Container Gardening Part Two | The Final Steps

Container Gardening has been written by Linda Peppin of The Gardening Register on behalf of Notcutts. This is the second and final part of the article. Read Part One here.

Bringing Colour to your Garden during Spring

The trees and large shrubs above will form the backbone of your container garden and now that your backbone is in place you need to add some colour. This is extremely easy to do and keep going throughout the year starting with spring flowering bulbs and corms then moving onto summer bedding plants then autumn and winter colour with perennials.

I have a number of pots filled with spring flowering bulbs/corms which flower year after year with not much effort at all. There are many different spring flowering bulbs/corms available which vary in size from the tiny snowdrop to the larger daffodils and tulips so it is really just a matter of taste. You can choose to either plant one type of bulb per pot or mix them up; my preferred choice.

Different bulbs flower at different times throughout the season starting with snowdrops in January, through to Crocus in February and March and Daffodils in April then Tulips. There are also many other types of bulbs which flower at different times so you will always have something in flower from January through to May/June.

When buying your bulbs look for large, firm bulbs and always buy from a reputable source.

The first step is as above, getting the compost right, the same mixture works for me giving plenty of goodness for the bulbs to thrive. Place a layer of crocks in the bottom of the pot to aid drainage then add a deep layer of compost and begin layering your bulbs/corms.

The key to success with bulbs is to plant them three times the depth of the bulb; so if your daffodil bulb is 5cm long then you need to plant in compost at least 15cm deep ensuring the tops are well covered. Also ensure you have the bulb the correct way up. With most bulbs the bottom is flat and has small roots and the tops are pointy. Corms can be more difficult but the tops tend to be concave.

If you are planting a mixed pot then start with a layer of your biggest bulb, usually daffodils or tulips then work your way up the pot finishing with the smallest bulb in the top layer of compost.

When the bulbs have finished flowering do not cut down the growth. Sprinkle a couple of handfuls of blood, fish and bone meal onto the surface and water well. Move the pots to another part of the garden and just leave them until the following spring when they can be brought out to start all over again.

Every few years it is worth emptying the pots and allowing the bulbs to dry out, throw away any bulbs which are soft or rotted. In the autumn replant and add new bulbs to reinvigorate the display

Summer colour with Bedding Plants

Bedding plants are traditionally used during the summer months to temporarily fill gaps in beds and borders but they are also ideal for use in pots and are available in garden centres during late April/May.

The choice of bedding plants is vast so you will easily find something that you like based on a colour theme or the size or shape of plant.

Most bedding plants are Half Hardy Annuals which mean that they cannot survive cold, frosty conditions so think about this when buying your plants; some parts of the UK have frost well into May so check the weather forecast before planting out. You can always plant up your pots and leave them in a greenhouse until the risk of frost has passed.

Planting and caring for your bedding plants

• I use a general purpose compost with the addition of a slow release fertiliser to feed throughout the summer and water retaining granules to help cut down on watering
• Fill your container with the compost leaving a gap at the top to allow for watering and mulching
• Plant the bedding plants into the compost leaving a small gap between each plant, not much space is needed as they will look better knitted together
• You can use different plants in the same pot to make a nice display. Different heights look good; use the taller plants at the back of the pot working down to the smaller and trailing plants at the front 
• Cover the surface of the compost with a mulch of grit or slate to keep moisture in and weeds out
• Water well and keep well watered throughout the summer
• Remove spent flower heads (deadhead) regularly to encourage new flowers
• Once all the plants have finished flowering and the autumn approaches it is time to dispose of them, don’t waste them though, add them to the compost heap or add them to your green recycle bin

Using bedding plants in hanging baskets

• Hanging baskets are useful for adding a different dimension to your display, fix brackets to fences and walls to hang the baskets around the garden
• Treat hanging baskets like any other container but bear in mind that they will dry out a lot quicker than larger pots so will need additional watering and feeding

Autumn and Winter Interest using Containers

Dahlias are my favourite autumn flowering plant and they can do just as well in containers as they can in the ground bring much needed colour to your garden at this time of year. Other good autumn plants include Asters, Crocosmia, Echinacea and Rudbeckia and they will all do well in pots if cared for properly.

