Awapuni Nurseries' shirley poppies will add the splash of colour your garden has been longing for this winter. Plus, you can easily transfer that colour into your home as they make the perfect cut flower.

It's been a white couple of weeks - with record snowfall from the top to the bottom of the country. While there are certainly bright plants you can grow during winter, it tends to be quite a muted season - colour wise. So to mark the first official month of spring - and hopefully warmer weather - I'm going to tell you how to inject a shot of colour into your garden this September.

Awapuni Nurseries' shirley poppies will add the splash of colour your garden has been longing for this winter. Plus, you can easily transfer that colour into your home as they make the perfect cut flower.

They come in a range of colours and can be purchased from your local Bunnings, The Warehouse or supermarket or at our online store.

Shirley poppies grow to around 60cm high and love sheltered, warm, sunny, well-drained and dry conditions. So garden beds next to the house are the perfect planting spot because of the cover and protection the house provides.

Shirley poppies are also the perfect companion plant for roses, lavender or bearded irises, as they all love the same sunny, well-drained conditions. Don't have a large garden? Shirley poppies also look fantastic in pots.

Once you've found the right spot simply dig a little hole and plant. It pays to water them once they are planted, as this will help them get started. But after that they shouldn't require much watering. If you do think they need a drink be careful not to overhead water as they don't take kindly to it and can get squashed by wind or rain.

In around just four weeks you can expect a fantastic injection of colour into your garden. Remember, to de-head the flowers when they die, and they will keep flowering longer.

Eventually the plants will seed down and go dormant for winter. At this point, I'd recommend replanting the area with winter annuals like pansies. However, if you just leave the garden bed as it is, the poppies should re-grow next spring. But the colours may not be as bright as what you planted originally.