Half barrel ideas ?

Hi there,

I have a half barrel that I wanted to turn into a container for some flowers ... I am planning on drilling the barrel so that it has drainage but I haven't a clue on what kind of flower arrangement to go for ... all ideas are welcome!

Thanks

Jumanji

 

what colour is the barrel? how big is it? Where you gonna display it?

 

Brown and it is on the corner of the lawn covering up a man hole!

Here is the rough size:

http://wallcharm.co.uk/acatalog/half-barrel-water-001-big.jpg

 

I'm rubbish at being able to put names to plants, but I'd suggest something which trails down the sides and, because of it's dark colour, something really bright and cheerful in the top - winter pansies perhaps? Or maybe a herb garden?

Can I just make a suggestion? If it were me (and I'm very aware it's not), I'd go for something which doesn't need too much depth of soil ... if you do need to move that barrel to gain access to the manhole, it's going to be mighty heavy full of soil - a load of broken-up polystyrene in the bottom will help reduce some of the weight.

 

I'd go for a mix of different plants. Maybe a vareigated ivy at right at the edge, so that it overhangs the barrel and softens the edges a bit. Maybe a couple of spring bulbs for early colour, and one taller centrepiece that flowers through summer, maybe something with striking colour like one of those nice red lobelias or something like that. For example Pieris, a nice compact evergreen shrub, with little white flowers in late winter/early spring and striking red leaves in autumn.

 

Thanks guys ^

Anymore feedback on this ... I was thinking of having 3 or 4 colors in there