Homes & Gardens
The rise of the portable patio
Spring is here and the real work begins in earnest in the garden. Here the experts at the Potted Garden in Bearsted give some helpful hints on how to make the best of it…
T
here has been a big trend towards growing plants in pots and containers in recent years. Tese can be used in any outside space, can be moved if needed and allow for flexible gardening, and aſter the long winter, it is lovely to look out of the window and see some floral colour. We would recommend the following frost-hardy spring bedding plants for tubs and containers, and now is the perfect time for planting out favourites such as ranunculus, bellis daisies, polyanthus, violas, pansies, wall-flowers, forget-me- nots and more.
Every garden deserves the timeless elegance, impressive blooms and wonderful fragrance of peonies. Once established, herbaceous peonies will live for years if left undisturbed and after flowering, their leaves develop fiery hues before dying down for winter.
Knautia ‘Melton Pastels’
Tis plant produces beautiful scabious-like insect friendly flowers in shades of pink and cerise from June to September. A lovely hardy perennial, we think it deserves a place in the border.
Horticultural manager Jon Reburn, discusses a few great garden additions that you may not know and are worth making space for this spring.
One of our nursery team favourites is Seneti Pericallis. Tese are brightly coloured daisies which are in full bloom by Easter and are the perfect choice for a sheltered location such as a covered doorstep – although not fully hardy, they happily withstand a touch of cold.
Clematis ‘Amber’
Tis marvellous spring-flowering clematis is so good it was voted RHS Chelsea plant of the year 2016. Its flowers are almost yellow, with light pink tones on the back of the sepals, so if you are looking for a climber with a difference this is well worth trying.
Photinia ‘Carré Rouge’
An outstanding evergreen garden plant which has smaller leaves than the familiar ‘Red Robin’, a more compact habit and stunning red new growth. Ideal as a single specimen or planted as a neat hedge this is now a number one selling shrub in France and is just being discovered by gardeners here.
We highly recommend Dianthus ‘Pink Kisses’ for patio containers at this time of year, they are scented, hardy and flower repeatedly.
Spiraea Walberton’s® Plumtastic A fantastic, stunning, plum-coloured growth throughout spring is followed by deep cerise flower heads in early summer, then beautiful autumn foliage colour. Growing only 60cm tall it has a neat manageable habit, making this an ideal garden addition to any size of garden.
Acanthus ‘Whitewater’
Tis stunning herbaceous perennial is the perfect choice for those looking for an unusual architectural garden feature. It’s great in sun or shade.
Gypsophila cerastioides
Tis charming litle ground cover plant from the Himalayan region is very hardy and semi- evergreen. Studded with atractive white flowers in spring, it is worth discovering.
Lonicera ‘Rhubarb & Custard’ Tis honeysuckle is the perfect choice if you want a fragrant, compact climber that is happy in sun or light shade and which is atractive to beneficial insects. Te unique colour is indeed rhubarb and custard.
For more information about Te Poted Garden on the A20 near Bearsted, go to htp://
www.thepotedgarden.co.uk or call 01622 737801
Mid Kent Living 51
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72
