Hi, I'm a new gardener and a new garden banterer! We have recently moved into a house with a huge garden and have begun to lift some turf along the drive ready for a flower bed - mainly summer perennials and spring bulbs. Ideally, I would like to plant both over the next couple of weeks. I have seen plenty of online suppliers still supplying perennial plugs, and wondered is it possible to plant these directly into the soil now or should I plant in pots indoors or simply not bother buying any perennial plugs until spring? Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Wipedout wrote:

Hi, I'm a new gardener and a new garden banterer! We have recently moved
into a house with a huge garden and have begun to lift some turf along
the drive ready for a flower bed - mainly summer perennials and spring
bulbs. Ideally, I would like to plant both over the next couple of
weeks. I have seen plenty of online suppliers still supplying perennial
plugs, and wondered is it possible to plant these directly into the soil
now or should I plant in pots indoors or simply not bother buying any
perennial plugs until spring? Any help would be greatly appreciated!

it depends upon many factors, but i'd say
that now is not a bad time to do it for a
mild wintered location like most of the UK.

i'd not put a garden right along the edge
of a driveway. just asking for too many
troubles. the kind of soil/cover (compacted
and well covered so it can take some abuse
and still be functional) you want along a
driveway is about the opposite of what good
garden soil is like. one person driving off
the side and ..., or a heavy rain... ick.

instead leave enough space that it can be
mowed, accidentally driven on, snowplowed,
etc. before siting the gardens.

also many bulbs do not like poorly drained
soils and/or extra moisture so you may need to
find those that can do better in those types
of conditions.


songbird