New garden - what to put in my pots?

Lennys_Shinpad

Hello,

I bought a house last year with my OH. The garden is in a real state and we are thinking that for this year we will be concentrating on the big things - putting fencing up, moving the shed, reseeding the grass etc etc. We don't have the time for too much more.

We would like to try and add a bit of colour to the garden though and have a lot of big pots which we thought we could add some flowers to.

Does anyone have any good recommendations as to which flower we should go for? We would like it to be as hassle-free as possible. Also, as we are on the moneysavingexpert site, where can I get the best deal on these flowers?

Thanks in advance,

Lenny.

poppysarah

Ask on freecycle.

There'll be someone like me keen to get rid of millions of bluebells and other plants.

savingmummy

Hi we did pretty much the same last year. Spent a lot of the time doing the house so had no time to do the garden.
I used the following in pots and it gave lots of colour!!

Cordial - lovely red spikey plant that need no help at all!

Dwarf conifers - again they dont need much care, you can get them in all different kinds of yellows and greens.

Standard roses - i have mine in pots and they are getting better every year, just remove the dead flowers once they die and thats it!

I have daffodils, tulips and heathers in pots all doing well at the moment they have been in pots since Last April!

I have herbs too, lavendar herb is a lovely colour and fragrant too.

Lidl do bare root roses which i used and they appear to be budding this year. Their compost is good too!
Most supermarkets do the cordial, and dwarf conifers.

Poundland do bulbs, and seeds (highly ecommended by me).
I`ve grown a lot of things form seed to add colour in my pots.

Check local bootsales comign up in your area aswell, local school fetes, church hall fetes and general markets.

Lennys_Shinpad

Cheers for that SM. Just what I was after.

I will pop into Poundland at the weekend and see what I can find.

Cheers,

Lenny.

Counting_Pennies_2

Hi, I love just one bold theme when I do my pots.

I also love very little work.

So I go for Geraniums. They don't need much attention and they flowers for ages, and look stunning.

hth

lily117

The last two years I have had gazanias in my containers. Stunning colours, only open when the sun shines though.

ladylouise62

savingmummy wrote: »

Cordial - lovely red spikey plant that need no help at all!

I think you mean Cordyline? But yes, a few things like that make a nice permanent backbone to which you can add flowers.
OP, since you are using pots and water is scarce, keep an eye on how water-greedy they are or you will be spending all day running about with a watering can! Just google 'drought tolerant flowers' and Bob's your uncle.
Also, I have to bang my drum again, but it's nice to pick insect friendly flowers, so Lavender (well, any of the herbs seem popular), then Sedum for late flowering (very drought tolerant and lots of types from low-growing to tall), and various African Daisies like Osteospermum, Coreopsis or Coneflower. All of those are drought tolerant, so that's good.

Kyrae

Go wildlife friendly and plant flowers for bees and butterflies, if you can and if it's something that appeals to you!! As others have already mentioned, lavender and sedum are good. You can also get some dwarf buddleias that don't grow quite so big, scabiosa look lovely too. Good list of plants here: http://www.dorsetwildlifetrust.org.uk/wildlife_friendly_plant_list.html

Cheapest place I find to buy plants are at village fetes, school fetes, jumble sales, carboot sales, etc. The sellers are often very knowledgeable too and can offer growing advice!

Lennys_Shinpad

Cheers Kyrae,

Having wildlife in the garden is important to us so I will try and get as many things off that list as possible.

cootambear

dutch bulbs (website) are cheap

dont try to do too much at once, you`ll get disheartened

gardening should be an enjoyable hobby, not a chore

welcome !!