container ideas
Long tom style There is something very satisfying about this pot. I think it might be the way its proportions mimic a floral bouquet. The pelargoniums grew very big over the summer and did their best to oust the other plants. They are not a very floriferous form, but they have deliciously scented leaves. I set my pot on a wall so that I could easily crush the leaves a little with my hands and release the scent. The variegation on the mint leaves lifts the dark green and, as I discovered, throughout summer the violas add elegance to the scheme. I can imagine this pot working well on a plinth surrounded by lavender and clipped box. Where to place: Scented gardens, sophisticated French-style plantings, balustrades and low walls. Ingredients: - 1 x pineapple mint - 2 x Perlargonium ‘Brunswick’ - 2 x Viola ‘Winifred Jones’
Layer cake Here is an example of stacking pots to achieve impact and height. The upper pot shown is a faux terracotta plastic pot filled with one salvia, which lives there permanently through summer. In winter, it is brought into a frost-free greenhouse. The plastic is realistic, but even so it was necessary to get plenty of growth around it to distract attention. Salvias are entrancing plants, but are better looked at close up, and the height of this pot means they catch the eye. It was important not to introduce big flowers, such as dahlias, into the pot. You can see from the single white flower in the background how much they would have distracted from the subtle airy effect of this combination.
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LEFT Ursula grows many sweet pea varieties - visit her garden between 29 June and 6 July to enjoy her sweet pea week.
Suppliers: ● Pineapple mint Available from most garden centres ● Pelargonium ‘Brunswick’ from Thislteton Herb Nursery: www.herbnursery.co.uk ● Violas from Victorian Violas: www.victorianviolas.co.uk ● Giant long tom pot from Whichford Pottery: www.whichfordpottery.com
Where to place: It is very easy to create long-flowering schemes with this method. Ideal to frame an entrance when planted as a pair. Ingredients: - 1 x Salvia x jamensis ‘Hot Lips’ (top pot) - 18 x orange diascias taken as cuttings from a friend’s plant Suppliers: ● Salvia from Thistleton Herb Nursery:
www.herbnursery.co.uk ● Lower pot - Ursula’s own ● Upper plastic pot - Similar generally available from
garden centres
spring 2014 the english garden 65