Plants for pots in middle of garden

Hi,

I recently installed a patio circle in the middle of my garden, and bought 4 relatively large pots (52x45cm) to go around it. I am trying to decide what plants to use in them - either 4 of the same plant, or 2x2.

Unfortunately, this is a bit complicated because the garden is north-west facing, therefore the area is in part shade (at best) and it is obviously not a sheltered spot, with it being the middle of the garden. I live in the North of England, in a seaside location.

I love flowering quinces (chaenomeles I mean - either speciosa scarlet storm or x superba pink lady) and they are OK with part shade but I am concerned about wind damage. They are also deciduous but I can live with that.

Do you have experience with flowering quinces in exposed locations, or do you have any other suggestions to consider instead?

Thank you.

 

Hi @CostasK , welcome to the forum!

A patio circle with containers sounds great, there are a lot of options with the planting. Could you share some photos please?

With containers, the two main things are them toppling over in the wind if anything taller is planted in, and watering. For permanent containers in the middle of the garden I'd go for a long period of interest, not just one plant.

What kind of a look are you after? Formal, wild, upright, cascading? Do you want colour or foliage plants?

Evergreen ferns and cascading Ivy with something flowering in between is a classy option for a shadier position and will do well up here in the North.

 

Thank you very much Selleri! I appreciate the kind reply & information.

Excellent point about extending the season of interest. I love the idea of cascading ivy (I wish my partner didn't despise ivy). Ferns are definitely an option*.

I attach a photo of the garden in all its muddy glory I took a few mins ago, but to be honest I feel embarrassed about it. I'm trying to make up for a lot of neglect and started various jobs, which makes it look like a construction site. Plus, the grass has paid the price of my DIY (I left soil on it for too long). And finally the recent storms have knocked most of the fencing! So it's all looking very underwhelming at the moment.

Regarding the style, the honest answer is that I am not completely sure. I would favour colour over foliage. I have a soft spot for plants of Asian origin and my partner loves tropical looking plants (like ferns). I also love berry-carrying plants and climbers, especially clematis. I think that the only style I don't like is woodland (when I bought the house, it was full of conifers but there is just one left - for now at least!). I know it's a rookie mistake to mix different styles, but I can't help it ;-)

Thank you.

P.S. Inspired by your idea of ferns, I found Mohania Volcano, which has fern-like foliage and beautiful blooms. I will definitely put it on the list. Another option I am considering is to still go for chaenomeles for 2 of the pots (+add a small heuchera to each perhaps), but for the other 2 mix an astilbe with a fern. Chaenomeles flowers in spring, astilbe in summer, and after summer at least there will be a bit of life thanks to the other plants.

 

Those containers look really good! Something trailing would set them off nicely, if Ivy doesn't tick your partner's boxes a Vinca (Minor) is a good plant to consider. Vincas are evergreen, have a main flush of flowers in the spring and then one off flowers throughout the year. A small, evergreen Lonicera might also be an option.

Ivy has no rival though, there are many variegated ones to choose from and the growth habit is always graceful.

I have been tempted with Japanese Painted ferns for a while, but as they are deciduous, there's not much to look at half of the year. (Apologies if I got your Fern Feet tapping and set you off for hours of googling the varieties... they are awfully attractive plants! )

Azaleas, Camellias and smaller Rhododendrons have an Asian feel but tend to have a short flowering period. All do well in containers.

I have grown both Astilbes and Heucheras in containers, they do very well and Astilbe is a beautiful foliage plant also after it's done with the flowers. Both are loved by Vine Weevils though. Nasty little buggers!

No need to apologise for the state of your garden, we are all in the less-than-spectacular time of the gardening year and my garden is also decorated with Arwen donated pieces of roof tiles and Dudley arrangement of most artistically angled Rose obelisks It'll be fine, the bluebells are pushing through the mud field (formerly known as "the Lawn") and Daffs are looking promising.

