Tower and Town, September 2025 (view the full edition)Gone to pot?I love pots in the garden. At the last count I had 107, which is a bit excessive, but we have the opportunity to grow plants that wouldn't thrive in this area.  Acid-loving shrubs are very special. They are generally evergreen and will have flowers early in the year sometimes followed by berries in the autumn. The new foliage on some varieties of Pieris is a beautiful pink. These plants are shade loving, all you need is a pot and a bag of ericaceous compost. Container gardening is perfect for frost-tender plants, These are often flamboyant because they come from the southern hemisphere. My favourites are Callistemon and Mimosa. After their summer show they can be moved to a sheltered spot in the winter or fleece wrapped. Keep them on the dry side and bring them to centre stage again in the spring. Gaps are starting to appear in our borders now. You could drop in a pot with a fabulous fuschia! No special compost needed and it will flower until November; then move it to a porch or garage over winter, give it a little water every couple of months and when you see signs of life in the spring, cut it back hard. Evergreen shrubs like Pittosporum, Arbutus, Fatsia, Nandina and even small trees can be grown in containers spending the summer on your patio or in your border. in the winter they can be moved near the house for year round interest. Some beauties like Acers are best suited to pots because they need a sheltered spot out of the wind and hate winter wet. Move them to a drier spot in the autumn. Plants in pots do need a regular feed every two or three weeks in the summer and they will need to be watered. It is better to give a good soaking once a week than a trickle every day. Acid-loving spring flowering plants should be given a good feed with specially formulated liquid feed in September because whilst most other shrubs are going dormant now these plants are building their stength for their spring show. The very best thing about container gardening is that you don't need a garden. A few pots arranged at different heights outside your front door are a joy that will lift your spirits. They're so easy to look after and best of all--NO DIGGING! Carolyn Stimpson |