Planting pots in the garden

Ruapehu Bulletin, Volume 11, Issue 500, 24 August 1993, Page 13

Planting pots in the garden

by

Bea

Barnes

Not really gardening weather this past week or so and most of the jobs on the priority list will have to wait until weather permits unless they are of the undercover variety. The growing popularity of groups of pots and containers both large and small placed at strategic points around the garden will give character to the layout and provide splashes of colour where it is needed. This is the time to commandeer a comer of the garage and let your imagination run riot. Some of the lovely ums and pottery containers we have envied in the beautiful gardens featured on TV may well be out of our price range but there is now a range of clay pots available which are much less expensive. Lower in the price scale are the recycled plastic pots, buckets and tubs in terracotta colour, green and black which tastefully planted can look just as effective. Any old pots Almost anything can be used from an old plastic bucket or a washing up bowl to a disused baby bath. So long as it will hold the soil mixture and has a few holes drilled in the base for drainage it will do the job. Imagine an old boot painted bright red and brimming over with trailing Lobelia or trailing Petunias. Be careful of metal containers. Ensure that they have not previously contained any poisonous material and either seal the inside with a waterproof paint or varnish or line it with Polythene with a few holes in it for drainage. Line the base of the container with a layer of small stones or pieces of broken crock and fill with the soil mixture. I often use a mix of two thirds good garden loam and one third of a prepared potting mix adding a little sharp sand. For the larger shrubs or small trees you can use a prepared shrub and tree mix if preferred. The smaller pots can be filled with bright annuals, pansy, violets, or

perhaps the colourful Sedums. Any small plant which takes your fancy. For the larger containers there are a number of shrubs and small trees ideally suited for tub culture. A lovely little maple especially bred for this purpose is Acer P 'Shaina'; growing only to one-and-a-half metres in height it has very dainty growth of bright red as it emerges, toning to a deep maroon as it mature's. It would need a larger pot or tub and would be suitable on a patio or verandah with some shelter from the wind. A little more expensive than some but well worth the extra cost. Acacia Vert 'Rewa' the rice wattle is perfect for the larger tub. Quite hardy with lacy evergreen leaves and masses of fluffy yellow balls in spring. It will reach one-and-a-half to two metres in height. Escallonia 'Apple Blossom' is an attractive evergreen shrub with pretty pink flowers. It gp rows to about one metre in height and flowers for quite a long period in spring or early summer. Lophomyrtus 'Wild Cherry' has a rich red crinkly foliage. Makes a very attractive shrub about one metre in height. Pots for patios For a patio or verandah macropiper excelsa psittacorum, a very attractive foliage plant with broad shiny leaves. This will do as well indoors or out but can be a little frost tender when young. The grevilleas 'Pink Pixie' or 'Red Dragon' both smaller growers and quite hardy, or the lovely little kowhai spohora 'Dragon's Gold' grows only to about one-and-a-half metres with masses of small kowhai flowers. For a more shaded situation raohiolepsis 'Enchantress' the pink Indian hawthorn. Evergreen with dark shiny leaves and attractive pink flowers. To make a statement on a patio or in a mixed grouping cupressus semp 'Totem' equally at home in a tub and will make a good accent plant. Another cupressus which is most attractive in growth is 'Greenstead Magnificent'. A very

rich looking conifer. This one can be standardised and is very suitable for pot culture. Go to it and have fun.