Gardening: Going potty with plants

Petunia Amore Queen of Hearts

This week at the garden centre has seen multiple pallets of pots arrive into the store. The timing is impeccable as, combined with the trolleys and cartons of spreading petunias that also arrived, they can be used to create a magnificent show.
The use of plants in pots adds another dimension to the landscape. Pots used in areas of hard surface, such as entranceways to hotels and businesses, is highly practical when there is not a garden bed available. Such plantings will offer a softening to harsh architecture.
The use of plants in pots can also effectively be used to create a sense of warmth and welcome where a building is large and dominant, bringing an entranceway to a human proportion and scale.

A very different use of pots is when they are placed in a garden bed. This can be a large feature pot such as a larger urn or jug to create a focal point or can be a simple pot which may add height, structure and formality.

Gareth Carter from Wanganui's Springvale Garden Centre.

The use of pots and containers in a small courtyard garden, such as in a retirement village, can offer extra opportunity to grow plants of interest when the garden is already full.
The myriad of uses and functions is diverse. Renters are able to take their garden with them when they shift or pots can be used to offer different soil and watering conditions to a surrounding garden bed.
The 'Swap a Pot' concept is becoming increasingly popular, especially for front doors and entranceways or other high traffic areas.
The concept is that you grow plants in a cheap plastic pot and when it is looking in its prime you bring it out onto display. This is slipped inside an attractive glazed pot that you have permanently in situ that matches the décor. As the plants start to wane or go past their best you can easily remove them and swap them for others. Taking the removed plants elsewhere for a prune and feed, they can later be returned. Meanwhile, the entranceway or situation has maintained a smart and attractive appearance indefinitely.
Planting combinations in pots are wide and varied and essentially come down to personal preference and functionality. Flaxes, grasses and succulents all offer a minimalistic and structured look. Flowering plants, like the spreading petunias, can offer flamboyant colour.
Using a combination of plants in the same pot can create a masterpiece likened to a living piece of art. There is a well-versed concept of putting together a planting combination of thriller, spiller and filler. That is, one plant to be a thriller as in a taller feature, one plant to be a spiller that is to cascade or hang from the side of the pot. The filler is a mid-sized plant that balances the height between the taller thriller and the low spreading spiller.

As we are heading towards Christmas (12 weeks), now is a good time to plant up some pots to have on display for the festive season and through the summer months of outdoor entertaining.

Petunia Bubblegum.

There are lots of options to choose from. A highly successful range of petunias to try for sunny situations is the bubblegum range of petunia. These are the hardiest petunias we have found over the years.

These incredibly free-flowering petunia bubblegums come in three colours: blush, fuchsia and pink. While there are other series that have some perhaps more exciting colours, these look fantastic if you plant all three in a large pot or planter and let them grow together. The same eye-catching effect can be achieved in the garden and is a great way to fill an area with colour for this summer and well into autumn.

Spreading petunias are one of the most popular for growing as flowering pot specimens for the summer months. A range produced by Drummen, one of the biggest plant breeders in the world, has developed varieties that are immensely floriferous, flowering when they are still small and continuing non-stop. Some of the range includes Petunia Miss Marvel and Petunia Purple Halo.

The Amore series of petunia is new and features large blooms, offering a circus of colour. The plants themselves are robust with a semi-trailing habit that make them an excellent choice to spill over the side of a pot or in hanging baskets.

My picks are Amore Queen of Hearts, Amore Joy and Petunia Amore Fiesta.

Some other good flowering container-growing varieties include the PAC range of geraniums and pelargoniums. This range from Europe has been improved over the years, resulting in plants with stronger colours, more continuous flowering and compact growth. These qualities make these exceptional performers. When planted in terracotta pots they give a classical look that appeals all around the world.

A new and more modern look comes from the trendy Garvinea Gerbera range. This range has a strong growth habit, surviving well in pots as well as the garden. It produces flowers from spring until autumn and is available in a range of colours.

So a good project is to dress up your outdoor areas with pots and flowering colour- come and see us in store.

* Gareth Carter is general manager of Springvale Garden Centre.