Geoff Stebbings - Grow Containers

Whatever your vision perhaps a cottage-style garden, with a mix of colourful flowers, or a minimalist design with more angular shapes with good planning, it is quite simple to create a container garden that will thrive and look great.

Containers | PLANNING, PLANTING, AND GROWING

Growing your favourite plants in pots eliminates many of the usual problems facing gardeners. First, you will start off with clean compost and therefore without the problem of weeds. Your plants should also be pest- and disease-free, initially at least. And because you can fill pots with compost to suit the needs of your chosen plants, you will not have to fight to keep them alive. Whether your garden soil is too dry or too wet, too heavy or sandy, is irrelevant growing plants in containers means you can create and control the ideal conditions.

Whether you live in an ultra-modern flat with a balcony in the heart of the city or in a country cottage, surrounded by trees and hedges, you can plan your container garden to reflect your style. Whenever you want to use your outdoor space, it can be packed with colour and interest, using plants that thrive in the height of summer or the depths of winter. And changing the look is easy: with the exception of your largest pots, you can move plants around, adding pots of colour, or removing them when plants stop blooming or when you fancy a change.

Whether you are young or not so young, container gardening is likely to be perfect for you. There is no heavy digging, very few weeds to tackle, and plants are raised up off the ground, making them easy to look after and appreciate. Almost anything can be grown in a pot, so there is no need to miss out on raising your favourite flowers and all those fragrant blooms that are often so close to the ground will be within easy sniffing distance. New gardeners, both the young and more mature, will love creating their own small garden in a pot, choosing their plants, caring for them, and seeing them thrive. Because container plants are protected from many threats and receive constant attention, they are far more likely to flourish than if in the open garden. With success virtually guaranteed, new gardeners are likely to become lifelong gardeners.

Containers | PLANNING, PLANTING, AND GROWING

Container gardening brings texture and colour right up to the home, on patios, pathways, and paving. It is simple to make changes and easy to be creative, without fear of getting it wrong the results can be spectacular.

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THE APPEAL OF CONTAINER GARDENING

Growing plants in containers is creative, fun, and accessible. It also offers great flexibility: you can group plants that may not grow well together in a garden, combine several plants in one pot, and even change your displays according to the season and your mood so that they always look fresh. Results can be instant, yet you can also nurture trees and shrubs for many years to come.

Containers | PLANNING, PLANTING, AND GROWING

Cosmos and salvia team with other flowers in an informal, staggered display.

TAILORING COMPOST

Part of the appeal of containers is that you can grow fussier plants in more specialized soil than if you were planting them in your back garden. For example, camellias, rhododendrons, and pieris need lime-free (ericaceous) compost, while shrubs and trees are happiest in loam-based versions. Some alpine plants need perfect drainage, which is easily provided if grown in shallow troughs or pots: use a loam-based compost with some grit to improve drainage. Pots of moisture-loving ferns grow to perfection on a shady patio: mix loam-based and multipurpose compost to help the compost retain moisture.

Using the right compost for more picky plants is often the key to success.

GROWING TENDER PLANTS

Plants that are unable to stand severe frost, or a combination of cold and wet, are perfect for pots because they can be protected in winter. Tender plants include some of the most dramatic and colourful plants available for summer display, such as begonias, fuchsias, pelargoniums, and dahlias. Readily available, you can treat these plants as annuals and enjoy them for one year or, with care, save them for another season.

Tender bulbs and plants that lose their leaves can be stored in a garage, if they are kept moist. Evergreens can be put in a cold greenhouse or even placed against the house, where it is more sheltered, until spring arrives. Cannas, bananas, and aeonium will give your pots a tropical look and quickly transform a mediocre display into something really striking. Some houseplants, such as spider plants and succulents, grow well outside during the summer months and will add a luxuriant feel to your patio display.

Containers | PLANNING, PLANTING, AND GROWING

Fuchsias can be stored safely in a greenhouse throughout the winter months.

Containers | PLANNING, PLANTING, AND GROWING

The red-tinged leaves of the Abyssinian banana bring drama to a garden or patio.

STYLING YOUR SPACE

Plants and containers come in a wide range of sizes, shapes, textures, and colours. The successful interplay between these different elements lies at the heart of container gardening and can transform a mundane space into a visual feast. Use these features to theme your display and highlight your pots and plants. This is your chance to get really creative.

Tall pots, including old chimney pots, lift low, arching plants such as grasses, while round pots offset large-leaved plants like hostas. Wooden tubs suit shade-loving pieris, acers, and rhododendrons; metal containers enhance silvery succulents.