Beginner Gardeners; 4 low maintenance bedding plants to get started

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Over the last 10 years (since owning my first grown-up house!) the little I know about gardening, I’ve learnt from Grandma Greenbank and Gardners World and love nothing more than snuggling in front of the TV listening to Monty Don telling us what we should be doing in our gardens.

I don’t proclaim to be an expert at all and I am very much at the beginning of my gardening journey, still classing myself as a beginner, but over the years I’ve found some fantastic bedding plants that involve very little maintenance (other than watering of course!) and flower the entire summer!

So for those who feel they are beginners like me and don’t really know where to start, I thought I’d share some of those plants so you can add them to your garden centre shopping list and get your garden going, ready to enjoy into late Autumn.

Bacopa Snowflake

Bacopa is a beautiful perennial (a perennial is a plant that flowers again year after year) that has the huge advantage of growing and blooming throughout the summer months from May to October and also thrives in the shade.

It’s a trailing plant so looks beautiful in a basket, raised bed or large pot and will spread 8 to 12 inches (20 to 30 cm) and are most happy in part sun and shade. As it spreads quite far you should plant them 8 inches apart to allow them space to flourish.

Here are some from my garden last year.

From this in June…..

To this in August…. (not the best photo sorry!)

Trailing Lobelia

There are many different types of trailing Lobelia but my favourites are Lobelia Sapphire and Fountain White.

Lobelia ‘Sapphire’ is a beautifully vibrant variety with purple/blue flowers, contrasted against bright green leaves.

It looks incredible when planted amongst other trailing bedding plants in pots, hanging baskets or raised beds.

Fountain White looks beautiful on its own or mixed with other varieties of Lobelia.

Lobelia like full sun or partial shade so pick your sunniest spot for these and they will flower through summer and into Autumn and can spread up to 2ft!

Petunia

Petunias are one of the most popular Summer bedding plants and are readily available in most garden centres and supermarkets.

Again, Petunias flower throughout summer until early Autumn when the frosts start. They multiply considerably as they grow to create a wonderful mass of colour throughout the Summer months.

They’re perfect for planting in beds and borders and the trailing varieties brighten up hanging baskets, pots and raised beds, flowing like a waterfall down the edges of the containers.

They love the sun but are also happy in partial shade and some varieties can spread up to 5ft in the right conditions! Mine were more like 3ft last summer!

Petunias are perennials too, but most bedding types are grown as annuals meaning they will need pulling out at the end of the year.

Trailing Geraniums

Ivy-leafed Trailing Geraniums are an annual (only last one summer) plant which look stunning in window boxes, hanging baskets, raised beds or large pots giving an explosion of colour throughout the Summer months.

They also love sun or partial shade and gracefully cascade down any container to 30-40cm or more!

These are the Light Pink trailing geranium.

A few last tips on watering and feeding your new plants

All of the above bedding plants will need daily watering if in pots, hanging baskets or raised beds as the soil dries out quickly especially in windy or warm weather.

Even if it rains, hanging baskets, pots, containers and raised beds all need watering by hand as a rain shower rarely produces the volume of water needed to keep the soil moist enough to hydrate the plants.

If you have a shed perhaps think about placing some guttering around it to collect rainwater in a water butt. It will save you money and your plants will love you as they much prefer rainwater over tap water which has traces of salt & water treatment chemicals in it which can build up in the soil.

Your plants will thrive if you feed them! I use Miracle Gro Pour & Feed and add some of the All Purpose pellets to the compost when I’m planting. My next blog will be showing you how to pot your new bedding plants!

So there you go! A small but manageable list of very easy bedding plants to get you started on your gardening journey. If I can grow them anyone can!

Happy Pottering!

Kirsty
x

Here’s a quick list to take with you to the Garden Centre!

Garden Centre Shopping List

• Bacopa Snowflake
• Trailing Lobelia
• Petunia
• Trailing Geraniums
• Compost
• Plant feed

Another blog you may find helpful “5 quick gardening tips for beginners”

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