Carol’s year-round container plan
Rather than lasting for just one season, with Carol’s simple tweaks container displays can be made into year-round focal points. Simply add and subtract seasonal treats to the permanent plants and get ahead with bulbs for easy impact.
Summer
This is the easiest season of all. Rather than having to put on your thinking cap, there are almost too many possibilities. Better perhaps to aim for one specific effect, keeping to pastel colours for a soft and stylish display or creating a tropical effect for drama. Several annuals, including dwarf cosmos and rudbeckias, can still be grown from seed, even in early June, and will flower from late summer into autumn. Dahlias are superb in pots and bloom endlessly (see my dahlia feature in the April issue – still available at bit.ly/GW-back-issues). Just deadhead regularly to prolong your display.
Autumn
You can replace early bloomers that are past their best with some late-flowering perennials. Try autumn asters, such as the superb and mildew-free Symphyotrichum novae-angliae ‘Purple Dome’. Sedums ( Hylotelephium), with their flat heads of rubypink flowers, come into their own now too, and grow well in containers. Both of these are magnets for butterflies. And while you’re planting them, pop in some spring bulbs too, such as cheery dwarf daffodils, positioning them as deep as three times the height of the bulb. Just delay planting tulip bulbs until November. Continue to feed with an organic liquid fertiliser and deadhead faded blooms.
Winter
Add plants that will provide both interesting foliage and flowers, while coping with the cold weather. Pretty pink or white cyclamen can be enjoyed at close quarters. For something unusual and edible, try rainbow chard, for coloured foliage and stems, or plain old leafbeet with its bright green leaves and white mid-ribs – it’s a bold companion to snowdrops. If you have willows or dogwoods elsewhere in the garden, harvest a few of the vibrant stems and push them into bare areas. Winter bedding, too, will fill gaps with vivid colour. And stop feeding until spring, as your plants need to just tick over rather than grow furiously.
Spring
Plant colourful primulas, bellis and fragrant wallflowers to mingle with your spring bulbs. Sow hardy annuals too, such as nigella and calendula, either directly in the container or start them off early indoors first. They’ll provide foliage initially, then begin to flower from late spring onwards. You can also add evergreen ferns and heucheras, which will look great right through the year. To give your plants a boost and ensure they can do their best, remove some of the old compost and top up with fresh loam-based compost.
At the same time, add small quantities of organic fertiliser, such as seaweed feed.