Potted pansies

I remember one of my earliest attempts at gardening as an adult was planting up a low bowl with a punnet of pansy seedlings, and imagining with delight what they would be like in spring. It was a simple pleasure and one that I lost sight of over time, when I became more and more focused on summer and autumn as the peak times for Sydney gardens. It's only been fairly recently that I have become painfully aware that early spring is actually the worst season in my garden, and I certainly don't enjoy it at that time, as everything is all so cut back and bare, awaiting regrowth.

Dutch irises with Tagetes lemmonii and daffodils in the garden of Maree Ross in Sydney

Dutch irises with Tagetes lemmonii and daffodils in the garden of Maree Ross in Sydney

So I have been trying to make a bit more of an effort to add some spring colour to my plot, and this time of year is perfect for putting these plans into action. I have borrowed some ideas from a friend's garden that I visited a few years ago. One of her ploys is to buy batches of early-flowering bulbs, which she pops into beds and pots throughout the garden, which give bursts of brilliant, cheerful colour that excite the senses and add to the feeling that spring is here or at least near! At the end of spring, she simply composts most of them, because they are usually the sorts of bulbs that rarely reflower a second year in our Sydney climate, basically because our winters are too mild and our summers too hot, wet and humid.

Annual Anemone in my garden last spring

Annual Anemone in my garden last spring

These bulbs included blue Dutch irises, daffodils, hyacinths, anemones and cyclamens. Following her strategy, last autumn I planted out some ranunculi and anemone tubers to fill a bare area where my Dahlia tubers were lying dormant and some miniature white daffodils in another spot. I was well pleased with the results and plan to do the same thing again this year, including some blue Dutch irises this time round. I also planted some compact Watsonia corms in some old kitchen colanders, which I plunged into the ground where temporary gaps existed, then removed once they had flowered and allowed the leaves to die down naturally in an out-of-the-way area of the garden. Watsonia will reflower from year to year, so the corms were stored over summer and have been replanted in the same way this autumn. When planting bulbs, prepare the soil well with some compost and suitable fertiliser and encourage them with regular watering and fertilising, and keep weeds in check. Growing some of these in pots as my friend does, is another way of adding spring colour to the garden: use a suitable potting medium for filling the container and look after them in the same way as bulbs grown in the ground.

Osteospermum cultivars in the former garden of Alice Collins, Sydney

Osteospermum cultivars in the former garden of Alice Collins, Sydney

Adding a daisy bush or two can be another way to add more flowers to the spring garden. In general, I have found that most 'perennial' daisies - such as Marguerite daisies and the so-called sailor-boy daisies - don't really do well in their second year. However, that is no reason not to enjoy their first year, when they will be healthy and full of blooms over an extended period. So many different varieties are available in nurseries these days. Nothing says 'spring' like a daisy, in my opinion!

Cynoglossum amabile

Cynoglossum amabile

Spring-flowering annuals are, of course, another source of colour in late August and September. Being rather lazy, I tend to rely on self-seeding annuals, such as Orlaya, primula, forget-me-nots, Chinese forget-me-nots, honesty, heartsease, nasturtiums, sweet Alice and the little white annual daisy Leucanthemum paludosum. Sometimes foxgloves, species poppies and pot marigolds may also self-seed. It is necessary to leave some of the soil uncovered by mulch to allow the seeds to germinate. We can assist by thinning out the seedlings, which sometimes appear in a very overcrowded fashion. Though it is sad to have to do this, it does give the remaining seedlings a much better chance in life. I sometimes transplant a few seedlings to different spots in the garden where I would like them to grow -- it doesn't always work but it is worth a try! As the little plants grow, we can help them flourish with the regular application of some sort of soluble plant food.

Annual Dianthus growing in the garden of Tracey Fleischner in Sydney, with Orlaya in background

Annual Dianthus growing in the garden of Tracey Fleischner in Sydney, with Orlaya in background

For the annuals that don't regularly self-seed, we can get some punnets from the nursery. It's hard to believe these little seedlings will become robust plants bearing a profusion of blooms, but it will happen, as long as we give them a good start in humus-rich soil, plenty of water and ongoing fertilising. Some favourite spring annuals available in punnets include pansies, violas, cineraria, wallflowers, snapdragons, cornflowers, candytuft and sweet William (Dianthus barbatus). Some keen gardeners will grow some of these themselves from seed, which is very satisfying. Most of these annuals prefer sun, though cineraria thrive in shade and pansies and violas will cope with part or dappled shade. For a head start, many of these can also be purchased as advanced 'bloomer' plants. All can be grown successfully in pots. Cultivating some of these is, incidentally, a wonderful way to introduce children to gardening, as results are quick and very colourful! And at this time of year, it is wonderful for us all to be in the garden (as long as the sun is shining!).