Alan Titchmarsh offers advice on ripening tomatoes in 2013
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Spring is known as the best time for flowers to bloom – but what about planting? There are plenty of bright, colourful flowers for your garden that can still be planted now – and can possibly still live beyond the spring and summer season.
Oriental Lillies
Oriental Lillies in particular are good for planting in your spring garden and come in an array of outstanding colours, from bright fuchsias to yellows and reds.
Oriental Lillies in particular thrive in acid soils, so should be grown in containers of ericaceous compost.
They need a sunny spot in the garden to thrive, with their roots in rich, moist soil or compost.
Borages
While technically a herb, borage plants produce bright blue star-shaped flowers that last until autumn.
They only take a matter of weeks to mature, which means even if you plant them in late spring, they will still bloom in time for the summer months.
Borage plants produce these beautiful flowers and are surprisingly easy to grow in comparison to many outdoor garden plants.
Snapdragons
Snapdragon hybrids come in pastel and bright shades
They are available in a variety of colours, including white, yellow, pink, red, orange, peach, purple and violet.
Choose unified colours and plant together for the best effect.
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Pot Marigolds
Pot Marigolds range from bright yellows to deep oranges and are a perfect summer plant.
Plant them in beds or pots after all risk of frost has passed, in good soil and in a sunny spot.
Water during drier spells, and remove dead heads to extend flowering throughout the summer.
Sunflowers
The king of summer plants, sunflowers are obviously the tallest and some of the brightest flowers to bloom at any time of the year.
Sunflower seeds should be planted from April to May- most varieties mature in 85 to 95 days if they are planted in nutrient-rich soil, and tend to thrive best in more alkaline soil.
The tallest sunflower ever recorded was grown in Germany in 2014 – measuring a stunning 30 feet and one inch tall!
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