How to follow the golden rule of garden design

Container gardening never seems to go out of fashion. Photo / Sally Tagg

Carol Bucknell on how to contain your excitement about gardening

Garden trends come and go but whether you prefer cottage flowers, elegant topiary or lush indoor ferns, container gardening never seems to go out of fashion. In difficult times potted gardens can assume an even greater significance, becoming a source of solace for those looking for something to nurture and cosset, inside the house or out. From a practical perspective, they're of course ideal for those of us living in very small spaces, renters, children and beginner gardeners.

What's more, you can move containers around to catch the sun, use specific soil mixes in them for your special plants and there's an incredible range to choose from.

In fact, we're almost spoiled for choice - which is why you need to think carefully about those expensive containers you might be lusting after. The golden rule of garden design with regard to both plants and decorative objects is to stick to the overall theme of your garden. Will your new pot work visually with everything else? And just as importantly, will its proportions and materials work with the shape, texture and colour of the plant you want to put in it?

When pairing plants and pots, it pays to physically position the two together at the garden centre before making a decision. The general rule of thumb for planting containers is that the height of the plant should be no more than 1.5 times the height of the pot. However, rules are made to be broken and playing around with proportions can lead to some surprising results.

When pairing plants and pots, it pays to physically position the two together at the garden centre before making a decision. Photo / Sally Tagg

Plants with simple, strong shapes such as palms, reeds, bromeliads, succulents, flaxes, astelias and grasses are great container options as they suit crisp, contemporary pot shapes but also contrast beautifully with ornate containers. Pretty blooms and herbs combine well with floral patterned pots while clipped buxus, teucrium or corokia look great in classically decorated pots.

It doesn't hurt to think outside the square a little though. If you live in a traditional villa, an obvious solution is to plant up classic urns with flowering annuals or clipped buxus balls for instance. But you might prefer the impact of an over-scale bespoke resin planter as a single focal point instead. Smitten with highly decorative pots but your garden is formal or minimalist? Place one large unplanted piece on a plinth or group several smaller pots against a very plain background wall, with modern uplighting.

PLANT POINTERS

If your soil is poor, container cultivation is a better option for most plants. As the growing medium in pots is warmer than soil in the ground they're particularly ideal for heat-loving plants, particularly frost-tender species such as frangipani because containers can be positioned where the sun is best at different types of year and moved to shelter (buy casters for big pots) when it's cold. The range of different growing mediums for pot cultivation makes it easy to grow plants that have particular soil requirements such as acid-loving azaleas and rhododendrons.

Many gardeners grow their spring bulbs in pots as they can be moved out of sight when in their dormant stage and put on display when in full bloom.

The range of different growing mediums for pot cultivation makes it easy to grow plants that have particular soil requirements. Photo / Sally Tagg

Be aware of site conditions when choosing containers for plants. Sun, shade and wind are key factors that can affect their ability to thrive, so read the label or check online for plant growing requirements. The quality of the planting mix matters too. Remember that planting mix in pots dries out more quickly than soil does in the garden while nutrients will also leach out faster. For healthy, happy, potted plants this means regular irrigation and feeding. Go for easy-care options such as succulents if your maintenance skills are low.

EDIBLES IN POTS

Many vegetables can be easily grown in pots, especially shallow-rooted types such as salad greens, spinach, silverbeet, radishes, baby carrots and many herbs. The bigger the plant, the bigger the pot it will need. Half barrels, large tubs or planter bags are necessary to grow tomatoes, potatoes, beans, cucumbers and courgettes for instance. Again, don't bother trying to grow edibles in containers if you're not prepared to feed and water them regularly.

Potted fruit trees have been around awhile. As early as 2000BC both the Sumerians and the Chinese were believed to have grown edible plants in containers. Citrus, olives and figs are the most obvious fruits for container cultivation but these days the choice is much, much wider. Exotic fruiting plants you can buy now include Chilean guava, pepino, naranjilla and dwarf bananas, while more traditional favourites are red currants, blueberries, pomegranates, dwarf citrus and apples.

People have also been growing herbs in pots, baskets, troughs and other containers for centuries. Photo / Sally Tagg

People have also been growing herbs in pots, baskets, troughs and other containers for centuries, partly for convenience and partly due to the fact that herbs don't all necessarily like the same soil type, nutrients, sun exposure, moisture levels and so forth. Plant them in pots and you can give each of your herbs its ideal conditions.

Small herbs like chives, basil, coriander, thyme and parsley are ideal for growing on a sunny deck, terrace or a window sill. Big pots are essential for rosemary, lemongrass, bay trees and sage. Along with common mint, plant other types such as apple, lemon and peppermints into their own container in semi-shade as these frost-hardy perennials can spread rapidly.