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With Mothering Sunday around the corner, Monty Don provides some timely inspiration for planting up a spring pot as a present.

Monty Don gets busy on the veg plot and takes the next step in planting up his new paradise garden. With Mothering Sunday around the corner, he also provides some timely inspiration for planting up a spring pot as a present.

We catch up with Frances Tophill, who is thrilled to have her own allotment this year. She shares her plans for the season ahead and makes a start on getting it shipshape. We pay a visit to the alpine house at RHS Garden Wisley to find out from the experts how they care for some of the smallest and most colourful spring gems.

29 minutes

Grasses from seed

Grasses from seed

Ornamental grasses add texture and movement to a border like no other plant. They look great in containers too, and often reach their peak in autumn when many other plants are past their best. If you haven’t had the pleasure of their company to date, then now’s the time to get some sown. Here are our top 10 recommendations to get you started.

Agrostis nebulosa (Cloud grass)
Anemanthele lessoniana (Pheasant grass)
Briza maxima (Greater quaking grass)
Carex comans 'Bronze' (New Zealand hair sedge)
Festuca glauca (Blue fescue)
Hordeum jubatum (Foxtail barley)
Lagurus ovatus ‘Bunny Tails’
Pennisetum villosum (Feathertop)
Miscanthus sinensis
Stipa tenuissima (Mexican feather grass)

(www.rhs.org.uk)

Mothering Sunday pot

Mothering Sunday pot

If you were inspired by Monty’s Mothering Sunday pot and fancy having a go yourself, we’d recommend buying as big a container as you can afford. Not only will it look more impressive, it’ll be less prone to drying out when the weather turns warm. Rather than have a jumble of colours, we’d also stick with a simple palette. Less is more as they say and this was certainly the case with Monty’s living bouquet. Here’s a list of the four plants he used.

Euphorbia x martini (Martin’s spurge)
Erythronium 'Pagoda' (Dog's tooth violet)
Narcissus 'Hawera' (Daffodil)
Primula veris (Cowslip)

(www.rhs.org.uk)

Credits

Role Contributor
Presenter Monty Don
Presenter Frances Tophill
Executive Producer Gary Broadhurst
Series Producer Sharon Fisher
Production Manager Caroline Morgan-Fletcher

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