Container Gardening

Plants are not as fussy as some people like to think. They will grow in almost anything so long as all their needs are fulfilled. Metal, plastic, stone, wood, buckets and wellington boots; they're all fine so long as the plants have enough nutrients, light and water. What determines the home of most plants is what we humans want. Some folks may like stainless steel galvanised troughs while others think they're hideous, but plants couldn't care less.

One thing that a container must have to be suitable is good drainage. Any bits of broken pots (crocks) or pebbles can be used to cover the holes in the bottom. This will stop them becoming blocked by compost being washed down and also stop the plants' roots from coiling around in the holes until they too block them.

Good drainage is vital if the plants are not to drown when it rains, but remember that drought does just as much damage.

Water makes up a large percentage of all living organisms and plants are no exception. They need water to function and grow. Without it they die. In hot weather your well-drained pot is going to lose water fast and a small container may need to be watered every day. This is one of the reasons why it's good to get the best container compost you can.

When normal peat compost dries it shrinks away from the sides of the container making it difficult to wet because the water runs around the outside and straight out of the drainage holes.

Container compost contains agents that are designed to keep shrinkage to a minimum and so reduce the amount of water needed. If you know you have trouble remembering to water the plants it may also be a good idea to buy some water-retentive gel. This is a crystalline substance that swells to many times its original size when wet. The absorbed water is then slowly released for the plant to use when it's dry. This gel can reduce the number of times you need to water from everyday to every couple of days.

Nothing can live on water alone, not even dandelions (though some seem to), and plants in containers are no exception. A standard liquid feed applied every two weeks (follow the instructions on the packet for dosage) will hugely increase the productivity of a container and you will be amazed at the difference just one feed can have.

Again, if you don't trust yourself to remember to feed the plants then there are slow release fertilisers available that are fast becoming quite common.

These are usually little round capsules that you mix into the compost before you put it into the container. They will release nutrients for the plants for up to several months depending on the life of the capsule and the amount of rain received.

Your choice of plants will depend ultimately on where the container is going to be placed and at which time of year you want it to be at its best.

Summer pots can be the brightest of them all and are a great way of getting colour into an otherwise dull area like paving. You can either plant a single species, such as lilies, or you can go for a more complex set-up with several types of plants of differing heights.

If you are going to go for the more complex make sure you are careful where you place each plant in the container. For example, the picture shows a simple container with a young Cordyline, some pansies and some trailing lobelia.

The first step is to decide where you are going to place the container. If it is going to go beside a wall then there is no point planting anything behind the Cordyline as they will be hidden from view.

On the other hand if the container is to go in the middle of the lawn it will need to be symmetrical so as to be the same from all viewing angles. Bear in mind what the plants themselves are going to do: the Cordyline will grow up a bit but not out very much, whereas the pansies will spread more than they grow up and hopefully the lobelia will trail over the edge.

With this in mind it is best to place the lobelia (purple spots, see below) as close to the edge of the container as they will comfortably go so that they immediately grow over the edge. Pansies (orange spots, see below) in a sunny location will spread and so can be placed further apart.

Squashing as many plants into the container as you can will give an instant effect but they will be far more susceptible to drought as all those roots are vying for the same water. It's better to allow the plants to grow into their spaces and develop into stronger, healthier plants.

When planting winter interest containers the spacing between the plants is less important as they are not going to grow very much.

It's not as easy to find good plants for a winter display simply because this is the time when most plants are dormant.

Some good ones you could try include:

Cornus alba 'Sibirica'. This is a bush that has bright red stems through the winter and is fairly cheap and common. Small plants make a great center piece to a medium/large container.

Skimmia japonica 'Rubra' is a showy evergreen bush that has a multitude of small red buds through the winter. These open to white flowers in the spring but you won't get any berries after flowering as this is a male cultivar (all plants are male, and only the females have berries).

Flowering plants like the winter pansies and viola will only put on a good show if they get enough sun light, so if the winter is a particularly overcast one then they will just sit as little dark green blobs with maybe one feeble bud per plant.

Also, in areas where the frosts can be severe (like Buxton) even plants labeled as hardy can be damaged, preventing them flowering at all.

Bulbs do very well in containers and hanging baskets. Small tulips and daffodils can be planted beneath the winter plants to give an extra splash of colour in spring. Any bulbs used in a container can be dug up when they have finished flowering and planted in the garden where they can be left to die back naturally. This way the bulbs will be able to flower again next year.

For more on container gardening see Hanging Baskets