As the builders take over the back garden, GINA PARKINSON decides her forecourt is in dire need of a floral makeover.

THE building work on our house is well on the way - the builders have been with us for six weeks - and the back garden is drowning under a sea of wheelbarrows, bricks, planks and a concrete mixer. The incoming tide has been gradual and only now do I realise how much has disappeared under the tools of their trade. Those plants that have made it are generously coated in a layer of dust, as are the rest of the house and the occupants.

Seeing my need to get my hands into the soil last weekend my husband suggested a trip to a nursery where my son chose some plants for Mother's Day and I bought a few trays of pansies to brighten up the front garden. This is the typically small area to be found in front of terraced houses built a hundred or so years ago but there is room for a flower bed and plenty of space for a hanging basket and a container by the front door.

My Mother's Day present included a small Photinia fraseri 'Red Robin' and two pots of grape hyacinth, some already blooming, others just pushing up a flower stem. 'Red Robin' is a very attractive shrub that will eventually grow to 2.5 metres or so with beautiful bright-red new foliage in spring that matures to deep green. Mine has been planted in a large terracotta pot by the doorstep with the grape hyacinths, dark blue pansies and a couple of deep red wanda primulas that contrast beautifully with its red leaves. The hosta that fills the pot for the summer is just coming through, the large pale variegated leaves and lilac flowers will extend the season of interest well into August and the primulas and pansies will be replaced with tender bedding once they have finished flowering.

The basket that hangs by the front door had been forgotten all winter and was looking very much worse for wear, filled with the crisp brown remains of lobelia and fuchsia. Some other plants had survived, a small convolvulus, golden lamium and creeping geranium were beginning to sprout so these were potted up but the lining fell to bits when the basket was emptied. I also realised that, even with a new lining, the pansies bought to fill it were too large to push through the sides. A trip to the nearby DIY centre was needed for some market research into an alternative and I came back with a new basket made from woven stems and bark. It is ready lined and has a square top with sides that taper to a point, like an upside down pyramid. The sides are solid and need no plants which makes the job very simple but lots of plants are needed to fill out the top - I used 12 good sized pansies in shades of blue to echo the plants in the container.

Swept path and washed paintwork completed the picture and only the rubble-filled skip gives a hint to the chaos behind the front door.

Weekend catch-up

Dig up overgrown clumps of snowdrops, especially if they flowered poorly this winter. It may be because they are overcrowded and need dividing. Snowdrops dislike being disturbed but it is sometimes necessary. Lift the clumps carefully and prise the bulbs apart causing as little damage to the roots as possible. Dig the area to be planted over and replace the bulbs 8-10cm apart. Leave the foliage intact and allow it to die back naturally.

Updated: 09:44 Saturday, April 05, 2003