Gardening in pots and containers is the savour of many a London small space.
You can turn a patio or small yard into a little idyll with a choice selection of plants in pots. The possibilities know no bounds - you can grow fruit and vegetables and herbs in them as well as flowers and climbers.
They can be as simple as you like; what could be nicer than a cluster of terracotta pots with geraniums? Well, pelargoniums if you’re being fancy. When you’re working with paved-over surfaces, pots are the easiest way to green a space. Bear in mind that plants in pots need extra watering and feeding to compensate for restricted root growth and compost that dries out quickly.
I’d go for terracotta pots myself, which you can line with other material like used compost bags to prevent excess evaporation. For roses, they need to be quite large. Drainage is crucial, so check that you’ve actually got holes in the base. Ideally, put crocks, smashed up flowerpots or shards of ceramics or stones at the bottom to keep them from getting congested. Fill the pot almost to the brim with good all-purpose peat free compost. Homebase does a very good all-purpose compost, while Dalesfoot compost is especially good for pots with good water retention, made from sheep wool and bracken.
Then add your plants. If you’ve got several, plant two or more species in combination as it makes for the most interesting spectacle. Then put them much closer together than you would in a garden bed, without packing them right on top of each other. Try to include something trailing to soften the edges of your pot. If you’re planting a rose or a shrub, consider sprinkling the planting hole with mycorrhizal fungi granules to help it establish itself quickly.
And don’t forget to water well and water often.
There are umpteen possibilities for planting in pots; here are a few suggestions.
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Runaway Bride hydrangea
This is a new and lovely hydrangea plant, spotted at the Chelsea Flower Show in 2018. It’s perfect for pots, very floriferous, and the snowy lacecap flowers run right the length of the stem.
Buy now £26.97, Gardening Express
Lord Bute pelargonium
When is a geranium not a geranium? Why, when it’s a classy pelargonium. And few are classier than Lord Bute, which has the most sophisticated dark crimson flowers. Put several together, either in individual terracotta pots or in one large one, for a very elegant effect. And bear in mind that these plants are unbelievably easy to propagate; just stick a cutting in water until it roots, then plant on.
Buy now £12.95, Sarah Raven
Parisian Chic Tulip and Wallflower Collection
Sarah Raven does very good container collections, so you don’t have to think about what goes with what. The Parisian Chic is very classy, light and pink. It is made up of a ‘Sugar Rush Purple Bicolour’ wallflower, a beautiful coral tulip known as ‘Menton’, and for the edges of the pot, Sarah Raven’s signature and eponymous spiky tulip.
Buy now £39.95, Sarah Raven
Daphne Perfume Princess
So…you want scent in your garden, do you? Well be careful what you wish for, because the Daphne Perfume Princess will blow you away. It’s a new hybrid, with larger than normal blooms and a heady scent – one sprig should scent a room.
Buy now £18.97, Gardening Express
Eustacia Vye, English Shrub Rose
For a beautiful rose, look no further than this very pretty pink one with lovely ruffled petals and a strong fruity fragrance. It’s healthy and vigorous and will thrive in a pot. Or if you can handle a rose with a less strong growth but a most graceful shape, one of the loveliest is Desdemona, in creamy white.
Buy now £27.45, Amazon
Magnolia stellata
Most magnolias are huge, right? Well this version isn’t exactly dwarf – it grows to 3-4 metres – but it is suitable for pots, with very pretty, ragged starry white flowers. It flowers March to April, but worth getting in now.
Buy now £26.24, Crocus
Phlox drummondii 'Crème Brûlée'
We fell head over flower pot for these delicate, crème brûlée-toned Phlox Drummondii. Each of the flower blooms show off a slightly different, warm and coffee-toned petal with white streaks on the inside. They’ll flower from June all the way up until late September.
Buy now £1.87, Sarah Raven
Pansy 'Frizzle Sizzle Yellow Blue Swirl' (Frizzle Sizzle Series) Pansy 'Frizzle Sizzle Yellow Blue Swirl'
Pansies are a decidedly English flower, though we’re not entirely sure why. Perhaps it has something to do with the dancing pansies in Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Nevertheless, they also make a fantastic plant for a garden pot. We adore the classic yellow and blue swirl on these pansies, which reminds us so much of Lewis Carroll’s seminal novel.
Buy now £2.47, Crocus