Using scented plants in containers means that you can position next to pathways or doors to make the most of the heady aromas, an ideal plant for this is Sarcococca confusa (sweet box), or use Lonicera × purpusii 'Winter Beauty' (winter honeysuckle) grown up an obelisk (add some fairy lights at Christmas time).

Adding hardy herbs such as Rosemary and Bay to your autumn pots will add extra interest and, if left by the kitchen door, will come in handy in the kitchen or why not plant small holly bushes in pots and place them either side of the front door for a seasonal display during Christmas, again, the addition of fairy lights will finish off the display.
This is just a few ideas for autumn and winter interest; if you see something you like growing in a garden, try it in a pot and see what happens!

Prepare the pots in the same way as you would for trees or shrubs and plant individually or in groups. Add a few small trailing Ivy plants around the base of the larger plants for added interest.

The compost will probably need replacing after a couple of years or the plants may need dividing but if you do this they should keep going for years.

Growing Vegetables in Containers

Not everyone has the room to grow vegetables at home so growing them in containers is an ideal solution. Any container will do from a nice terracotta pot, a plastic plant pot, odd tins or even thick plastic bags.

Just remember to put holes in the container to allow water to drain away easily and to add a layer of crocks in the bottom to that the soil doesn’t get waterlogged.

Prepare the compost mix using general purpose compost with plenty of well rotted garden manure to improve the structure.

Start with something easy such as carrots or onions or a salad crop such as lettuce and spring onions or even a few herbs such as basil and parsley. Experiment with different crops to see what works for you.

You can either sow seed onto the surface of the compost or buy plug plants. Seeds will need to be thinned out and may rot off but plug plants are more expensive.

Keep the containers well watered and feed throughout the growing season. Once the crop has finished you can use the pot for something else or put it to one side and use again the following season as long as additional new compost and manure is added.

Article produced by Linda Peppin of The Gardening Register

All photographs © The Gardening Register

Container Gardening Part One | The First Steps

Container Gardening has been written by Linda Peppin of The Gardening Register on behalf of Notcutts. There are two parts to this article where you can find all you need to know about container gardening.

I am a big lover of growing plants in containers and as I look out of my office window I must say that I think my garden looks so much better for having the container grown plants.

On my bottom patio I am growing a cherry tree (Prunus avium Stella) which is in its third year and looking great and Camellia x Williamsii Debbie which is around 12 years old. I also have a rose, two containers which have clematis growing up small obelisks, a low pot containing Dianthus amurensis and another with Astilbe Fanal (× arendsii).

Finally on that patio is a small water feature which I built last year and which gives me the opportunity to grow different types of plants such as Nymphaea pygmaea rubra, Lobelia Cardinalis, Cyperus eragrostis and Myosotis Scorpioides.

On my north facing patio I grow a number of trees including Acer Orange Dream which is bright green in summer and has lovely autumn colours, Witch Hazel (Hamamelis ‘Arnold Promise’) with its scented flowers in Spring, Cercidiphyllum japonicum or the Katsura Tree with is scent of candy floss in the autumn and finally Liquidambar styraciflua 'Worplesdon' one of the best trees for autumn colour.

All of these trees would soon outgrow my small garden so growing them in containers means I have the benefit of these amazing trees without the worry.

The Benefits of Growing in Containers

•    It makes it possible to grow much larger plants than you may be able to in your own garden as the pots keep the plants to a manageable size
•    It makes it possible to grow plants which require a different soil to that in your garden. If you can’t grown azaleas or camellias in your garden then filling pots with ericaceous compost means you can enjoy these lovely plants
•    It makes it possible to grow large plants nearer to the house to take advantage of highly scented flowers or for easy picking of vegetables or herbs
•    You can take advantage of seasonal colour and interest by moving the pots around or hiding some away when they colour or interest fades and bringing others out when they are at their best

How to Grow Trees and Large Shrubs in Containers

The main point to note about growing large trees or shrubs is containers is that they will not be able to find food or water for themselves so to keep them going for years it is worth spending some time on the preparation and planting process. Once established they will mainly look after themselves needing just an annual care regime.

