It's not too late to plant those Spring Bulbs.

Imagining a Spring garden without the magical colours of bulbs is like picturing a black and white rainbow - nothing lifts the heart on a dreary Spring day than the sight of beautiful flowers like daffodils or tulips shining out from the garden. And if you haven't yet planted your bulbs - don't worry there is still time.

Buying bulbs: When buying bulbs, be careful to check that they are in good condition. Choose firm, plump bulbs, avoiding any that are showing signs of mildew or damage. Don't worry if the skins are loose or missing - it won't effect there growth.

Get Planting: These bulbs and any others that you may have overlooked from purchases made earlier in the season should be planted straight away. If there is no specific recommendations on the packaging, the basic rule of thumb is to plant them at twice their own height, so a 5cm bulb for instance will need a 10cm planting hole. Bulbs like well drained conditions so if your soil is heavy, fork it over and add a handful of grit to each planting hole to prevent the bulbs from rotting.

These late planted bulbs should all give results, even if they are a little later than normal. You can use this to your advantage, extending your displays by the late planting of bulbs among those of the same variety that went in earlier in the season.

Time for Tulips: November is the perfect time to plant tulips They do not produce their roots until late autumn and prefer to go in cool soil. Tulips are the most versatile spring bulb of all, with a huge range of colours from bright primary shades to pastels. They also come in a whole host of different flower shapes. From early April to the end of May there should not be a day without flowering tulips bringing welcome colour into your garden.

hris's Gardening Tips for July

Chris Halsall, Director of Brookside Garden Centre, offers some topical gardening tips for July

BEDTIME FOR NAKED LADIES

What can we do to bridge that gap' in the garden during the coming autumn period when most of the summer flowering plants will be virtually finished?

I suggest you should consider introducing autumn flowering bulbs as a way of providing a splash of unusual colour to blend in with the autumnal shades of your trees and shrubs.

Bulbs are usually associated with spring and early summer, but the autumn flowering kinds are well worth growing. They offer the opportunity to bring shades of purple and pink, yellow and blue into the borders and among the autumn leaves and berries. The time to plant them is from now until late August, to produce flowers this autumn although you'll probably enjoy a better display the following year after they have become well established.

The bulbs you'll find most widely available are the autumn crocus, colchicums (often referred to as autumn crocus), hardy cyclamen and sternbergia, sometimes labelled as autumn daffodils.

Autumn crocuses can be naturalised in grass or beds and borders or even under trees and shrubs. They are also ideal for rock gardens or simply grown in tubs, window boxes or other patio containers. In the garden, if you leave them undisturbed, they'll multiply on their own within a year or two.

Colchicums are similar in appearance to, although less delicate than, autumn crocuses. You may find them variously described as meadow saffron, naked ladies and (surprise, surprise) naked boys! Producing shades of pink, purple or white, they can look quite dramatic in flower. Again, they are suitable for naturalising pretty well anywhere and if, like the more delicate autumn crocuses, you choose to grow them on your window sill, remember to plant them out afterwards.

Probably the most familiar hardy cyclamen is Cyclamen hederifolium which, planted now, will reward you with lovely reflex petalled flowers of warm pink and silvery green leaves which offer effective ground cover through to the following summer.

Sternbergia? Even though it may be called an autumn (or winter) daffodil, it more closely resembles a vivid yellow crocus to begin with although the rich green leaves which follow the flower are more like those of a daffodil.

Incidentally, yet another autumn blooming bulb, which most of us normally regard as an indoor plant boxed or gift wrapped, perhaps, for Christmas is the amaryllis. The striking Amaryllis belladonna (Belladonna Lily) produces a number of pink, scented star shaped flowers on 2ft tall stems from August through to October. But beware, it doesn't take kindly to the cold, so choose a sheltered spot for it, preferably facing south.

hris's Gardening Tips for June

Chris Halsall Director of Brookside Garden Centre, offers some topical gardening tips for June

SUMMER GUIDELINES

Help! A familiar cry from gardeners suggests that everything in the garden in June is far from rosy. The problem, they say, is that everything is coming together at once not least the emergence of various pests and diseases. How do we keep on top of the job, they ask, just at a time we were hoping to put our feet up and admire the fruits of earlier labours?

The enjoyment of gardening - but within reason! - is shared by millions. And June is a time when they begin to gain satisfaction from early season endeavours. But, unlike some more dedicated gardeners, they reach a point where they want to ease off.

It's at this point in the proceedings when your best course must be to concentrate on the essentials. Perhaps the best way I can help is to itemise what these might be as a guide for you to follow over the next two or three months.

Containers. Water hanging baskets daily in hot sunny weather. Feed regularly with one of the latest generation soluble fertilisers or opt for one of the even more convenient controlled release plant foods which gives stunning results from just one application for the whole season. Remove faded flowers to encourage new ones. The same guidelines apply to window boxes and other patio containers which dry out all too quickly in hot conditions. Make sure there is provision for good drainage.

