The event, ‘Lots in Pots’, took place last month when twenty three of Britain’s leading gardeners, designers and writers donated their expertise to plant up pots, which were then auctioned by garden designer, James Alexander-Sinclair and raised just over £8,000.

Sarah Price’s pot featured Berkheya purpurea ‘Silver Spikes’ and Allium thunbergii flowers, plus the purple foliage of Atriplex hortensis Rubra and Molinia caerulea ‘Edith Dudszus’.

Chelsea Flower Show 2011 gold medal winner, Luciano Giubbilei’s pot included lilies and grass.

Best in Show winner at The Chelsea Flower Show 2011, Cleve West’s pot featured  (Pastinaca sativa) which he used in the Telegraph Garden at Chelsea, plus Delphinium requienii.

Tom Stuart-Smith’s pot simply featured a single lemon tree.

Lady Arabella Lennox Boyd created a semi-edible pot.  The yellow flowers of Rudbeckia sp. and Lantana ‘Yellow Improved’ Lucky Series were included in the design.  Plus the violet-blue flowers of Verbena and tangerine flowers from Lantana ‘Red Flame’ Lucky Series were featured.  These blooms were complementary to the vegetables which were in the form of yellow chilli peppers, land cress, curly kale and red cabbage.

Gardener designer, Dan Pearson’s pot featured Dahlia x cosmos ‘Mexican Black’, Ipomoea ‘Sweet Caroline’ and Euphorbia ‘Diamond Frost’

It’s very interesting to see the wide range of designs which were created and the combinations of flowers and foliage.  We hope this has inspired you and if you’d like to see some of the other pots, simply visit The Garden Museum website.

P.S. This is the last of our Flowers in Pots series for a little while.  Look out next month for our new series, Garden Flowers!

(Images : Sophie Mutevelian)

It’s ideal in pots lining a path, so that every time you brush past them you smell the beautiful fragrance of the flowers and grey-green foliage.

The most common lavender is Lavandula angustifolia (English lavender or common lavender).  Several cultivars are available including ‘Hidcote’ (deep purple), ‘Alba’ (white) and ‘Rosea’ (pink).

There’s also French lavender (Lavandula dentata), whose flowers are adorned with petal-like mauve tufts, and Spanish lavender (Lavandula stoechas).  These varieties look gorgeous, but are prone to frost damage in the winter so you may need to protect them when the temperature drops.

The plant is native to the Mediterranean and likes well-drained soil so when you pot them up it’s a good idea to mix some horticultural grit in with the compost as this will aid drainage.  Lavender also loves to be baked in the sun so they make great plants for a sunny courtyard or terrace.

It’s really important to trim lavender every year after it has finished flowering to stop it becoming straggly.  The easiest way to do this is with hand shears.  Cut off the spent flowers and lightly trim back the new foliage, taking care not to cut back too hard.

Did you know that the name, lavender, comes from the Latin word lavare (to wash)?  Lavender was used in ancient times to make perfumes and to scent soaps.  And now of course, it’s very popular as an essential oil in aromatherapy…plus popular for cutting and drying.

It’s equally at home in an old-fashioned or modern garden…so if you’d like to bring some fragrance and colour to your outdoor space, be it a balcony or a garden, why not buy some lavender?

P.S.  Lavender plants in pots are also becoming popular as low-cost table arrangements at ‘country garden’ style weddings!

(Photos: Lisa Cox)

Inspired by some examples we saw at the show and on our journey to and from it, our June ‘Flowers In Pots’ post features bedding geraniums – a brilliant plant that will bring an instant burst of colour to your patio or terrace all summer.

Not to be confused with their perennial cousins which reappear each year, bedding geraniums are annuals and will only last for one summer season.   They can be planted in pots or alternatively can also be used to fill any gaps that you have in your flowerbeds.

As they are tender to frost (not hardy), now is the perfect time to plant them out in the garden.  They will flower for the whole summer and (weather permitting) last well into the autumn.  So, although you’ll need to replace them each year, the value they’ll bring to your garden will be well worth the effort of potting them up.