As you can see by the specimens I am growing there is no restriction on what you can grow in a pot, I’m not guaranteeing that every tree and shrub will thrive in these restricted conditions but I always say if you like the plant then give it a go. I tend to buy small sized, young plants so that I don’t waste too much money if it doesn’t like it.

Choosing the right pot

•   I tend to buy “plastic” pots for the larger trees and shrubs for a few reasons; they are lighter and therefore easier to move around, they keep the soil moist for longer and they tend not to break up as quickly
•   There are lots of different types of “plastic” pots available from DIY stores and garden centres and many of them look like the real thing, particularly after they’ve weathered for a couple of years

Which planting medium?

•   A lot of articles you will read about planting in containers will say to use a loam-based compost such as John Innes No 3 but I tend to use a general purpose compost and add to it
•   Take 3 parts general purpose compost, one part grit or vermiculite to open it up and help with drainage and 1 part well rotted farmyard manure also add a handful of pelleted chicken manure and a handful of blood, fish and bone meal, this should be enough to keep the plant going through the season
•   If you are planting an acid lover such as azalea or camellia use ericaceous compost with vermiculite and a specialist ericaceous fertiliser

Planting up your pot

•   Before you begin you should place your new plant in a bucket of water for at least an hour to ensure the rootball is soaked through
•   Next is to position the pot in its final position as it will be very heavy when its full, also place the pot on pot-feet to raise it off the floor; this will help with drainage
•   To help keep drainage holes clear, aid drainage and help weigh down the pot a bit place broken up terracotta pots, bricks or large stones to the base of the pot
•   You want to aim to have the surface of the rootball at the same level it was in the original pot and a couple of inches below the rim of the pot so add enough compost to the pot to bring the rootball up to that level and firm well
•   If the rootball is compacted, gently tease out some of the roots to help it establish then place the plant onto the firmed compost
•   If you are planting a bare-rooted plant spread the roots out evenly across the firmed compost
•   Add more compost around the sides of the rootball ensuring the compost is pushed well into the rootball or roots and firmed down well
•   Once the plant’s rootball is totally covered give the whole pot a good watering; bring the water up to the rim of the pot and allow it to drain down into the compost until the water runs out of the bottom of the pot; use rainwater for your ericaceous plants
•   Next you should add a good thick layer of mulch to the surface of the compost, this can be manure, gravel or bark and will help keep weeds down and keep moisture in the compost

Ongoing care and maintenance

•   Keep the pot well watered for the rest of the season, this may mean watering twice a day during particularly hot spells; water until it runs out of the bottom of the pot
•  In the second and subsequent autumns sprinkle a handful of blood, fish and bone meal onto the surface of the compost, water in and cover with another thick layer of mulch
•  Most trees and large shrubs will not require pruning but if it is getting too big or out of shape then prune to shape in the Spring
•  Every 3 to 5 years remove the plant from the pot, gently tease out the roots and loosen the compost, trim any large roots and repot into fresh compost mix either into the same pot or a bigger pot

In the next instalment, learn more about planting for the seasons, as well as growing vegetables in containers.

Article produced by Linda Peppin of The Gardening Register

All photographs © The Gardening Register

Time to tidy!

My compost bins have worked very well since we started them a few years ago. I built three bins with slatted fronts that can be removed to take out the contents, on an earth base. They are sited under a thick Privet hedge, so stay quite dry for most of the year, but we do cover them with old pieces of carpet once they are full, to stop the compost becoming a soggy mess! Our local garden centre sells an activator and we add this to the layers every so often to speed up the rotting process. The bins are turned once a year and all of the rotted compost is used as mulch on the borders. I don’t think you can put too much mulch on borders; it helps to keep down weeds, conditions the soil without the need to dig and also helps to seal in moisture if applied after the spring rains. Mulch, mulch and mulch again as someone once wrote in a gardening column!