Annual bedding plants. Again, regular watering in dry weather is all important and again I would recommend the use of high tech controlledrelease fertilisers to minimise the time you need to spend feeding the plants. Faded flower heads must be pinched off. Borders. Mulch is a most effective labour saver not least because weeds are suppressed. Applied when the soil is moist, this can take the form of a peat based material (or peat equivalent). Bark chipping achieve the same objective while giving a more attractive finish. Use canes or sticks to support tall growing plants. Again, cut of faded flower heads to stimulate further blooming flushes.

Roses. Some effort, I am afraid, is important here! You will probably need to spray to control mildew, blackspot and greenfly. Keep a lookout for suckers and remove them immediately. Feed with a proprietary rose fertiliser. Shrubs. To retain moisture in the soil and keep weeds at bay, we come back to mulching again. What I said about mulches in borders generally is just as relevant here.

Trees. Your main concern should be that trees receive enough water esoecially any newly planted ones.

Tomatoes. Single stemmed varieties need to be supported, and any side shoots must be pinched out. Regular feeding is essential, using one of the tomato plant foods on the market. Open flower trusses should be sprayed with water to help with fruit setting.

The lawn. Minimise the effort of feeding and weeding by applying a combined fertiliser and selective weedkiller. Also reduce the mowing effort in dry weather by raising the height of cut, which in turn will help to keep the grass greener.

hris's Gardening Tips for April & May

Chris Halsall, Director of Brookside Garden Centre, offers topical gardening tips for March

EXTRA EFFORTS BRING REWARDS

What priorities should we be setting for work in the garden this month now that spring is almost upon us, with all that entails?

March is a key month for gardening activities; the more you can achieve now, the more you will benefit later. Given a warm and friable soil, for example, seed sowing can begin in earnest, bringing forward the benefits of earlier colour and maturing vegetable crops. If, however, the soil is still wet and cold, postpone sowings until next month.

One way to speed up the warming process is to place sheets of polythene or cloches over areas to be seeded. After 2-3 weeks, the soil should be more conducive to seed sowing. Seeds to choose from include asparagus, broad beans, carrots, leeks, lettuce, onions, parsnips, peas, radish and spinach. Vegetable growing may be hard work, but the rewards can be tremendous. You will save money growing your own vegetables - especially the more expensive ones to buy, and home-grown veg. taste that much more tender and succulent.

If you don't have too much spare ground for vegetables, growing bags could be your answer - and even some fresh herbs can be enjoyed by growing them in containers or even window boxes. Fruit spray programmes begin this month, protecting your fruit trees from attacks by most insect pests and diseases. If necessary, ask at our garden centre how to go about this task.

For apples, pears and plums, start spraying at bud burst with a recommended general purpose insecticide. At the same stage, a suitable fungicide will benefit apples and pears, repeating the applications in line with manufacturers' label instructions.

Again, subject to ground conditions, begin sowing seeds of hardy annual flowers. What a tremendous choice is on offer, including alyssum, calendula, Californian poppy, cornflower, gypsophila, lavatera, nasturtium, night-scented stock and Virginia stock... to name but a few.

Some of the hardy perennials may also be sown now to provide flowers next year.

Half-hardy annuals require protection from frost, so these should ideally be raised in a heated greenhouse or propagator. If you have neither, you can still grow them from seed in a warm, well-lit place indoors, using one of the range of propagators on the market or a seed tray covered with a sheet of glass or plastic bag.

Pruning of roses should be completed by the end of the month, and it's a good idea to start spraying against rose pests and diseases, using suitable insecticide and fungicidal sprays. You can even carry out both operations using a 'combined' product.

Keep weeds at bay by regular hoeing, hand-weeding or the application of an appropriate weedkiller. This will make weed control much easier in the next few months.

March is also the month when your lawn care programme should be getting under way. So often the lawn is the most neglected area of the garden. This is a great shame, because it normally occupies the largest area, and an attractive, lush, green lawn provides the ideal setting for beds and borders. So make it a priority this year to care for your lawn; for a little extra effort, the rewards are enormous. Mowing really gets under way in March - assuming the grass is dry. Ensure that the mower blades are sharp and set them quite high (an inch to an inch and a half, to use old-fashioned terms!) A lawn fertiliser can be applied at the end of the month if conditions are suitable. Fertilisers with added mosskillers may also be applied, but if you wish to go for such a dual-action approach you should consider delaying these tactics until next month when the weeds will be more actively growing.

Sites for new lawns may be raked and levelled, ready for sowing in April. Raking in a general-purpose fertiliser a week or so before sowing grass seed will help the establishment of the new grass.