Create Cottage Garden Colour with Canterbury Bells

Create Cottage Garden Colour with Canterbury Bells

I often use the term cottage garden when describing the type of garden a particular flower might best suit. I actually use the term so often it’s easy to forget that others – particularly those new to gardening – might not know what I mean by it. So, I thought I’d start off this article by explaining that ‘cottage garden’ typically implies an informal garden with dense and ‘messy’ plantings (a mixture of floral and edible) that are often fragrant.

For those wanting to create this type of effect look no further than Awapuni Nurseries cottage garden mixed bundle of seedlings. It includes a mix of seasonal flowers like antirrhinums (snap dragons), carnations, love in the mist and pansies which combined together create a lovely cottage garden feel.

Another plant I like to grow when trying to create this type of whimsical feel in a garden, is Canterbury bells. This biennial (they flower for two seasons and die down in between) grows to around 80cm high and produces beautiful, as the name suggests, bell shaped violet, purple and pink flowers.

It’s perfect for planting around fences or borders and with delphiniums, hollyhocks and snapdragons because of the height it grows to. The fence or border will help support it as it grows taller. Otherwise you can simply stake it if needed. Canterbury bells also grow well with roses (another cottage garden flower) because it likes the same sunny conditions.

Pick up some Awapuni Nurseries Canterbury bell seedlings from your local supermarket, The Warehouse, or Bunnings. Alternatively, head to our online store at www.awapuni.co.nz and have them delivered direct to your door.

When you’ve picked the perfect spot to plant, dig in a little compost and a well-balanced fertiliser. This will help give your seedlings the right nutrition for a good kick-start.

Then plant your seedlings around 20cm apart from each other and spread some mulch and pea straw around. Lastly, watch out for slugs – they can be fans of these pretty flowers. Because they grow quite tall, Canterbury bells take a while to mature. You should see them start to flower in around early summer or Christmas time. And if you don’t see them flower when you expect to, keep waiting – they will get there.

ENDS

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