Cultivating a beautiful garden by June - possible?

I am opening my bungalow to the public June this year, as part of an artists open houses event.

I am hoping to create something with a bit more character than it has currently - by June, and on a budget. I don't know if this is naïve of me considering plants take time to establish.

I have 4 areas to considerer.
- A small front garden which is currently very forgettable, dry soil and fairly wind swept.
- The indoors, I was considering growing some coleus from seed to breathe some life into the place.
- A small decking area which currently has a lone potted plant. I am thinking lots of hostas in containers and nice grasses. Its a fairly shady area.
- A back garden with 3 beds, one on each side. Has plants already but its fairly dull. I'm looking for something that I can plant now that will flower in June and brighten things.

I'm on a fairly tight budget, while exploring sites to buy plants from I came across one called J Parkers wholesale. Some of the prices seem to be incredibly reasonable compared to other sites. Has anyone heard of them?

I have seen a few plants that I like - aquilegia, Echinacea, choisya ternate, do you think these would work?

Also I have to consider containers, whats my best option on a budget? Let me know what you think, and other good suggestions.

 

Good evening Leyland,
I think that for budget / flower this season , you won't go far wrong if you look out for mini plug plants from either Supermarkets or Garden Centres. They will need a bit of extra TLC - a bit like prem babies but should provide some colour . To be realisitic - June's rather early to expect a garden full of colour.
Anyway, ever the optimist is a GC gardener - so browse away,

Jenny namaste

 

That's my thought too, particularly for anything grown from seed.

They won't be very big by June. Coleus have tiny seed, and initially grow very slowly. They will be just about getting going by June, but it will be July, or probably August, before they are looking good.

J Parkers do good, keenly priced, bulbs. Their plants tend to be on the small side (which is partly why they are cheap) so I think best suited to people on a budget who will grow them on (e..g in a greenhouse) to plant out later in the year - perhaps even with the intention of creating something for the following year. I don't think they are going to get you to where you want to be by June I'm afraid.

I wonder if your local Parks and Gardens might be able to help you with any surplus plants they may have? I don't know if your open-day is for charity, but if so maybe they would give you the plants for free? (Wishful thinking I expect!!)

 

Thanks for the suggestions Jenny Namaste, Armandii and Kristen. Its a good reality check, I was probably being overly optimistic with the goal of June. I can try my best and see what happens, and theres always next year.

 

Leyland. If you do order from Parkers, Alliums would be a good bet for June, Dwarf Gladioli also. Some of the most beautiful tulips are late-flowering..the Parrots and double-Lates like Angelique. Normally they'd be planted by now, but late planting might help to delay them for a critical couple of weeks! Asiatic Lilies would probably flower at the right time, too. If you want masses of colour, then bulbs are your best bet on a limited budget

 

Hi Leyland, welcome to the forum.

Where are you located? Is the art show in early or late June?

The main concern is that it should be tidy and weed free. You could invest in a small number of carefully chosen shrubs and cover any bare soil with bark chippings - Cost about £30?

As outlined above, coleus will be tricky. I would say that you do not need many plants as the art will be the star, but one or two large dramatic specimens would help to set the tone. You might be able to borrow them, or get them fairly cheaply at, say, IKEA - maybe £20? Alternatively, if you could get smallish pelargoniums in flower, for about £3 each, or other small flowering plants which are plentiful on sale at that time of year that might be nice.

Sounds perfect, although grasses wouldn't be all that big by June. If it's shady, go for hostas and ivies. How well-developed will hostas be by June? Will they be fully up? I can't remember! Will you have 3D art out there?- because that will take pride of place and you may only need a few plants. You could borrow some!

I would not spend a lot of money at places like Parkers because their plants are likely to be very small and almost certainly will not provide the display you want this year - although maybe next year! If the show is in late June then you might be able to get Asiatic lilies in bloom (not Oriental ones). They are in a red/orange/yellow colour range. You can buy bulbs fairly cheaply in mixed bags in places like Wilkos, they are easy to pot up and grow on. If you put them in pots you can arrange them strategically to liven up the boring bits. They also flower year after year.
Alternatively, visit a cheap local garden centre (NOT B&Q, Homebase, Wyevale or any of that ilk, it will cost a fortune) the week preceding the event and choose anything that's looking good and position strategically around the garden.
If the event is in late June, you could fill up gaps with fast growing stuff like morning glories, even runner beans, they are very decorative and only cost about 50p per plant or less.