If you were lucky enough to receive a garden gift for Mothering Sunday or if you treated yourself from the selection of spring offerings and gifts available in stores, you might now be wondering what to do with your plants.

Most plants sold in flower at this time of year will have been raised in greenhouses. They need to become accustomed to the overnight temperatures slowly, and, if still in pots, would benefit from being left in a sheltered spot if the temperatures drop below 3 Celsius again. Bringing them indoors overnight for a week or so is a good plan.

If you were lucky enough to be gifted potted bulbs like the hyacinths pictured then you can speed them up by putting them on a sunny windowsill or slow them down by putting them in an unheated room. For a touch of class, put them in a bathroom or downstairs loo where they’ll be a natural air freshener for a couple of weeks. Alternatively, pot them on an put them on an outdoor table where they will look elegant for much longer. Either way, plant them out in the garden once they have flowered and they will return to delight you every year.

To make the most of the cute dianthus, pot it into an attractive planter and keep it outside. Remove its flowers to help it establish a better root system and look forward to its pretty blooms over Easter. Once the weather’s warmed up take some cuttings and you’ll have plants like this to enjoy all over the garden.

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