spraying fertiliser on to the foliage of plants. Foliar feed with a half-strength of Multifeed or Nitrosol mixed with water. This method is helpful where plants are in constant competition with the roots of shrubs and trees for nutrition.
Foliar fertilisation improves the performance of bedding plants and encourages prolific flowering.
Deadhead
Throughout flowering time, remove spent blooms to encourage more flowers.
What to plant for winter colour
There are bedding plants that are suitable for sunny and shady positions.
For sun: Alyssum, calendula, candytuft, cornflower, dianthus, Bokbaai vygie, Iceland poppy, lavatera, lobelia, nemesia, ornamental kale, pansy, petunia, phlox, salpiglossis, snapdragons (are available in low, medium or tall varieties), stock, sweet pea, sweet William, viola.
For light shade: English daisy, forget-me-not, pansy, fairy primula, primrose, schizanthus. - Daily News