Model and presenter Kelly Brook is unlikely to be the first person that springs to mind when you think of celebrity gardening aficionados. But her gardening knowledge is such that she hosts a dedicated slot on hit daytime TV show This Morning.
Today's episode saw Kelly inspired by the grounds of Great Dixter in East Sussex. Saying how the garden has made her rethink planting for her own lush landscaped gardens, of her charming 15th-century farmhouse mansion in Kent.
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Kelly Brook's gardening tips on This Morning
Kelly starts off by saying, ' Right now is the perfect time of year to be outside enjoying your garden. It doesn't matter how big or how small your space is, i'm going to be giving you some tips on how to get your garden dazzling in time for summer...
1. Create picturesque pot displays
Inspired by the garden she says how pot displays can break all the rules when it comes to planting arrangements. Kelly says a stunning pot display is a great way to achieve a 'Wonderfully atmospheric, picturesque garden.'
Speaking about the pot displays at Great Dixter she says, 'What's really clever about this pot display is that they've placed a succulent next to an Iris.' But why is that so unusual?
Kelly explains, 'The succulent is extremely drought tolerant whereas the Iris needs plenty of water. so you wouldn't necessarily see these two plants together – but in pots they work beautifully.'
The arrangement choices are endless with planting pots, because they don't have to bedded into the ground.
2. Pack it in when planting annuals
Now is the time of year to be thinking about planting annuals Kelly explains. She calls on Dixter's lead gardener Michael Wachter to share his top tips – 'Whether it be in the ground or a raised bed,' Kelly asks.
'People always think they need to have a lot of space in-between plants, to let them grow?' says Kelly. But Michael explains there's no need for spacing when it comes to summer plants.
'For a summer annual bedding you want it to be full, just a sea of orange basically', talking about the marigolds he's planting.
3. Rethink the order of mixed borders
The general rule of thumb when it comes to borders is to plant the higher growing plants at the back, and have them ascending. However Kelly, feeling inspired by the gardens, says that we should try planting in reverse – with taller garden varieties at the front.
'Here what they've done is put a beautiful Cow Parsley right at the front. And you can see how high it is but it's not obscuring anything – I love that, i'm going to steal that idea' she says gleefully.
The idea behind a mixed border is so that something is always flowering.
The 40-year-old loves nothing more than sharing images of her planting, potting and pruning endeavours with her 1.2 million Instagram followers
It mainly involved her imparting her wisdom on what was hot in the world of horticulture, covering plants and trendy garden buys.
Here's more from Kelly from a previous This Morning appearance...
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