Starting out - small plants.

After a few questions from people looking to start their gardens, and from people with limited space, I thought it might be useful to go offer some ideas for small plants and vegetables. This first one is about small trees and pot plants. If you want to skip straight to veg, click here.

Plant pots /containers come in all sorts of shapes and sizes. What can you grow in them? Pretty much anything from radishes to roses, to a Rowan tree. Here are two trees suitable for a balcony or a patio to get us started.

SMALL TREES

A willow - Salix integra incisa Hakuro Nishiki

A willow - Salix integra incisa Hakuro Nishiki: this is grown for its colourful foliage, red stems during the winter months and fluffy, golden catkins in the spring before it’s foliage unfurls into a pinky colour before turning variegated (creamy white and green). In the autumn it’ll turn a yellowy white before falling off and revealing its red bark once more. This tree does well in part shade and full sun, although you’ll get better colour if it’s in full sun. You can keep it in check by clipping it with shears and this will also promote new growth and more of that lovely foliage (my gran had one of these). In case anybody is wondering what 'Kojo-no-mai' means its flight of the butterflies.

A Fuji cherry - Prunus 'Kojo-no-mai'

A Fuji cherry - Prunus 'Kojo-no-mai' : this can be a small shrub or tree. This bursts into life in early spring, making it an early source of nectar, with a mass of white flowers that stay until around April. The new foliage is tinged with bronze and this will darken to a vivid orange in the autumn before falling and revealing a network of zig zagging branches, giving it all round seasonal interest. This tree can stand hard pruning enabling you to maintain its shape and size.

POT PLANTS

What shrubs to grow in pots? Personally I’d go with Hebes. In my opinion you can’t go far wrong with these and there’s an endless choice of size and colours. One word of warning, in my experience they’re not keen on being too wet and/or cold!

Hebe Wild Romance

Hebe Wild Romance, brilliant for pots, it stays fairly compact growing to about 60cm(24in) in 4 years, unless you clip it - this would help keep the foliage fresh. It has dark green leaves that are edged cream and then in winter they turn a deep pink/maroon colour. In spring they change to a bright pink colour and then they’ll flower in long racemes of purple for summer. These will last until the first frost when its colourful cycle starts once more.

Hebe albicans Red Edge

Hebe albicans Red Edge. The foliage is grey edged red, hence its name. During the winter the red edge is more pronounced and it doesn’t drop its leaves. Nothing more happens until the spring when it produces lilac coloured flowers, which are loved by the pollinators. During the summer months the flowers fade to white. If clipped, as with other hebes, it’ll keep it in check and promote more flowers. This hebe grows to about 50cm, if left alone. With it having predominantly grey foliage it doesn't require as much water, once established. One other thing, it makes for a nice neat, low hedge, useful alongside a path perhaps. These were a couple of ideas if you want something permanent in your pots.

ANNUALS

If you’re wanting a change every year, or you want more flower colour, then annuals (bedding) is the way to go. Have a go yourself by sowing them straight into the pot or seed trays. There’s loads of options here - the choice is yours! The main things to remember are to feed and water regularly, and to dead head as often as you can as this promotes more flowering. If you enjoy sitting out on a patio or balcony then perhaps go for something scented. I quite like the various scents of Nemesia, there’s a few to choose from. Here are some of them, Rhubarb and Custard – reddish purple and yellow, Plums and Custard –  deep violet and yellow, and Easter Bonnet – purple and yellow. Not all varieties have fragrance, so read the label. Below are some of my favourite scented annuals.

Nemesia Wisely Vanilla

Nemesia Wisely Vanilla: the flowers are mostly white delicately tinged rosy pink with yellow centres. They are heavily scented vanilla, glorious. They’ll flower from may until the first frosts. Once most of the flowers start to fade, cut them back to the foliage and get a second helping. They’ll grow to around 25cm. Nemesia are a perennial but are too tender for our winters so are treated as annuals.

Tobacco Plant (Nicotiana sylvestris), these flower white and are scented during the day and more so at night. Great for pollinators too. This variety gets tall, 50cm. There are other varieties that are shorter and different colours that are also scented.   

Night phlox (Zaluzianskya ovata) is evergreen. This is a perennial that is treated as an annual because it struggles to survive the winter months. It forms a neat and compact dome with white flowers, which open at night and release their scent. It grows to around 25cm.

Night-scented stock (Matthiola longipetala) is best sown where it’s to flower, doesn’t like being transferred, in clumps. It’ll grow to around 30cm. The flowers, which sit against a grey/green foliage, are a mix of whites and pinks that open in the evening. On a warm evening the scent can be incredible. Sit and drink it in.

Annuals

These are just a few to give you some ideas and I'll be adding more in the weeks ahead. If you have any questions, I'll try to help and you can send them in via the contact page. I'm trying to get used to all things online so hopefully if you try some of the links below I'll have managed to share some images and short updates on Facebook, twitter, and instagram!