I don’t know about you but I am getting sick of this rain! I can’t believe last week I wrote about watering plants when it turned out to be a week of such weather that no one contemplated going out in their garden – never mind watering any plants in it!
So, I wondered what I could write about that wouldn’t have us in the rain for too long this week – yet could add to the beauty of our gardens - and planted containers it is.
When I tell people how to plant containers – I say it’s all the ‘C’s for containers:
• Colour- choose the colour of your pot wisely – where is it going to sit in the garden? What kind of plants will be in it?
• Crock – When planting pots make sure to put some crock at the bottom to allow good drainage.
• Compost- I always recommend a potting compost. Life isn’t always easy for a container plant – so use a good potting compost will help.
• Cosmos, Clematis, Chrysanthemums, Campanula, Cordyline, Calibrachoa, Coreopsis are all great plants for a container – and all just happen to begin with the letter C!
• Complement- choose plants and colours that will complement each other in the pot.
I promise – if you think of all the Cs you won’t go wrong – but if you do then the final C I suggest is Centre – your local Garden Centre will have beautiful pre-planted containers for sale! (would C for Caulders be too obvious here?)
Happy gardening!
PLANT OF THE WEEK: ASTRANTIA
Astrantia are clump-forming herbaceous perennials with erect, wiry stems topped off with the most delicate umbrella like flowers with a central cluster of small flowers surrounded by larger, deeply divided petals.
Astrantia likes full sun or partial shade and grows well between June and September and is fully hardy and well suited to Scottish climates. Looks brilliant when planted with grasses.
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