Love your garden
The love of gardening is a seed once sown that never dies.
Gertrude Jekyll
Typical bloody British weather, Easter was fabulous, the barbeque was out, my summer clothes were in the wardrobe and I’d been to John Lewis to pick up some Clarins Sunscreen. Fast forward a few weeks and as I look out of my window, it’s dull, it’s drizzling and frankly, cold! However, I’m not really an indoors kind of person, despite me spending several hours each week living a virtual second life!
I love to have a nice garden which is a bit of a double-edged sword because gardens don’t just become nice, they have to be nurtured and fed, you need to find time to get out there and maintain the sanctuary you’ve developed over the years.
So, yesterday when the weather was a little better, I decided to do something with my pots. I don’t have a massive garden but I am very proud of it, I wanted a bit of an outside living space and people tell me, that’s exactly what I have. I love colour, I love random colour, I’m not a; “let’s have a red and white scheme this year”, kind of gardener. My strategy is; go to the garden centre, look at all the colours, find the one I adore the most and randomly stick it in the garden, usually in some kind of stone or terracotta pot. Subsequently I’ve built up quite a number of them 😊
I keep trying to reduce the number I have in the garden – but they are just so useful. If a corner of the garden is looking a bit dull and boring, or it’s a spot where the conditions aren’t right for planting in the ground, I find matters can generally be improved by the addition of a few pots.
My pot fetish, no, not that kind of pot(!), started a few years ago after one of my annual visits to the Chelsea Flower show. I’m always awestruck by the show gardens and often wish I had the money and time to create one. This particular year one of the gardens was a real mishmash of pots, big pots, small pots, round pots, square pots, you get the idea…… So, I thought to myself, I could have a go at that and following the show I popped into my fav garden centre, The Camden Garden Centre. It’s a bit of a schlep for me but it’s got a great stock of plants and I love the fact garden centre employs disadvantaged Londoners and has trained people dealing with long-term unemployment, homelessness, drug or alcohol issues and physical and learning disabilities through its Garden Academy, maybe another post somewhere down the line?
I’ll be honest here, my first attempts at growing from pots was a bit of a disaster so, I searched for help on line and found a plethora of helpful information that has helped me build, what is now quite a substantial horde! Here’s a summary of tips you might find helpful if you’re going to give pots a go;
Use a 50/50 mix of multipurpose compost you can get it in big bags, personally, so long as it’s 50/50 I get the one that’s on special offer! 50/50 is heavier, so it makes the pot more stable, holds moisture in dry weather and drains well in wet weather, plus with some of the crazy weather we get it helps stop them being blown away!
On that theme, for tall plants or in windy locations choose straight-sided pots – they are much less likely to blow over
I love eclectic and the feedback I’ve been given has been really positive so, don’t be afraid to stick big blue glazed pots next to small orange terracotta pots, it gives character and a little quirkiness which is a little nod to my personality!
Mulch the surface with gravel, bark or slate – this retains moisture in dry weather and in the wet it stops the soil splashing the leaves which eases my OCD!
If you’re going to try veggies, pots are ideal as they keep the nasty slugs and snails away, I’ve got a couple of Chili plants which I harvest but they also give a nice splash of colour.
Liquid feed and deadhead regularly to ensure a long-lasting display.
Long-term planting in containers needs to be top-dressed with compost each spring
Don’t be afraid to plagiarise a good idea – if you see something you like take a photo and find similar plants in the garden centre
You don’t have to spend a fortune on pot plants, you can get some great deals on fabulous plants from supermarkets like Tesco and Waitrose
As for the actual pots themselves, you don’t have to splash out a fortune, most of my terracotta ones were bought on line and as for the coloured pots, try Strata Moroccan Planter, they look fantastic but are actually made from a textured resin.
I love pots, they’re actually quite easy to maintain and give your garden a whole host of different possibilities, go on, buy an Echinacea Green Twister or a Bottle Bush Plant and give it a go!
Incidentally, it’s Chelsea this week so if you’re in town go and take a peep, I know it’s always rammed and you have to queue for ages to get in but honestly, you’ll be glad you did – see you there!
What’s on this week?
Head, Eyes & Teeth – Catwa Head, Rigged Eyes and teeth - Catya v3.2
Ears – ^^Swallow^^ Princess Ears
Skin – [theSkinnery] Lilo (Catwa Applier) Toffee
Body, Hands & Feet – Maitreya Mesh Body - Lara V4.1
Physics – Temptation – 5.5 BONUS C+ D+ SuperTease - Physics
AO – Vista Animations *HUD 5.33*ZOE FULL BENTO-V1 NOFACE
Shape – [Elle et Lui Style] Tiffany Shape, Catwa Bento Head Catya - Maitreya Body
Nose Piercings – ^^Swallow^^ Indira
Necklace & Bracelets – Dahlia - La Mer
Shoes – Pure Poison - Illy Sandals - Maitreya
Pictures taken at the lovely Blaylock Island, Where peaceful waters flow...
Quick edit - THANK YOU to my freind Hanna who pointed out that I might get more site traffic if I actually made it HTTPS rather than HTTP - honestly, I had no idea of the implications and no idea it might stop people visiting!! So thank you for being a bit of a geek and a friend, it's very much appreciated!!