Which plants do well in pots and containers?

Question

I want to put some pots around my garden which is mostly graveled and paved. The garden faces north/northeast, but has plenty of sunny spots. I don't want to only rely on bedding plants in the summer months, as I would like some colour and greenery all year round. Also any other tips for container gardening would be gratefully recieved as I'm a novice and not especially green-fingered!
Many thanks

edited to add that I'm in the south west of the UK

Answer 1

Hello there, this is an exciting question for me to answer. There is so much you could do, i can picture your area just now in my head.
I think you should go for plants that are just that little bit different from the norm. Also, how to arrange the planters is important too. You want to show them off to their best advantage. Groups of three and five work well, perhaps with shells or nice stones scattered around them.
I would also go for plants that look well all year round as your area seems bare at the moment (sorry!).
Sitting the planters on trays will help with watering in the summer, but remove them in the winter (unless they're bog-plants).

For the evergreens I would suggest -
Buxus sempervirens 'Marginata' - slow-growing with yellow edged dark green leaves and grows to a height and spread of 3ft
Ophiopogon planiscapus 'Nigrescens' - a clump-forming grass with dark purple/black leaves and grows to a height and spread of around 12ins.
Phormium 'Sundowner' - a lovely variety with green, bronze and pink margins, height and spread 4x3ft.
Pittosporum tenuifolium 'Purpureum' - this is great. A small tree/shrub with shiny wavy-edged dark purple leaves, height and spread 5x3ft.
Yucca filamentosa 'Bright Edge' - dark green stiffly erect leaves with yellow margins, bears tall plumes of creamy white flowers, height and spread 24x30ins.
Evergreen herbs such as Thyme, Chives, Sage and rosemary.

Japanese maples (Acer palmatum) look good, and have great Autumnal colours, but because they're deciduous plant some winter and spring bulbs to brighten the container.
Small fruit trees that are raised especially for patio culture are brilliant.
I think I should stop now or I'll go on for ages and ages! Visit loads of garden centre's and study everything before you buy. You've got a while to go before you start planting your containers so take your time. Good luck, x

Answer 2

I have both bedding plants and container plants. I really enjoy the container plants since I can move them as needed. This gives me a chance to change up the look without digging up and removing plants into other areas. Only problem that I have with the containers I must keep them watered daily due to the heat of summer. I have planted small bushes in containers to provide the all year greenery. I have found that most generally anything you plant in the ground will do just great in a container. So good luck and give everything a try.

Answer 3

You don't say where in the world you are, so I don't know what kind of temperatures you get. I'm in Derbyshire, UK, and we get some hot days in summer (up to a maximum of 30 degrees C, I'd have thought) and frost at times in winter. I have lots of outdoor pot plants, and so far I've killed very few of them.

I have some roses - they always seem to do well. Also a Japanese maple, an acer, in a large pot with lots of snowdrops underplanted - I was advised that I needed to protect the tree in frosty weather, but I never have, and it's doing fine in a sheltered area of the garden.

I have a trough in front of the house that is planted with lots of daffodil and crocus bulbs, and then alyssum and nigella on top. The bulbs come up in spring, and then as they die down, the alyssum and nigella grow through and provide colour through the summer and into about September-October. It all dies down through the winter, and needs no maintenance, other than chopping off the dead bits.

I had another large pot with an orange blossom bush. That was doing really well, and was green most of the year, with lovely white flowers in summer. It grew so well that after about 4 years it was just too big for the pot, and it's now transplanted into my mother's garden, where it's doing well.

Another thing I've done is plant a strawberry pot (the tall kind, with lots of holes in the sides) with different herbs, and that stays green all year, and has flowers at different times - there are various different thymes and mints and curry plants and some lavendar in the top of the pot. I can't remember all the things that are in there, but there are about 8 or 9 different things. It was really cheap to do - garden centres sell herbs in tiny pots quite cheaply, and you just make a collection of different colour and shaped leaves. I do use my herbs in the kitchen, but not as much as I could. Mostly they're just for looking pretty.

Answer 4

Ivy is permanently green or variegated and doesn't lose it's leaves in winter so that's good for greenery, and there's many varieties to choose from. Pansies are good hardy winter flowering plants and again there are many varieties. Snowdrop and bluebell bulbs will give early spring colour as will crocus, and there's always dwarf conifers (trees) for all year round greenery too. Get yourself to B&Q (or any DIY garden centre) if you can and have a good look round, and make sure you ask the staff questions if you need information. Good luck, and happy gardening.

Answer 5

It is always better to have a few large feature plants if you want something easy to look after but great to look at.
Buy the nicest pots you can afford and go to local markets or small garden centres as the plants are good but cheaper.
Plants such as cordyline, phormium, hardy palms, bamboos. all do well in pots.
Also buy a few big stones for effect.
If you want colour too just buy a few small plants and change them each season
Good luck.

Answer 6

Lavender and rosemary are nice for colour, fragrance, and are tough. I like small evergreens like boxwood and hebe.Grasses and bulbs are fun and easy. Ferns, hostas and lilies are pretty. Visit a local garden centre and there should be someone there to advise you about whatever catches your eye. The possibilities are endless as long as you have water.

Answer 7

lemon trees. Not only do they produce fruit year round, but they are very pretty, and easy to grow, and drought resistant

Answer 8

palms and banana plants ive got loads

Answer 9

Margarita's or lavender are colourful and smell nice