Container planting scheme help

[jobnockey]

Hi all,
Planning my front garden as a way of distraction from all of the other goings on in the world.

I want a container display near the living room windows but can't settle on a planting scheme. The garden faces North west, gets a few hours sunshine in the afternoon/evening during the summer.

I can't decide whether to have lots of nice foliage and white flowers or to go really bold with colours (the back garden is quite 'cool' with whites blues and purples so may be nice to have something different out the front?). or even what will be possible without a lot of sunshine? I am scrolling through lots of garden and container designs but can't settle on anything. My mistake in the past is to just get loads of different things and to chuck it all together. it would be nice for once to have a theme, or something to tie it all together. Any ideas or inspiration?

I like things a bit wild (i.e not too formal or modern looking) and wildlife friendly is a definite bonus...

The front garden has recently been 'emptied' so it's a bit of a blank canvas. Have a few containers and pots ready to plant though and happy to add to them...

anyone got any ideas or help for me?

A house near me has a huge array of pots out front in summer, and the garden is in shade for part of the day. They have the most fantastic display of begonias, fuschias and busy lizzies.

How about something like that?

Thanks! That could work, would certainly be colourful...

I’ve never grown those type of flowers and always thought they’re a bit ‘old ladyish’ ... (although I don’t know who I’m kidding as I definitely qualify for that)! I don’t know why as they do always look really lovely all together, if a bit garish?

Will add some examples of this type to my Pinterest board!

I used to plant for the village hall. Have to say I would never choose this myself but by planting everything - small pink begonias, French marigolds big and small, pelargoniums in the middle, trailing nepeta (and other trailers), lobelia, probably others I can't think of.
The thing was you stuffed them all in at the beginning of the summer and something was in flower all summer, with no attention, eventually being removed after the first frost. And regardless of the weather something would make a good show.

I’ve done colourful and tasteful. Both are good but I always enjoyed the very colourful more!

In a really big container last year I put some bulbs in, bit late now but you could buy some daffodils in pots in garden centre. Then layer some other stuff on top.

Then put in a tangerine dream geum (gets big) a variegated scented geranium, a dark red sedum, some cosmos and some nigh scented stock seeds. It was lovely and very low maintenance and lasted through to the last frost.

Dahlias are fantastic in big containers. I’m a bit sniffy about begonias but a frien had the most amazing display of red non stop begonias that went on forever.

Thanks for these ideas everyone.

I never thought about dahlias in pots. Will they be okay with the aspect do you think? I've always assumed they need lots of sun?

I'm thinking I may just pick a colour scheme and just go for it with whatever I can find. Will be good to have something flowering all summer and then the fun of making winter containers when the time comes around...

having said that, it would be good to have one or two things which are year round if anyone has any ideas about that?

Have a look at the Sarah Raven pot collections, I’m not suggesting you buy them unless you are mega rich, they are pricey, but she does have the gift of putting plants together that look as though they were born to grow alongside each other.

Thanks @viques funnily enough i just happened upon one of her videos after searching for 'dahlias in pots'. Excellent inspiration and i'm sure I can use it to put something together at half the price!

does anyone have additional advice about growing dahlias in containers? Best to buy plants or are they easy enough to grow from tubers, defo want then to flower this year...?

Dahlias will do fine in pots grown from tubers. You won’t get the shoulder high plants that Monty Don gets because he plants his out in borders but they will flower. You will however have to grit your teeth and suffer a bad case of dahlia envy during next autumns GW.

Good sized pots, good compost and drainage, stake securely, pinch out side shoots, keep well watered.

Thank you @viques, i'm going to give it a go.

Dahlias do work well in pots but we are a long way off yet to flowering time.

With a fairly large collection of containers I would have some with more permanent evergreens or grasses and then others that I can update with seasonal plants.

I am a bit more keen now on one type of plant per pot and then having lots of pots than having lots of different plants in one pot but this perhaps looks more "modern".

Plants that have worked well in my pots (and mostly grown from seeds & bulbs) - alliums, tulips, daffs (white ones look good) lavender, rosemary, cosmos.

In winter I have hellebores, cyclamen, heathers, skimmia and another small acid loving red-berried evergreen can't think of it's name.

Also keeping fewer plants in one pot means you can provide the most suitable soil/conditions easily.

Unless you are planting bedding dahlias, make sure you leave plenty of room for the roots do .Don’t be tempted to cram too many things in. They will do well in shade because they need lots of water. Also feed them With either tomato fertiliser or seaweed as they are hungry plants. Like sweat peas, the more you cut the more flowers you get.

Be sure you are dead heading spent flowers and not new buds.
New buds are always flat, spent buds are coned shape.

I save my biggest pots for the dahlias, really chunky pots. But they were fabulous this year. I overwinter in pots in a sheltered spot in the garden and refresh the compost in the spring. But they won’t do anything till late autumn so you’ll need other stuff.I have agapanthus in huge pots that do brilliantly and are really spectacular.

Also a couple of evergreen azaleas that work well with smaller pots of flowering stuff round them.

I have have and only have white blue and purple flowers in it.
Try Alliums in white and blue, Nepeta six hills giant has beautiful long lasting mauve flowers and silver foliage. I also have a mixture of old English and white lavender.

Sorry that was meant to say I have only edible and pollinator friendly plants in our garden.

1Dandelion1 - doesn't the Nepeta six Hills Giant become too big for the tub over the summer?

@PinkyParrot, I have mine at one end of a 30x70cm trough, it fits in nicely and has put on a brilliant display for 4 years so far.
My cat is quite reactive to catnip but this variety isn't very potent.

@LindainLockdown

Dahlias do work well in pots but we are a long way off yet to flowering time.

With a fairly large collection of containers I would have some with more permanent evergreens or grasses and then others that I can update with seasonal plants.

I am a bit more keen now on one type of plant per pot and then having lots of pots than having lots of different plants in one pot but this perhaps looks more "modern".

Plants that have worked well in my pots (and mostly grown from seeds & bulbs) - alliums, tulips, daffs (white ones look good) lavender, rosemary, cosmos.

In winter I have hellebores, cyclamen, heathers, skimmia and another small acid loving red-berried evergreen can't think of it's name.

Also keeping fewer plants in one pot means you can provide the most suitable soil/conditions easily.

This is excellent advice.

I have a collection of pots, some with "static" evergreen plants such as eucalyptus and olive (I just re-pot as needed) and some that I re-plant as the seasons change.

Pots that I re-plant as the seasons change:

Winter/spring flowering = planted in November/December with bulbs and bedding (currently loving hellebores, ferns and violas).

Summer/autumn flowering = planted with a mixture of perennials (usually bought to give structure and height, then planted into the garden at the end of the season) and annual bedding.

Thanks so much everyone, this has helped massively... i have lots of random pots so the one plant per pot thing should be fairly easy to do and I can see the benefits.