Dahlias are one of the stars of summer border, happily flowering until the first hard frosts. These hard working plants produce large, brilliantly colourful blooms for months on end. There’s a vast range of species / cultivars / varieties to choose from with flowers in almost every shade imaginable, some of which (for example, ‘Roxy’) are compact enough for containers. To get them going as early as possible, pot the fleshy tubers up in three-litre plastic pots filled with a good-quality compost and keep them in a bright, frost-free porch / conservatory / glasshouse or polytunnel to plant out in late May/early June once all risk of frost has passed. Dahlias are just one of the delights in our summer bulb offering here at The Orchard, other bulb/tubers include Lilies, Begonias, Gladioli.

• Time for growing your own potatoes and veg
• Varieties available for planting in containers or potato bags if space is limited or on patios/balconies

• Fabulous range of flowers and veg seed available
• We make it simple with a comprehensive range of trays, compost, propagators etc to allow everybody to grow successful plants from seed

• Summer bulbs take up a limited amount of space in the border but can make a huge blast of colour/ scent
• Time for planting Dahlias, Lilies, Begonias for flowering this summer

• Weeding, mulching and top dressing of containers can be done to freshen up.