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Ideas for Pots

samjp

By Samjp

Staffordshire, West Midlands, United Kingdom Gb

Hey all, sorry I've not been around much the last few weeks. Things have got a little manic. Can't wait for my holiday now.

Anyway I'm in the process of making plans for next year in the garden :)) could do with some ideas.

I've got a big blue pot which usually lives in the corner of the deck between the kitchen wall and the border wall. Garden is West facing and the border wall is south facing. That corner generally gets lots of sun, particularly in summer. Its more shaded now as the orange blossom gets in the way (but there are plans to chop a good 6 foot off the height of it - probably do it in spring now). Its quite sheltered in that corner thanks to the two big walls. I'm looking for a plant (or several) which will be quite happy in a pot permanently and that will make a nice feature. Both walls are painted cream (although do need repainting) and the border wall has trelis with ivy growing up. I tried putting the cordyline in that corner but it didn't really stand out.

I've attached a couple of photos to give you an idea of the spot - photo 1 is the corner without any pots etc (please ignore the watering can and hose lol), photo 2 is the corner with the Cordyline in and photo 3 is a close up of the cordyline pot, to give you an idea of the type of pot I'm looking to plant up (the cordyline pot is a slightly smaller version).

Any suggestions greatly appreciated.

Ohh nearly forgot anything that goes in that pot needs to be able to stay put through winter, I wont be able to move it when its full (not that I have anywhere to move it too).



Corner_of_deck_18_9_11 Corner_of_deck_with_cordyline_18_9_11 Cordyline_13_8_11

Answers

 

I'd go for a Phormium, perhaps Cream Delight (yellow and green striped leaves), or Platt's Black, except I think the yellow striped one would show up better, with Convulvulus sabatius in front to trail down the pot. Best planted in Spring though rather than this late in the year. Or use a Luzula instead of the Phormium.

21 Oct, 2011

 

I have phormium 'Platt's Black' with the golden-leaved form of creeping Jenny in pots

22 Oct, 2011

 

Thanks guys, I quite like the idea of the Phormium Cream Delight, think it would stand out quite well in that corner. I've been having a little hunt round for info, some sites suggest its hardy enough to survive English winters outside, others suggest it should be moved into a frost free greenhouse. Any idea which is right?

Hmm love the Convulvus think it would look gorgeous trailling down the front of the pot.

Andrew the creeping Jenny looks lovely as well, I may just add some with my cordyline :))

23 Oct, 2011

 

I have it in a south facing garden (the Cream Delight I mean) and its been there 5 years - but it is obviously in London and therefore warmer, and in the ground, not a pot. Suggest you wait till spring and then buy and plant, and just move to a sheltered corner, preferably south facing, bubble wrap the pot and mulch the top for winter if you have nowhere like an unheated greenhouse to put it. The convulvulus is hardy, but I even lost one of those in a pot over winter last year, so it wouldn't be harmful for that to be sheltered either. If we return to 'normal' mild British winters, it should be fine, it's only while we're having these arctic type ones you need to worry.

23 Oct, 2011

 

Ok thanks for that Bamboo. Still love the idea, just not overly convinced I could keep it alive lol.

No where I can move it thats frost free as things currently stand. The only available spot in the conservatory is already taken with my cordyline. In any case, I don't think I could move the bigger pot when its full of soil and plant, it'll probably be too heavy (I can only just move the cordyline - yeah I know I'm a wimp lol).

Thanks for the ideas and the info. I might leave the decision to my mom, since its her pot and technically her garden lol.

25 Oct, 2011

 

Also, its just occurred to me that the pot in the picture shows that it goes in towards the top and the rim then flares out slightly - any permanent planting in there will either need to be turned out at least bi yearly and the plant split (okay with Phormium, you can split those) or, when the plant gets too large for the pot, you won't be able to get it out without smashing the pot because the roots will have filled it. Suggest you stick to things that are either replaced regularly, or the suggestion I already made - both the convulvulus and the phormium can be split, and 2 yearly would be appropriate anyway.

27 Oct, 2011

 

Good point, that hadn't ocurred to me. Not been a problem thus far since pretty much everything has keeled over long before that point lol. Thanks for the pointers and suggestions.

27 Oct, 2011

How do I say thanks?

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