Mum’s the word
Margaret Griffin
Autumn is on the way and what better time of the year to revitalise your hanging baskets, containers or garden beds with a variety of new season plants?
By adding autumn colour now to all your borders and containers, your patio will be vibrant right up till the end of autumn at least.
Tough garden mums
Nothing heralds the arrival of autumn in the garden than good old-fashioned chrysanths - and these amazing so called tough garden mums are just the ticket to fill your garden with colour late on in the season and on into winter.
Naturally dome forming and compact, they will make fabulous potted plants for outdoors, or neat little domes in beds and borders. They will be smothered in literally hundreds of flowers in deep, rich autumnal shades, their filled centres joining together to create a carpet of colour.
Chrysanthemums grow best and produce the most flowers if they are planted in full sunshine. They respond to plenty of food and moisture.
This garden mum is as tough as any mum out there and rises to the challenge made by our weather. Chrysanthemums can survive our changeable weather very well. They considered the most hardy and long-flowering of all of the garden mums. They offer superb autumn colour each year and stay a perfect ball shape that will enhance your garden and add that little touch of autumn elegance!
Garden mums can be grown in containers and pots, as well as in the ground. I really recommend that you try these – I guarantee you will absolutely adore them just as much as I do! They are available in reds, yellow and elegant white.
Rowan tree
The native rowan tree, known as mountain ash, grows well throughout Ireland and is relatively flexible with growing conditions. Its slender leaves turn yellow among the equally vibrant berries, making it an eye-catching feature in any garden. There are many varieties within the rowan tree family with different coloured berries and various heights to suit your garden situation.
For a small garden, I would choose the autumn spire as it’s a lovely medium sized deciduous tree with a slender growth habit. It flowers in late spring and has yellow berries in autumn with will attract wildlife to your garden. It can be grown in full sun or in partial shade and will give excellent autumn colour.
Sorbus Cardinal Royal
This is an ideal urban tree for small gardens or green areas. It grows to about 10 metres tall and has a conical shape requiring little or no maintenance. Its white flowers against green slender leaves give way to white flowers and then clusters of bright red berries - another favourite for our birds.
Cardinal Royal produces a noticeably bigger crop than a wild rowan tree and this will be much appreciated by your neighbourhood birds, who rely on berries like these to put on weight before the winter.
Our spring flowering bulbs are arriving this weekend to Griffins of Dripsey. Now is the time to start planning your spring garden to be filled with daffodils, crocus, muscarri and more.
If you would like help with garden design, email photos to info@griffinsgardencentre.ie or call 021-7334286.