Plant this If you like your blooms dark and moody, the black iris (Iris chrysographes) is the one for you. Plant it in a sunny, damp part of the garden – next to a pond, say – and it will produce velvety, midnight blue to black blooms with gold veining in May and June. Height and spread: 50cm x 50cm.
Hear this Tune in to new podcast Pot And Cloche while you get on top of the weeding. The host, Cotswold-based horticulturist Joff Elphick, speaks to head gardeners and growers about their plant passions.
Cut this Elderly rosemary bushes can get sparse and woody, but now’s the time to take cuttings. Snip off lengths of healthy stem at least 10cm long, remove the lower leaves, then push into moist seed compost and cover with a clear plastic bag, or root in a glass of water. Within a couple of months, you should have baby plants to replace your spindly specimen.
