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To ensure a display of fragrant wallflowers next spring, sow the seeds in the following fortnight.Wallflowers germinate readily if directly sown in shallow drills in a well-prepared seedbed. Make sure the ground is not cloddy and that the soil is moist below the surface.

Sow thinly along the row and expect the seedlings to show in a couple of weeks.

If necessary, irrigate the ground afterwards, but take care not to disturb the seedlings.They should grow into stocky, well-branched plants. You can also raise wallflowers from seed sown into little pots or seed trays. Grow these on in larger containers.

The young wallflowers will be ready to plant out where they’re to flower in October. They’ll provide colour and fragrance from late March to the end of May.

Old-fashioned tall varieties such as blood-red Vulcan, creamy yellow Ivory and flamecoloured Fire King are brilliant for bedding.Erysimum Bowles Mauve and Apricot Delight are attractive companions. For softer hues Aurora is a pretty salmon and Persian Carpet a mix of warm shades. These varieties have full perfume – as important to me as the colours.

TOMATO CARE

Greenhouse tomato plants should be growing fast.If raised as single-stem cordons, they’ll need supporting canes or twine. Tie the delicate young plants to their supports using soft jute string.

Pinch out any side-shoots, but take care not to bruise the stem.

Feed with general fertiliser, such as Miracle-Gro All Purpose, until the first trusses begin to flower.Then switch to a high potash feed such as Tomorite or Homebase Tomato Feed.

Bush tomato varieties are better for growing outdoors. Protected plants will be safe to put out after May 21, but only if the weather is warm.Tomatoes can be killed by the lightest frost.

READER’S QUESTION

My beautiful lilac, planted three years ago, was covered in buds, but ruined by frosts last month.Now the buds and young leaves have turned black or are distorted. Will it recover, or should I replace it?

Mrs B. Dobson, Doncaster.

Poor you, losing this year’s show.But common lilac is hardy – even though flowers and leaves can be coaxed into early growth, then zapped by late April frosts.

Your plant should recover and could produce a bumper flower crop next year, as it compensates for this spring’s loss.

Take no action yet and allow the plant to produce new shoots.When these emerge, remove the destroyed flowers and dead leaves. Cut these off just above the uppermost healthy shoots.

PLANT OF THE WEEK 

LABURNUM

You may have noticed that amazing picture of Bodnant Garden’s gigantic laburnum tunnel in a recent edition of this paper.Few have room for such magnificence, but in times past, almost every front garden boasted a laburnum tree. They’re not so abundant now, but the best variety by far is Laburnum x watereri Vossii.

The flower stems can reach 60cm.Laburnum seeds are poisonous, but this variety is almost sterile so seed is not produced. If you haven’t space for a laburnum tunnel, a single tree could be trained over an arch or allowed to stand in a border. Laburnum prefers full sun and free-draining soil.

Thereafter, your plant will recover.

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