Friday, February 3, 2012

Container Planting Suggestions


This morning I've woken to a much cooler day with a dull grey sky and rain falling gently outside - bliss! Yesterday, as Grace played happily in our backyard while Sophie had her morning nap, I sat on our patio, Yates Garden Guide in hand, planning some things to do in our garden once it cools down more. With the recent extreme heat Perth has had lately, there have been a few casualties around our place and I haven't had a very good record with our pot plants which seem to dry out very quickly.

I've been trying to research options for container plants. I have a large pot and a few smaller ones in the sun as well as a few under my patio to be filled. There's currently a hydrangea in one but I think it would be better in the ground and it tends to look a bit bare in the winter months anyway so I'm after something with year round foliage. My book recommends a Camellia, a plant I've always loved so I'm thinking that might be a possibility.

Can any of you suggest some options for pot plants that you've had success with?


Image above from Sunshine Ceramics where you can buy the cute little garden sign.
Be sure to check out Tracy's cute herb markers too.

9 comments:

  1. Hello lovely! I'm not the best green thumb but I've got one pot plant which sits on the deck which is 'mine' and it's a Peace Lily which I have in it's same black plastic pot it came in but sitting inside a larger pretty ceramic pot which doesn't have a drain hole in the bottom. So I just pour water into the big pot and it 'self feeds' the lily and even though it's been on it's last legs many times from my neglect it's still going strong!
    Jxx

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  2. I've had a lot of success with gardenias, and they smell divine! Glad it's a bit cooler for you too :)

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  3. Kerry - I've gone through about five gardenias would you believe? (in the ground though not in pots). We've thrown everything at them such as epsom salts once the dreaded yellow leaves began appearing. However the one remaining one which I have neglected entirely is doing quite well :)

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  4. Hi Amanda, I just bought a pink daisy and another bushy pencil pine type of plant to pot up. I have used the pencil pines in lots of pots around the deck here, they are doing really well. I also pot up some boxed hedges and trim them into shape. If its a shady spot, impatients are pretty and full of colour, even lettuce or strawberries look nice. Have funx.

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  5. I like pencil pine suggestion - might be a good way to add some height in the way of greenery to our patio. I love impatients too - the one I had near our back door was going beautifully until our heatwave- am hoping to revive it though!! x

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  6. Hello Amanda,

    Glad to hear the heat has subsided. I think the trick with pot plants is to water them all the time, and move them in HOT conditions. I learnt this from many casualties; and some of my potplants would rotate in Brisbane depending on the sun/time of year.

    I love a Camellia. What about Agapanthas? Great green foliage, and how stunning when they flower? Plus they can cope with the sun/less water?
    x

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  7. I've got lavender and hydrangeas in a few, but most of my pots are filled with herbs. And most have beautiful flowers like chives. I can't get enough of herbs as I use so much in my cooking, and I think they look pretty too. Rosemary flowers are pretty as are certain thymes. x

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  8. a succulent like an agave? some herbs? strawberries? seaside daisies? some lovely mint? Ask at the nursery, they'll point you out some lovely plants you might never have thought of that will do well...... xx

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  9. A succulent would be so easy to maintain but after that I'd suggest the conifer family or lavender. That's the prob with pots, they dry out really quick, especially in your hot weather. The hydrangea will probably love going in the ground.
    Ps what a lovely comment you left on my blog today. Really sweet x

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