Monty’s perfect POTTED PLANTS
Now’s the time to start planning and planting containers for a fabulous summer display, says Monty Don, in the f irst part of his essential new series
HOWEVER small your garden and whatever its style, there’s always room for some pots. And if you only have a balcony, flat roof or windowsill, then containers can become your garden – and in the process give just as much pleasure as any border.
The great thing about pots is that size is by no means everything.
A collection of small pots, each filled with just one jewel-like flower, can be as entrancing as an avenue of huge and expensive ones.
On the other hand, a large container can become the centrepiece of an entire garden and transform it simply by its presence, as well as providing an opportunity to grow something magnificent in it.
Now is the perfect time to start planning and planting up your pots for a beautiful display this summer.
Anything that can be grown in soil can be raised in a container and, as long as it has some drainage and is wider at the top than at the bottom, any vessel that will
hold compost and take regular watering can be pressed into service.
FIRST PICK YOUR POT
CLAY pots always look fabulous but tend to need more regular watering than polythene ones. Tubs have long been used for larger displays. Metal pots can either be sleek and chic or come in the form of recycled buckets and bathtubs – both of which I use in my own garden.
Sinks and troughs are attractive and especially good for alpines that have shallow roots. Over the years, I have seen plants growing in old tea chests, baths, washing-up bowls, drainage pipes, chimneys, dustbins, old baskets, saucepans, cooking oil containers, a pair of boots and an upturned hat.
But whatever you use must have good drainage. Many plastic window boxes and pots are sold without any drainage holes in them, so these must be drilled into the base.
Make sure the holes are at least half an inch in diameter and err on the side of too many rather than too few. There is some debate about the need for crocks (a layer of broken pieces of pot, pebbles or even polystyrene chips) but I always use them, if only to stop compost falling through the drainage holes – which on some larger terracotta pots can be quite big.
If you plan on placing your pots on a roof or balcony, they will have to be stood on a tray of sorts to collect the drips – but make sure the pot itself is not standing in the water as this will negate the effects of the drainage.
Raise it up on chocks (a small block or wedge) of some kind. It also helps to drill drainage holes in the side of the pot if you can, an inch or so up from the base, and then make sure that any crocks you use are filled above the holes so that the water does not pool at the bottom. Though a medley of different plants in unusual containers can add real character to a garden, do not be shy of repeating single plants or bulbs like snowdrops or crocuses in spring.
At this time of year I have half a dozen pots of the little daffodil ‘Têteà-tête’ that somehow look so much better than if they were all in one larger pot or planted into a border.
BEAUTY OF CLAY
EVER since I have had my own garden I’ve tried to accumulate terracotta pots. For a few years, this was easy and cheap as plastic took over and people were happy to get rid of the heavy, fragile and comparatively expensive alternative.
I bought a whole potting shed in an auction for £50 and still use some of the pots from that investment. But, increasingly, old terracotta pots are harder to find and new ones aren’t cheap. However, they look superb and are ideal for most plants.
Terracotta is made from clay – which is just a kind of soil – that is
turned on a wheel and fired in a kiln. The hotter the firing, the more frost-resistant it will be. This is important because terracotta can crack and flake in very cold weather because the pots absorb water which then expands as it freezes and something has to give. The style of the pot varies according to its maker but they range from the completely utilitarian to the very ornate and from huge oil jars to shallow alpine pans or tiny single-seedling pricking-out pots.
Terracotta has a warmth of touch and colour that no other material can replicate and is the ideal backdrop for green foliage and pastel colours. As it ages it gets better as the porous material absorbs algae and acquires a patina. I find painting brand-new pots with a thin coat of limewash – which quickly wears down in rain and wind – gives them added character.
Terracotta pots do not hold mois- ture as well as plastic pots. This makes them ideal for any plant that needs good drainage such as Mediterranean herbs, citrus, agapanthus or alpines but plants such as hostas, dahlias or cannas will need watering more often than if they were in metal or plastic pots.
TUBS FOR SHRUBS
LARGER containers such as tubs are ideal for growing climbers, shrubs or even small trees. Do remember to ensure that they have sufficient drainage, as waterlogging will kill a large plant just as effectively as drought.
I have grown climbing roses, clematis, hawthorns, Portuguese laurel and acers in pots that have flourished for years, as well as citrus, bay and large rosemary bushes (I shall be looking at growing herbs, fruit and vegetables in containers next week).
Free-standing largish pots are ideal for annual climbers such as sweet peas, cobea scandens, thunbergia or morning glory, using a temporary wigwam of canes to support the growth. But it is important to replace the compost at the end of the growing season as the plants will have used up every available scrap of nutrients.
The key to using containers as part of a larger garden – as opposed to on a roof or balcony, where they are the garden – is to keep them in context with everything around them. It is a mistake to think of a pot as a wholly independent flower arrangement. It needs to work with its surroundings – including the colours and textures of the building – just as much as plants in a border. It is also essential to think of the health of the planting.
Anything grown in a container is likely to be more stressed than in the soil, and a stressed plant is more vulnerable. It will have access to less water and fewer nutrients and is often more exposed, especially on a roof. Hostas are an excellent example. I grow lots of hostas in my borders and have hardly any slug damage. But I have a single pot planted with hosta albomarginata that is always ravaged by the end of summer – even though exactly the same variety grows untouched a yard away.
Smaller pots can be rearranged according to the seasons, individual plant growth and the introduction of new plants. A cluster of smaller containers that are changed seasonally, focused around a permanently positioned large one, always looks good.