Supports all the way!

Now the garden is in full growth with lovely lush greenery and colourful flowers, you need to ensure your plants are properly supported. Nothing is more frustrating than finding your elegant delphiniums have toppled over or your beautiful patch of cut flowers have flopped in the latest downfall. Once collapsed, plants are very diffcult to revive and so you need to get ahead of the game. Even many of the veg you grow will need some sort of support eg. tomatoes, peas, beans, squash to name but a few.

If you're feeling creative, have fun playing around with bendy sticks of willow or birch to create wigwams and domes to support Dahlias, Sweetpeas and Napeta. Otherwise, there are plenty of commercial options available from garden canes, architectual metal cages and stakes to wooden obelisks and trellises. Patches of Cosmos and Zinnias can be grown through jute netting laid out horizontally over upright wooden supports and peas can scramble up through vertical twiggy branches.

Ideally these supports work best when set up in early Spring before there is significant growth. That way, the plant will grow naturally and will eventually hide its support, but will remain upright and strong.

(Above)

Jute netting is used to support Zinnias. Garden canes are used here to support Tromboncino and runner beans. Jute netting and canes are used to allow Sweetpeas and Cardiospermum to scramble up.

Coppiced wood is used to build a chunky squash frame, whilst tiwggy birch is wound together to support this climbing Thunbergia.