COLUMN - Melton In Bloom with Marie Walters

Time to think about winter floral bedding displays and ordering spring-flowering bulbs.

With the benefit of some recent rain, plants have begun to recover from this year’s drought, and this is the perfect time of year to replace any losses, as the soil is still warm enough to help plants settle in.

Large clumps of perennials can be dug out and split; making new plants for free.

When re-planting, or moving items, add some compost to provide extra nutrients and aid water retention.

‘Puddle’ the plants in, then water again once the soil is levelled.

Mulching should be carried out later this winter, when the soil is quite wet.

Our volunteers have been catching up with work at St Mary’s Church.

We had to delay a mass pruning of shrubs until now, due to the drought.

Recent rain has also enabled us to weed more easily.

The shrubs look a lot tidier now, and the pruning will encourage new, bushier growth.

In the Heritage Garden’s Jubilee Bed, Euonymus Emerald Gaiety shrubs are trimmed annually into neat little cushions, and give the bed some lovely structure, all the way round.

The same shrubs, in the Rainbow Border at St Mary’s, were rather overgrown, so they had a very sharp haircut, which has left them with a lot of bare-looking stems.

These will gradually re-sprout and look all the better for being pruned.

We have enjoyed seeing the lovely town centre floral displays over the summer, which are still looking quite eye-catching and sunny, as pictured in our photograph here.

The gorgeous tall, yellow Canna lilies in the octagonal planters have added an extra dimension to the planting, and can be reused next year for other locations.

Speaking of next year, January will mark Melton in Bloom’s 20th anniversary, so we hope to have some special events throughout the year, to celebrate all of our achievements during that time.