As well as garden waste, which needs to be chopped into small lengths if it is in any way ‘woody’, we add all of our vegetable peelings from the kitchen, shredded papers and some of the ash from the wood burner. Chicken manure and wood shavings are also added when I clean out my bantams and saw dust from cutting up logs rots down really well. 

This year, I am going to site a couple more water butts to save carrying water from our one outdoor tap to the outlying areas of the garden! The garden shed roof is a good place to start, so I need to put up some guttering to channel the rain off that. I may tap into one of the down pipes from the house roof in the front garden as well.

When the weather has been so wet, there seems little point thinking about saving water, but there is usually a dry spell at some point in the spring or summer and planted containers and hanging baskets don’t take long to dry out once they are established!

We have a very dry border near to the house in the back garden and planted a climbing Honeysuckle (Lonicera) there with an ornamental grape vine. Neither thrived to begin with; the Honeysuckle was always getting mildew and bad attacks of aphid, a sure sign that the plant was under stress. We decided to lay some leaky pipe irrigation around the base of the plants and during dry weather, crack the outdoor tap and leave it on for a few hours a couple of times a week. The improvement in the plants’ health has been amazing and last summer, the Honeysuckle was full of golden yellow flowers that contrasted beautifully with the claret purple leaves of the grape vine. Once I have tidied the Border Cranesbills (Geranium) that grow under the climbers, I will top dress the area with pelleted chicken manure and mulch to save as much valuable moisture as I can!

Mr McGregor

Early Colour

The mild weather has meant that many plants are beginning to flower earlier than usual in our garden. We have already had the ‘Rinjveld’s Early Sensation’ Daffodils  flowering in November and now my Lenten Roses (Helleborus x hybridus) are rearing their beautiful heads, crowning the handsome deep green leaves below. We have a particularly striking apple green seedling that is covered in strong bud branches and about to show off the freckled flowers with matching fluffy stamens that complete the picture.

 All this activity has encouraged me to begin tidying up my borders, although I am wary that we could still get a spell of hard weather. At the moment, plants are suffering from wind scorch on their unseasonally soft growth rather than frost damage, which has been the case for the past three winters! Tender plants such as Penstemon and hardy Fuchsias may look scruffy but all of the old growth will need to remain for another month or two if I can bear it! Never the less, the borders are taking on a different feel as the green shoots of Daffodils and Snowdrops begin to pierce through the soil, along with the perennials  Crocosmia ‘Lucifer’, Hemerocallis (Day Lilies) and Pulmonaria ‘Blue Ensign’. Pulmonarias are such useful plants for shade and early colour – often starting to flower in January and February, when there is usually very little apart from evergreens to give interest.

Evergreens are the furniture of the garden and still give the most interest at the moment. The Myrtle (Luma) that I planted as a cutting from my grandmother’s garden years ago is now a huge tree. The tiny, deep green leaves are very wind proof and the bark is now mature enough to take on a beautiful cinnamon colour despite the local cats using it as a scratching post! Of course, plants that are known as ‘semi evergreen’ such as Abelia and shrubby winter flowering Honeysuckles have also kept their leaves because of the mild weather and we even have a semi evergreen climbing Honeysuckle Lonicera ‘Halliana’, in flower! The Hebes in the front garden have made pleasing, evergreen mounds and one has fluffy white flower clusters, which are more usually out in late summer, when they attract butterflies and moths.

 My Miscanthus grasses have looked amazing all winter; their leaves and stems bleached out to faded browns and the skeletons of the feather duster flowers hung on until the last vicious gale that we had stripped them bare. There are already plenty of new shoots coming up from the ground, so I have removed the old growth and chopped it up into short lengths for the compost heap.

One of the bins is ready to be turned and the compost closest to the base is rotted enough to use as mulch over any bare soil as I tidy the borders. This really does help to keep the weeds down and will help to protect my Crocosmia clumps if hard weather does threaten the soft shoots that are appearing. 

