Surf's up…

Toby’s petunias may have a reputation for trailing, but he’s determined to make them more upwardly mobile

- Toby’s

THE plant lab at Buckland Castle, aka the patio, is a nerve centre for radical research that could revolutionise the way I grow petunias. The usual method for these colourful container bedders is to plant them on the edge of pots or baskets, where their long stems can cascade. This summer, though, as part of a gravity-defying experiment, I’m planting them – cue dramatic music – to climb.

Just as Newton discovered gravity in an apple-related accident, I came up with this idea because I accidentally put the wrong petunia pack into my garden centre trolley. What I wanted to buy was a shrubby variety to billow 12in (30cm) high and wide, but what I bought (after the fates had intervened) was a clutch of Surfinias – plants that trail with such vigorous abandon, passing revellers might mistake our house and its hanging baskets for a Wetherspoon’s.

Not wishing to offer false hope to the thirsty, I’ve put these rampant flowers around the base of my potted palm, but instead of directing their energetic stems down over the rim, I’ve trained them up the hairy trunk of the tree.