There are many different varieties of geranium, almost one in every colour possibly imaginable, but the most common ones are pink or red.  There are upright and trailing varieties too – the pot on the left of the picture above features an upright variety which gives a more formal look.  The trailing forms on the right are great for window boxes and large pots as they spill over the edge to create something much more informal.

If you’re going for a big burst of mixed colours, you can combine the geraniums with other annuals but if you want a more sophisticated look, try planting groups of the same variety in one pot, as above.

Grouping pots of different sizes will bring some added dimension to your patio or terrace and look less contrived.  Think about the overall size of the area and try to choose pots that will be in balance with the overall space.  If you have a large area, for example, smaller pots will get lost, so use them in groups alongside a larger pot so that they will enhance the whole look.

(Pictures:  Rona Wheeldon for Flowerona, Lisa Cox, Bill Barber)

This month’s post from the Flowers In Pots series is all about hostas and planting them in pots is ideal as you’ll find out later in this post.

Hostas are herbaceous perennials, which means:

Herbaceous – A plant that has leaves and stems that die down at the end of the growing season to the soil level.

Perennial – A plant that lives for more than two years.

They’re a very popular plant variety with a wide range of leaf colours, sizes and shapes and tend to look their best this month after their new leaves have unfurled fully, but before they’ve time to be jaded by the summer heat.

Hostas flower in the summer and the individual flowers are either white, lavender or violet in colour, as shown in the images above.

So what are the advantages of planting hostas in pots?

If you’re familiar with hostas, I’m sure you’ll know that they are nectar to slugs and snails – turn your back and the next thing you’ll know is that the luscious foliage has been turned into something that closely resembles a doily!

Planting them in pots means that you can keep the slugs and snails at bay either by using a copper band around the pot or by sprinkling slug pellets around its base. (TIP: If you’re going the slug pellet route, use a brand called Ferramol as it’s not harmful to other wildlife.)

Planting hostas in pots will enable you to really make the most of the wonderful arching foliage.  If you have a corner on your terrace where the paving meets a house wall, a hosta in a pot could be just the ticket to soften the whole look.  For large areas of paving, try placing your hosta with other planted pots – a cluster of different sized pots will give any space more dimension.

When you’re choosing the pot, think about how large the hosta will grow.  The ultimate size will depend on the variety of hosta you choose but you want the foliage to come over the edge of the pot as it does in the main picture above.  Hostas are shade-loving plants, therefore if you have a very dark and dingy corner, you might want to use a cream variegated form to lighten up the space and give some added texture.

So, if you’ve been having problems with your hosta plant being eaten by slugs and snails, why not transfer it to a pot?

(Images : Lisa Cox, Flickr/friendsofmountauburn)

Our plan as part of the Flowers In Pots series is to also write a monthly post on the ‘fundamentals’, as in other things you need to consider when putting pots in your garden or home.

First of all, we’ll be covering the different types of pots available on the market and today’s post is about terracotta pots.

Terracotta pots

Terracotta, which means ‘baked earth’ in Italian, is refined clay and is probably the oldest of all container materials.

Pots made from terracotta are generally quite cheap and many of them are machine made, with practical purpose rather than beauty in mind.

However, there are also highly ornate types available which are either made on a potter’s wheel or moulded by hand…and therefore command a higher price.

So, what are the advantages of using a terracotta pot?

• They come in a large variety of different designs.
• Their look improves with time, as they develop a patina with age.
• Terracotta breathes which means that compost is less likely to overheat in the summer or become waterlogged in the winter, compared to a plastic container.
• They are durable and will add weight and stability to a display, making them ideal for long-term planting.
• They’re attractive and complement a wide range of plants.

On the minus side:

• Terracotta pots are brittle and will break if dropped.
• Their porous nature means that compost needs to be regularly watered, as it will dry out more quickly than some other types of pots, like plastic.
• Larger terracotta pots can be heavy to manoeuvre should you need to bring them inside during the winter or change your mind about their location.
• There is a danger of frost damage, so it’s best to buy pots with a frost-proof guarantee.

