Coming up roses

Now is the right time to plug those gaps in your flower beds

There are very few last chances in gardening. Generally speaking, things will catch up if you are late planting them. But at this time of year, there is a need to commit to the ground those plants dug up from nursery rows while dormant and planted bare-root –with no soil clinging to them.

When container-grown plants came to prominence in the early 1960s, the need to plant trees, shrubs and roses in the dormant season between November and March was alleviated.