Pots of Style

It seemed a bit of an extravagance ordering this magazine – but I’m glad I did!  Garden’s Illustrated have produced this special edition – Pots of Style – perfect planting ideas for beautiful containers – and I’m in some sort of heaven leafing through it.  The photography is stunning and there are tips aplenty to ensure I get the best from my container planting.

There’s a lovely section about sempervivums – which I adore – called ‘exploring textures’ where they’ve been planted in a crucible style pot which is crusty and ancient looking and shows off the green and reddish rosettes and florets perfectly.

It is how I like to plant the little stone pots that I make, and in time weathering will make them textured with lichen and age too.

There are so many planting combinations suggested in the magazine – Late Spring is a lovely section – with some of the prettiest perennials beginning to burst into flower, you can really start to get creative with containers – from simple meadow grasses to dramatic displays of vibrant colour.  Wild flowers, alpines, delicate foliage, woodland corners, herbs, rockeries and planting for scent – I especially like some of the colour mixes suggested.

I’m going to read the bit again about compost and care, and pick some good colours and plant shapes from the ‘best container plants’ list.   Hope I’ll be able to show you some stone pots with stunning and creative planting very soon.