Mr McGregor

Find pleasure in garden visiting

Penhurst PlaceFind pleasure in garden visiting has been written by Sandy Felton of Reckless Gardener on behalf of Notcutts.

Gertrude Jekyll once commented that “gardens are perhaps the most ephemeral of all art forms, for they are an ever-changing tapestry of colour, form and texture, a seemingly never-ending parable of life, death and immortality.”  What is it about a garden that makes us want to visit? Why do gardeners, and indeed many who do not or cannot garden, find fascination in visiting the creation of others’?

I have spent my life visiting gardens across the UK, Europe and Canada and each time I visit I have the same feeling of anticipation. What will I find? Will I like it? Can I take away an idea which would work for me in my own garden?

Garden visiting is a great pleasure for even in the smallest, humblest garden, there is sure to be something of interest, an unknown plant, an unusual arrangement, a quirky pot or ornament. I have learnt to curb my anticipation a little because I know that not all gardens live up to their reputation, or in some cases sadly do not warrant the entrance fee. Fortunately, in my experience this has been seldom and indeed there are many gardens to which I could go again and again without ever getting bored or tired.

In the UK there are the large gardens which mirror generations of taste and diversity. They encompass every gardening style from English landscape to contemporary - Hidcote, Powis Castle, Sissinghurst, Alnwick, The Garden of Cosmic Speculation and Mount Stewart being just a few. But for  every great garden there are hundreds of others encompassing a variety of styles and design all challenging our various climatic conditions. In many respects we are spoilt.

Sissinghurst

Hidcote is a personal favourite of mine – I have visited on several occasions and each time found something new to appreciate. In some gardens there is a strong sense of the owner’s temperament or nature as at Highrove, the garden of HRH the Prince of Wales, an interesting and I think delightfully diverse garden. A garden, is after all, part of the soul of its creator and if you can feel something of the history, soul and spirit of a garden you are more than half-way there to appreciating what makes it tick.

The National Gardens Scheme is a wonderful organisation responsible for the opening of some 3,700 lovely gardens every year for charity. Many of these gardens are not normally open to the public so the famous Yellow Book printed each year with details of all the gardens is a valuable asset. Details on: http://www.ngs.org.uk

In time we may develop a leaning towards a favoured designer or gardener  – in my case Jekyll, Mawson, Tom Stuart-Smith, Cleve West, Beth Chatto and Christopher Lloyd. I love to find a Mawson garden I haven’t visited and rather as one would with a famous painter, contrast it with his other designs.

I never pass down a street without peering over the odd garden wall to see the magic which hopefully lays beyond. It is so sad that so many of our front gardens have been turned into concrete to provide for the ubiquitous motor car. The little book in my pocket is ever ready to note down a new plant or record a comment about a planting combination which has worked in a particular situation.

Then in the dark winter months it is a pleasure to sit and leaf through gardening books depicting those gardens which I have visited or to look at my own pictures of remembered days.

WallingtonI don’t mind weeds, I am happy with a variety of styles and I am not necessary ultra-critical of any particular garden. A garden is what the owner/gardener wants to make it and I have no problem with that – we garden for pleasure and if the garden brings pleasure to its creator then that is how it should be.

To gain an appreciation of different styles is one reason for garden visiting as it helps the gardener understand that no one particular style is necessarily right. My own preference for the cottage garden suits me and my garden, but I have no doubt that another owner might come along and completely redesign my little patch into a contemporary oasis of decking and stainless steel.

We should all take away something from a garden visit – it might be stimulation, a sense of belonging or a simple planting idea. We might be lucky to have a conversation with the gardener personally and share experiences – an added bonus.

Spring will soon be upon us and with it my quest for yet more gardens to start visiting - the list is already growing – wonder what I will find this year? Happy visiting.

Sandy Felton is features editor of www.recklessgardener.com

All photographs © Reckless Gardener

(Photographs – Sissinghurst, Penshurst Place and Wallington (NT) Northumberland