This time of year brings with it a sense of cheerful anticipation when we are greeted with displays chock - full of bedding at the garden centre.

'Bedding' refers to those plants, which are used in hanging baskets, containers and as colourful "fillers" in the garden.

They are mainly tender annual plants, having a limited life span, usually until the cool weather begins in the autumn. However while they are with us they provide months of beautiful colour and much visual pleasure. We have all recently experienced the rapid changes in the weather - almost summer-like one day and yet very cold, wet and windy the next!

This type of weather is anathema for tender bedding plants so be careful not to be not to be lulled into a false sense of security. The end of May is generally considered to be the time when all risk of frosts has passed and it is at this time that bedding plants can be placed outside.

However do remember to "harden off" the plants - give them daily exposure but return them to their previous habitat such as the greenhouse at night for about a week. This will ensure that they become gradually and safely acclimatised.

If planting bedding in the garden dig the soil over gently and if it's in need of improvement add horse manure compost or composted bark as soil conditioner. This will help to retain moisture and nutrients for the plants.

Ideally mix in a controlled Ð release fertiliser such as Miracle Grow or Osmocote, which will feed the plants for six months. This type of controlled Ðrelease plant food is often mistaken for slug eggs but the difference is that the plant food is a yellow/brown in colour whilst slug eggs are white! This type of food is actually very clever and only releases essential nutrients as the soil warms up, matching the needs of plants as they grow.

Give the plants a thorough watering whilst still in their trays and pots the night before planting, to ensure they have had a good drink ready to tolerate root disturbance and re-planting.

Select plants to suit the conditions that your garden offers. Busy Lizzies (Impatiens) and fibrous Begonias enjoy shady areas as will pansies, Canterbury Bells, Lobelia and Coleus.

In hot sunny spots choose Diascia "Katherine" with its shell Ð pink profusion of flowers framed by silver-edged foliage. Like its 'sister' D. "Sunchimes", these compact beauties offer non-stop flowering from May through October and will over-winter in milder, well-drained locations although it is safer to place them in a greenhouse if you want to keep them for the following year.

Select some of the gorgeous scented Violas such as "Maggie Mott" a lilac-blue flower, or "Colombine" with its pink - purple flashing on its petals. The old favourite "Snapdragon" (Antirrhinum) takes a new twist with "Dwarf Chimes", a small compact plant in yellows, pinks and reds suited to full sun or partial shade.

The early flowering Nemesia denticulata "Confetti" has highly fragrant non-stop flowers from May to September and where N. "Sundrops" with a choice of yellow, orange, pink and white colours, prefers a well-drained sunnyspot.

Try filling out a border with pink spray Chrysanthemum with its small double, semi-double or single flowers. It rarely needs attention and can flower as late as November - what a treat!

Of course it would be difficult to forget the ever popular Surfinia, Geraniums, Alyssum, Ageratum, Verbena, Marigolds and Fuchsias for tubs, hanging baskets and borders.

When planting into containers remember to mix water retaining crystals into the compost prior to planting. Wherever you plant, water the bedding in thoroughly to help settle the soil or compost around the plantÕs roots.

If you prefer to use a liquid feed, spray over the foliage and root area regularly for maximum benefit.

Regular dead-heading faded blooms will ensure the plants put all their energy into producing more flowers rather than setting seed.

Should aphids or whitefly become a problem spray with Bug Clear, which contains bifenthrin to ensure you put a stop to these sap-sucking pests. However remember to always read the label of any treatments and to use pesticides safely.

The garden centre can offer a huge range of summer bedding plants and a myriad of containers to plant them in from beautiful terracotta, glazed pots, hanging baskets, mangers, troughs and tubs - the choice is almost endless - and so too will be the colourful displays, which will grace your garden this summer!