GROWING VEGETABLES IN POTS

It’s better to use a few large pots – from 15cm diameter up – than lots of small ones, since the latter will dry out more quickly and need more attention. Try to go for a variety of sizes and shapes for interest. Large plastic Tubtrugs are inexpensive and great for growing larger crops, such as climbing squashes. Reclaimed metal pots have a natural weathered look. Old metal tubs and dented buckets are easy to pick up online or in bric-a-brac stores. Even old sieves (left) and galvanised metal dustbins can look good.

Mixing flowering plants with fruit and veg plants provides splashes of colour and works well in the confined, walled environment of a courtyard or terrace. Edible flowers such as trailing nasturtiums bring in vivid orange and red, while classic pillar-box red or pink pelargoniums in terracotta pots look lovely on tables or walls. Underplanting potted fruit trees with Mexican daisy (Erigeron karvinskianus) gives them a lovely frothy skirt, and these drought loving daisy flowers won’t steal water from your precious tree.