Potted plants help.

[JorisBonson]

Let me start by saying I am an awful, awful gardener and have killed any indoor or outdoor plant I've ever had. My garden is south facing and has sun pretty much all day.

Lived in my current house for a year and the soil is TERRIBLE - full of rubble, dry, dusty and patchy. I tried to plant stuff in it and they died pretty quickly. So I think pots are my only way. (Trying to make the grass look respectable in the meantime!)

I've bought some of those lovely little colourful pots that hang over the fence. The issue being that this particular part of the garden only gets sun first thing, then the fence puts it into shade for the rest of the day. Can anyone recommend any small, hardy plants or flowers that would do well in this environment?

I'm also planning on getting some barrell planters and a lemon and a lime tree. This will be in a part of the garden that has sunshine until about 7pm at the moment. Would this work?

Thanks greenthumbers.

I planted petunias in my front windowbox, which only gets the sun last thing, I wasn't sure how they'd do but they've gone mad, loads of them, so you could try them.

Those pots are tiny and dry out really quickly. I plant annuals in mine and the watering is incessant. I'd advise using some of those gel water retaining things with the compost, whatever you decide. Anything in pots will be water hungry.

The best advice is the old advice. Look at what your nearest neighbours grow successfully.

As for the lemon tree, I have an unheated green house and keeping a lemon alive in there is a chore. Fleece over winter, citrus feeding regime and water, water, water in the summer.

I'll be honest, I mainly grow tumbling tomatoes in my smaller pots but they obviously don't over winter.

Thanks @DonLewis I'll have a look at those gel things.

I'm not so bad with the watering and we have a sprinkler for the grass during warm weather.

@Strugglingtodomybest will have a look at petunias

Pots are hard work compared with planting in the ground. Can you look at getting a raised bed then filling with compost or top soil to give you something to plant into? Then pick plants that are right for the space in terms of how much sun it gets, maybe Mediterranean plants if the soil is rocky and dry? Lemon trees need to be in a shed/porch/cold greenhouse over winter I think.

The raised bed advice is a good one. Alternatively layer up a bed or two with manure, grass clippings, mulch, compost....cover over for the winter with cardboard and then plant in the spring. Or plant through the cardboard with something fairly hardy now. I'd sow some nasturtium seeds in a small pot and then plant that in the cardboard.

It'll grow really well, cover the cardboard and help with the rotting down of everything. The nasturtiums will die off in the winter but they'll have done the job.

Improving the soil is the way to go.

Pots are hard work - they need to be big or you'll be forever watering them in a south facing garden.

Plant lavendar and other things that cope with being sunbaked and not watered all the time. Like sedums.

Thanks all, this is really useful. I'd definitely like some lavender to help the bees out.

Oh, as much as I'd like to get the garden dug up and get some decent soil and turf, it's 100ft long and we just can't afford it 😟

Lemon and lime trees aren't hardy in the UK so unless you have a conservatory they can live in during the winter, that's a no-go.

Try an olive instead. They cope with our winters better.

Geraniums are good in pots and can cope with drying out a bit.

Definitely need at least a porch to keep your lemon tree in during winter.
Was also going to say geranium, mine seem to absolutely thrive on neglect!! Lobeia also seem to cope very well with not much water, they are a bedding, annual but the geraniums may well keep coming back each year with a bit of effort.

That's great, thank you! Think we'll rethink the lemon tree (it was mainly for gin purposes 😂) but I love the idea of an olive tree.