 

Those pots are fantastic, they'd look good with real contrasting leaf/flower colour. Ceratostigma willmottianum, vinca minor illumination, one of the red leaved sedum spectabile, how about imperata cylindrica red baron, fargesia red/black/green/blue dragon(take your pick on the colour!) Various hebes, chamaerops....the choice is endless. Dahlias, cannas, zantedeschias or some cookianum type phormiums.
One thing I would say, even if the pots are large and heavy, watch out for plants that are too high. The coastal aspect may mean you aren't on the arctic tundra and can grow a lot more than inland but the occasional 60-80mph blow can make a lot of things horizontal

 

Hello CostasK Can I be boringly practical for a minute? How are you going to mow around the pots? The grass is a bit thin on the ground now () but when it's growing strongly in spring, it's going to be a right PITA. Strimming might be a solution, but could damage the pots in the long run. Might I suggest an extension to the patio area so the pot stands are surrounded by something solid?

 

Thanks very much Very useful information - if I do get heucheras, I will definitely keep an eye on them for vine weevils! Vince minor seems like a very good option. I need to consider some ground cover plants in general, in the garden. Those "painted ferns" look stunning, I can definitely see why you are tempted...

In case any amateur gardener, like me, is reading this: I have found it very useful to drop images in a rough diagram to see what plants would work well together. I keep changing my opinion but there's no rush as the winds seem to still be going strong. Here is today's plan... :D

 

Very practical idea indeed. However, for the time being at least, I will try to avoid this - even if it means cutting the grass around the pots by hand, and mowing the rest of the lawn. If it turns out to be too much of a pain, I can look into it.

Ha ha, yes "a bit thin" is a mild way of putting it... it looks terrible! As soon as I have finished digging things up, which means that soil ends up on the grass, I will try to make it healthier.

 

Thank you very much, I will look into these plants. A challenge that I've got is that the area isn't very sunny (I think that sedums & dahlias for instance, both of which I love, wouldn't like it very much).

I must admit that the wind is a concern, especially considering the storms we have had recently. On the other hand, it would look nicer to have a little bit of height around the patio circle I think.

The tallest plants I am considering can get up to 4ft, I don't know if that's too risky. The pots are pretty lightweight but I plan to put rocks at the bottom and then fill them with relatively heavy soil (e.g. john innes no.3). In addition to that, I wonder if there's something that I can use to secure them when a storm is expected to hit, that I would normally keep in my shed e.g. put some bags of compost around them (?) I haven't full thought this through yet.

 

I personally would get 4 concrete stepping stones. Then drill one or two holes through the stepping stone and pot, then using decent size bolts, wide washers and nuts, secure the pot to the stepping stone, then countersink the stepping stones into the ground.

 

That's a good idea, thank you. Technically, I do have a stepping stone underneath each pot, but you are obviously describing something a lot more sturdy.

I will think about it a bit more and weigh up the risks. I would prefer to avoid something like that if possible to be honest. The tallest plant I am considering is chaenomeles, which is not very bushy/upright anyway and it is deciduous (plus it responds to pruning well), so this should help during winter, when we get the strong winds. I'm hoping that by making the pots heavier + being a bit proactive, it might be OK (though of course it's a risk). I would rather have to take action on the 2-3 times a year that we get really bad storms, rather than change the plan dramatically. I have started looking into ways to do that, to help me decide.

Cheers!

 

I have planted Azaleas in pots and they are so easy to look after and grow quickly ( the pink one in my pic ...this is how it looks in May.) The other one is a red one.They need to be planted in ericaceous compost.Why not have two Azaleas and two of something else? They are evergreen.

 

Thank you very much for the suggestion. I already have 2 azaleas, just not in pots. They are gorgeous when they flower (the one in your pic is absolutely spectacular) and the foliage is not bad on its own without the flowers, but ideally I would like something with a longer flowering period. I have also read that they are quite toxic to dogs. They are very unappealing to them, so the chance of them getting poisoning isn't great, but I would rather avoid even that slim chance. As a matter of fact, I plan to move one of the two I already have to the front of the house (the other one is already at the front, where my dog doesn't have access).

 

Hi everyone,

It's been a while but I suddenly remembered this discussion and thought I would post an update.

Some really good recommendations had been made and I nearly included some of them (e.g. vinca minor, until my partner vetoed it). In the end I went for flowering quinces ("Pink Storm") as my heart was always set on them, paired with heucheras ("Obsidian"), and also hebes ("Nicola's Blush").

Looking at them now, I'm not completely sure about the relationship between the hebes and the other plants, but I do like them and, at the end of the day, it doesn't have to be perfect. I'm not a garden designer. Overall, I am happy with them.

Thank you.

(P.S. Someone had asked about cutting the grass around the circles - a strimmer works quite well)