Three ways to enliven your garden for spring

Spring is in the air and gardens everywhere are showing signs of new life. Plants are budding, shoots are popping through the soil, and spring-blooming trees are flushing with colour. It’s the perfect time to hit the nurseries for some seasonal inspiration. Here are three ways to enliven and add some magic to your garden.

Add spring colour

One of the quickest ways to get your spring flower fix is with what’s known in the trade as ‘potted colour’. These are advanced annuals and perennials already in bloom that are ready to go into a larger pot, hanging basket or garden bed. Top options for spring colour include annuals such as petunias and pansies, bulbs such as mini daffodils and tulips, and perennials of all sorts.

Flowering fence

Festoon your fence and cover the shed by planting spring-flowering climbers. Look for ones already in bloom, including Clematis montana, jasmine, star jasmine, climbing roses, ivy geranium or allamanda, to plant for instant effect (and for repeat flowers each spring). You can attach horizontal wires to a fence, or erect a wire or lattice trellis to give climbing plants the support they need, while still allowing access to the fence for maintenance.

Edible hedges

If you have the space, consider planting a hedge – spring is the perfect time. There are your regular hedge choices, such as photinia, viburnum, pittosporum or conifer, but why not branch out with an edible hedge? Dense but productive evergreens, such as goji berry, coffee, pepperberry and lillypilly (especially varieties of Syzygium spp. or Acmena spp.), can create hedging that works as both a screen and a prolific plant. Pepperberry, a native to southern Australia, needs both male and female plants for berries to form.

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