In these water conscious
days, the practice of having lots of pots and containers
around our gardens is something we need to consider carefully
for a variety of reasons, however much they may enhance our
outdoor spaces. Bedding plants have come under fire in
recent times for being very wasteful of a variety of
resources, plus the trial of the evening watering routine is
something many of us look forward to with a certain amount of
dread. When time is not an issue, filling the watering
cans from our water butts and taking a leisurely stroll around
the garden, watering a little, dead heading and just admiring
flowers in pots and other containers, can be a pleasant way of
spending our evenings. All too often though, we may
forget this task until late in the day, when it is no longer a
pleasure but simply one more thing to add to our list of
regular jobs. Plus there are the times we might go away
for a few days, or longer, which then means soliciting a
favour from a neighbour – always with a certain amount of
guilt.
Each year at this time I look at my selection of empty
terracotta pots, wooden containers made by my husband, old
glazed pots inherited from my parents’ garden and wonder if it
is really worth not only all the effort, but all the resources
too. My conclusion after a brief pause is always ‘yes’. The
hard surfaces around our gardens, whether they are patios,
terraces, decking or paths, benefit from the softening effect
of an added injection of flowers and foliage, and there is no
better way to do this than to use containers. Creating extra
planting spaces also means we are making the most of the area
available to us and more vegetation in our gardens means more
opportunity to attract and sustain wildlife. We all have a
duty to be environmentally conscious and organic gardeners
have led in this field for many years. However, there is
always room for progress and for most of us there are still
plenty of ways in which we can improve our record.
Grow Wildlife Friendly Plants
Growing your own plants for your containers - from seeds,
bulbs or cuttings rather than buying from the garden centre -
means that the plants have not travelled hundred of miles to
reach you. The majority of plants found in garden
centres will have been grown in Holland or elsewhere on the
Continent and shipped in. They will be planted in
compost that is composed largely of peat plus artificial
fertiliser. The flimsy plastic modules or pots that they
are grown in generally have a very short life and cannot be
frequently re-used, plus of course they end up in landfill and
may take many years to break down. Just as important is
that the majority of these bedding plants, as well as being so
wasteful of resources, are often devoid of nectar and pollen
and of little use to our already struggling bees and
butterflies. It used to be possible to find a few
wildlife friendly plants but increasingly these are
disappearing to be replaced by sterile varieties.
Growing our own gives us an opportunity to rectify all of
these problems, as long as we choose our plants in an informed
way.
First choice could be a selection of wildflowers.
There are many that are suitable for container growing,
especially smaller species including wild pinks, wild pansies,
bird’s foot trefoil which will tumble over the edge of a pot,
some seaside plants such as thrift and sea pea and those that
are rather too rampant in the open garden, including the
beautiful yellow toadflax. Keeping this in a container makes
sure it doesn’t take over the garden! Many will flower over a
long period and if grown in conjunction with a few tried and
testing bedding annuals that are easy to grown from seed, you
could have a long lasting, wildlife attracting display. I
like to grow dark red antirrhinums with small scabious which
results in a combination of maroon and mauve flowers that buzz
with bees. Another good combination is the golden leaved
variety of our wild marjoram with almost anything that takes
your fancy, as the leaves of the marjoram are such a wonderful
colour and set off almost any flower admirably. This spring I
will try it with bright red nasturtiums, again to attract
bumblebees and honeybees.
You could also try – dainty blue harebell with white and blue trailing
Lobelia, quaking grass with blue Petunias (which attract hawk
moths at night) or maybe common toadflax with yellow Tagetes
and tumbling Bidens ferulifolia
for contrasting flower shapes and a bold, bright splash of
yellow.
Perennials
Perennials that remain in their pots all year round can be a
labour saving option as well as insect friendly, as I find
they only need a little tidying before putting away in a
sheltered corner in the autumn and an injection of compost top
dressed in the spring. Try Verbena bonariensis with Gaura
lindheimeri in a large container for an airy combination of
white and purple that will have the butterflies flocking to
your pots. Sedum spectabile is also suitable for a pretty pot
and a few blue or white petunias around the edges ensures
colour from mid summer until October. Both butterflies and
moths with appreciate this combination.
You could also try
- smaller varieties of hardy geraniums, erigeron, or catmint
with lobelia or nasturtiums to trail over the edges.
Bulbs, corms and tubers
Summer flowering bulbs and corms can create a real focal
point. I grow both regal lilies and dahlias in large pots for
summer colour, both bringing a range of hoverfly species to
their pollen. Open flowered dahlias are obviously the ones
you should look out for and these are easy to grow from seed.
My preference is for the Redskin varieties or the lovely red
Bishop of Llandaff (available as a tuber) but you could try
any of the smaller open flowered dahlias where the stamens are
visible. After their first summer the dahlia tubers can be
saved for the following year.
You could also try
– summer flowering alliums, which come in a variety of
colours, Ornithogalum, and other lilies.
Easy annuals
Easy wildlife friendly annuals are brilliant value whether you
sow directly into borders or into pots. Some such as the
small varieties of Nicotiana and dwarf foxgloves which will
flower in their first summer, benefit from sowing in small
seed trays first and transplanting into bigger containers, but
by and large I sow them directly into any pots I have hanging
around. They have the advantage of needing very little
watering too. I use California poppy, dwarf, coloured
cornflowers, night scented stock and English marigolds in pots
outside the back door with nasturtiums or pretty red lettuce
around the edges for emergencies!
You could also try
– larkspur, Shirley poppies, pansies, annual scabious and
nigella. Go for shorter varieties where they are available. |
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Herbs We
all know that herbs make good container plants so couple that
with their wildlife attracting abilities and you have a great
combination. Marjoram, thyme, chives, winter savoury and
lavender of course are all good options. Again you
can jazz them up with a few more traditional home grown
bedding plants around the edges if you wish. You don’t need to
stick to the categories above. Mix them up and create
something different and usual.
Compost Compost
for your pots and other containers shouldn’t be a problem. I
make my own with soil from my garden mole hills and add home
made compost. There will always be a few weed seeds but
nothing problematic I find. Most of the pots are watered
through the summer with a diluted ‘worm juice’ from my worm
composter. This has a tap on the bottom level which means I
can put my watering can underneath for a small amount of the
liquor and then fill up with water from the water butts - very
convenient – but any containers with wildflowers are generally
omitted from this routine. They do well enough without the
extra nutrients. For the non-natives though the liquid feed
ensures the plants get all the nutrients they need without
having to resort to expensive and resource hungry composts.
If you are buying compost make sure it is organic and peat
free. You can of course include water-retaining granules to
make the most of the water you give them. I also give most of
my pots, except those that need to be freely draining, a
saucer to catch water that would otherwise be lost.
We all need colour in our gardens – it is what summer
gardening is all about. But there are many ways of adding
more colourful blooms than simply dashing down to the garden
centre. Whether you re-use plastic pots or have a selection
of terracotta, glazed or wooden containers, we can all be more
conscious of the finite resources we are using up and help our
local wildlife at the same time. |
