NATURAL FLAIR

Simplicity is often the key to a successful scheme. In this case I have chosen three plants that adore full sunshine and flower all summer long. They all have a very natural, simple feel and work well with the utilitarian well bucket. The bucket was a real find in an antiques centre and I love it for the simplicity, colour and the texture of the wood and metalwork. It immediately reminded me of a beautiful old well I found when hiking in Tuscany. It was surrounded by similar plants, and this container will bring back those beautiful memories every time I look at it.

How to achieve the look

Verbena officinalis var. grandiflora ‘Bampton’, a much more compact form of the widely used Verbena bonariensis, flowers all summer long on tall racemes. Its purple leaves are similar to those of Brachyscome ‘Magenta Delight’, which links the planting beautifully. I’ve added Erigeron karvinskianus ‘Kew Profusion’, a sun lover that self-seeds freely in any gaps in paving or walls. Its flowers are similar to the brachyscome, but start off white and develop a pink hue as they mature.

Wooden containers have a warmer feel than terracotta, stone or lead and develop an appealing patina as they age. You can paint them in any colour, but for this combination I prefer the natural look. I drilled three 6mm holes and covered them with crocks and a layer of horticultural grit. In this case I used John Innes No.2 with additional grit for drainage, which will give the plants enough nutrients for the season. You could feed the planter with some liquid fertiliser to achieve lush foliage and growth, but I think this combination will work very well without additional food. Some deadheading would be beneficial to tidy up the plants and prevent excessive self-seeding, but all in all, this is a very low-maintenance combination of plants.