How to get months of colour

Ruth's top tips for prolonging that sense of summer

- Ruth Hayes

WE are in peak planting season the best time of the year - but at the time of writing we haven't had any significant rainfall for several weeks and the soil is hard and desiccated.

This means that anything that goes in the ground now needs extra attention while it gets established.

Even newly bought, mature perennials can't be planted and left to their own devices. Their roots may look robust but until they have bedded in and spread they will still only have a limited access to water and nutrients.

So if you are planting in the next few weeks, especially over this bank holiday weekend, make sure plants are watered generously and you cover their root area with lots of well-rotted compost or manure to help hold the water in the soil.

Thereafter when you water, give them a good soaking rather than a light sprinkle as this will encourage the roots to grow downwards in their search for moisture rather than staying close to the surface, which can cause instability.