Garden Talk
It may still be rather chilly, but when the sun comes out, warming your face and the sky is blue, it does feel as though spring is on the horizon. You may have been organised enough to get some early spring bulbs into the ground, but if you didn’t get round it to it, or you’re impatient for your bulbs to appear, using container plants to showcase seasonal beauties is a great way of adding a little early colour into the garden.
Terracotta, stone or zinc pots are classic. Group a few different shapes and sizes outside the front door or near a window where you can bring colour right up to the house. You could either create a mix of blooms in each pot to create or use one variety en mass in each pot for extra impact. A line of small terracotta pots along the windowsill with different shades of blue muscari looks super pretty for example.
As well as muscaria, bulbs to look out for in your local garden centre include crocus varieties, Anemone blanda, hyacinths and lovely delicate Fritillaria meleagris. Primulas such as polyanthus and more subtle native Primula vulgaris look lovely in pots too, as well as alpines such as saxifrage to bring colour right up to the door.
When it comes to design, try to harmonise colours such as pinks, purples and blues or limit yourself to three colours such as blues, purples and pops of yellow such as Narcissus ‘Tete a Tete’ for spring lift and contrast.
Foliage plants are a nice addition in container arrangements too. Ivy looks good trailing down a pot, ferns are lovely with bulbs and bergenia are useful for both foliage and flowers at this time of year. You could also add a few shrubs for structure such as camelia with their evergreen waxy leaves and flamboyant flowers in whites, pinks or reds -wonderful for pots in a sheltered, part shade position, planted in ericaceous compost.
Enjoy your pot pottering!