Posted: 13 August 2023
Author: Luke
Katy is a core member of our plant area team, and has been with us since early 2020. You’ll often find her with a watering can in hand, caring for our house plants, planting up arrangements or creating plant displays with the team. She also looks after our Kitchen Garden too.
Katy is always on hand around the centre to offer plant advice. We’re almost certain she’s got one of everything in her garden at home – A true plant enthusiast! Also, if you’re out and about the centre with your dog, be sure to say hello to Katy – she welcomes them with lots of fuss.
Katy’s Favourite House Plant:
Part of our House Plant buying team, she is always on the lookout for new and exciting plants to bring in. It can be so hard to choose, but her favourite at the moment has got to be Maranta and Chinese Evergreens. They’re both easy to care for, fuss-free plants. The Maranta is in fact her most recent plant purchase, not one but two varieties – The Fascinator and Exclusive Dark, both photographed below.
Maranta’s make for great hanging plants, they have a natural spreading habit which makes them perfect for a shelf. They like bright but indirect light, as do many other house plants and thrive best in a humid space.
Katy’s Favourite Summer Flowering Perennial:
Katy’s favourite summer flowering perennial is Anemones. She has two varieties flourishing in her garden at the moment – September Charm and Honorine Joubert, both pictured below.
Anemones are great for late summer colour, you shouldn’t need to cut them back until late Autumn if you keep deadheading. They’re fairly low maintenance and can grow in most soil conditions, just make sure it has good drainage. They’re perfect for a cottage garden theme!
Katy’s Favourite Bulb:
She has a love for all things allium, but particularly Purple Sensation. It’s a good all-rounder when it comes to bulbs: nice height, shape and colour. They also look great in a group!
Allium bulbs need to be planted in early to mid autumn – so we would recommend planning to plant these in early October. Alliums are spring flowering, which means they can be planted at the same time as daffodils, tulips and hyacinths.
Here is a snapshot of alliums growing in Katy’s garden:
Katy’s Top Tip for going into Autumn:
Start to cut down on watering your house plants, as the weather turns cooler they tend to retain moisture better. A good rule of thumb is to check the first inch of soil, if it’s dry, they are likely to need a top up.