Level 2 – Landscape Maintenance

 Annuals grow and flower within one growing season. Seed must be sown each year to provide these plants in the garden.  Hardy annuals have seed that can withstand frost and will spread around the garden naturally. Their seed can be sown outside in the border.  Half hardy annuals these will not survive frost in any form. They are normally sown under glass and transplanted outside when large enough.

 Biennials require two growing seasons.  In the first season after sowing they produce leaf and root growth: they then overwinter and flower in the following year.  Many plants used for annual bedding are in fact shrubby perennials in their natural habitats.  Pelargoniums, Antirrhinums majus, Ricinus communis  In temperate climates they are discarded at the end of the growing season, although many can be overwintered under glass or as cuttings.

 Whole borders or beds devoted to annuals produce colourful effects.  Ideal in a new garden where they quickly provide a vibrant displays.  The most effective are often those that exploit a limited range of colours.

 Most annuals are sown in the place where they are to flower and sowing from March to May (depending on soil type, soil condition and location) will bring them into flower from May to September.  Don’t be tempted to sow too early or if the soil is very wet as the seed will only rot and die. Later sowing are often more successful.  Some can be started off in boxes and trays in the glasshouse or cold frame.  A few can also be sown in the autumn to flower the following spring.

 Soil and situation.  Annuals do best on soils that are not too wet or heavy, these soils can be improved by digging in organic matter or sand and grit. They prefer a sunny spot but some will grow in light shade.  Weed control.  Weeds must be controlled by hand as chemical will damage the plants. Make sure that the ground is free from perennial weeds before sowing annuals.

 Fork over the border in the spring and remove all perennial weeds, try and leave the soil in a fine condition.  Next rake the surface to remove any large stones and to level the surface and to produce a fine seedbed.  Tread the soil down to help consolidate the soil without compacting it too much.  Add some fertiliser and organic matter. Make sure you use a fertiliser high in Potash as this will encourage flower and not green growth (tomato fertiliser is best).  For summer bedding make sure all frost has passed before you plant out  Use a trowel and make planting holes a little bigger than the root ball.  Water well and mulch

 Mark out the sowing area using fine sand to create the edges. This will make sowing easier and allow varieties to be grown in blocks  Take each block in turn and finely rake the area to remove footprints etc. Using a stick or cane, make seed drills to the depth and spacing stated on the packet. The seeds can then be sown carefully into these prepared drills. Try to sow evenly and thinly.  Gently cover the seed with soil, water the ground carefully with a can fitted with a fine rose.  Label each block as you sow them so that you can identify them later. Sow the seeds in each block in different directions this will help with the visual impact later.  As the seedlings appear they may need to be thinned out to avoid over crowding. Some of these seedling could be used to fill in areas where the seeds may not have germinated.

Weed control  Hand weed while the weeds are still small and easily removed. Feeding  Annuals will grow and flower prolifically when they are well fed, Dig in organic matter in the spring and apply a base fertiliser dressing at the sowing stage, no further feeding should be required. Watering.  Keep the beds watered to encourage quick growth and establishment. Dead heading  Some annuals if left will quickly flower and then set seed, to encourage them to keep flowering it is helpful to remove old dead flowers regularly.

 In bedding schemes in parks where you may have a whole border with just one plant type making a mass off colour e.g.; Busy Lizzies. They can be in patterns or in drifts and mixed in with other bedding to make different shapes and even spell out words.  They can be part of a border with shrubs and perennials and used to fill any gaps with colour.  They can be used to create an instant garden if your garden is new or not much else is in colour at the time.  They can be used for hanging baskets, tubs and troughs.  They can even be used for cut flowers.  Some bedding can provide winter colour like the winter flowering pansies or early spring colour like wall flowers.

 Bedding plants are used for formal or informal planting schemes. Bedding plants are generally annuals and biennials.  Bright bedding schemes really came into fashion during the Victorian period but have persisted in many local authority parks dept. and private houses ever since.  They can provide bold splashes of colour as well as form and textures in the garden.

 Alyssum  Candytuft  Sunflower  Pansy  Begonia  Lobelia  Petunia  Wallflower  Forget me not

 This bedding is made up from plants like Wallflowers, forget-me-nots and winter pansies that pick up in the warmer weather.  They have been planted in October time and flower early spring and are then removed in May to make way for the summer bedding.

 The plants used for summer bedding are a vast range. They are planted out in May or June but always after any risk of a late frost.  Summer bedding can be left to run its course or it can be pulled out late summer or early autumn. When the frosts come, that will finish any stragglers off anyway.

 The main planting for winter bedding is the pansy. When most plants are dormant and not much else will flower the pansy is trying its best to show some winter colour.  If there is a brief warm spell in winter the pansy will make the most of the sun and put on a good show. During wet, cold frosty weather it will still flower but at a reduced rate.

 A cheap way to buy bedding is by seed and growing them yourself. There are thousands of different seeds to try.  If you do not have the time, space or both then buy your bedding ready grown in pots or plugs.  Buying in pots means that after the last frost they can go out into the border. The problem with plants in these individual pots is the cost.  Buying in trays or plugs (very small plants) is a lot cheaper. The plug plants may have to be grown on before they can go out as they are so small

 Most annuals will need to be planted in the sun to grow and flower well, although some like Busy Lizzies ( Impatiens) will require some shade. Check the labels.  Feed through out the growing season avoiding high nitrogen.  Make dead-heading a priority to ensure continued flowers.  Some like sweet peas can be picked for indoors.  Keep the beds weed free; weeds take the nutrients, water and sunlight from the plants.