So if you’ve not had chance yet to pot up your agapanthus bulbs, terracotta pots would be ideal!

(Images: Lisa Cox and Re)

April is the season to start thinking about planting summer bulbs in the garden.  Most species are tender to the frost, so unless you allocate time in the autumn to protect them from the cold there’s a very high probability that they will not survive the winter.

One way to aid with winter protection is to plant them in pots so that you can either cover the whole pot with fleece, mulch with straw or move them to a more sheltered place (a cool greenhouse or conservatory is ideal) to protect them.

Agapanthus look particularly amazing in pots as they have good strong foliage at the bottom of the plant and this provides form and balance to the tall spikes of blue or white flowers that rise above them.

Ingredients

• 1 x pot of your choice (try to choose one that will balance with the tall flower stems – smaller pots will look better if they’re a bit taller.)
• Crocks (Broken bits of pot or stones placed at the bottom of the pot to aid drainage.)
• Multipurpose compost (John Innes No. 2 is a good choice and is available from garden centres.)
• Horticultural grit (Optional)
• Agapanthus bulbs.  You’ll need 1 bulb every 20-25cm.  So for a pot with diameter of 50cm you’ll need 4 bulbs.  Agapanthus africanus ‘Headbourne Hybrids’ is a good reliable variety.
• Watering can with rose
• Gloves (optional!)

Method

1. Place the crocks at the bottom of the pot and position it in a sunny sheltered spot in the garden.
2. Fill the pot with compost and mix in a couple of large handfuls of horticultural grit if using it.  Agapanthus prefer free-draining soil, so the grit will aid with this.
3. Plant each bulb with their crown (top) just 5cm below the surface, 20-25cm apart.
4. Top up the pot with compost if required and press lightly.
5. Water well.

Tips

Don’t be alarmed if your agapanthus doesn’t flower during the first year.  Sometimes it takes a while for them to establish, but it will definitely be worth the wait!

Water regularly but sparingly throughout the growing season and feed fortnightly with a high-potash fertiliser like tomato feed.

(Image : Robert Wallace)

Flowers In Pots: Recipe 1 – Primulas

Although the spring bulbs are starting to appear at this time of year, and the new buds and shoots will soon be emerging, the weather probably won’t be good enough to allow you to be out in the garden very much (unless you’re busy tidying up after the winter months of course!).

Most of us have furniture of some shape or form in the garden, so why not bring a bit of colour to the scene by planting up a small pot of primulas for your table?

Not only will it brighten up the view from March to May, but it’ll also supply a focal point that, whatever the weather, makes you want to go and sit out in your garden.

Ingredients

• 1 x terracotta pot (shape of your choice, but top needs to be approx. 15-20cm/6”-8”)
• 3 x primulas (any hardy variety e.g. Primula vulgaris in 9cm pots – available from your local garden centre)
• General purpose compost (enough to fill the pot)
• Small bucket of water
• Watering can with rose
• Gloves (optional!)

Method

1. Soak each pot of primulas in the bucket of water by submerging the whole pot until the water spills over the top and on to the soil.  Try not to get the leaves and flowers too wet, if you can.
2. When the air bubbles stop coming out of the soil, take the pots out of the bucket and leave them to drain.
3. Now put a few handfuls of compost into the terracotta pot, until it’s roughly half full.
4. Gently remove the pots from the primula plants and arrange them in the terracotta pot.
5. Fill in any gaps around the plants with some more compost, pressing lightly to ensure that they have soil all around them.
6. Water well using the watering can.  Use a rose on the end of the nozzle so that you can control the water flow.
7. Allow to drain and place in your desired position – et voila!

TIP

Primulas will also work well in a pot on the kitchen windowsill or other cool-ish place indoors.  When they have finished flowering, you can transplant them into your garden where you can enjoy them the following year.