Outdoor pot plants - help!

[HamBagelNoCheese]

Hi,

We recently moved into a new home (rented so limited options wise!). The front garden under the living room window is small, rectangular, gravelled and barren.

I'd like to be able to stick a few pots with something in for some greenery/colour. Bonus points for bee friendly! Ideally low maintenance - we are not gardeners so something that can sit there requiring minimal input would be ideal. The front garden faces south-east.

Please can someone tell me what I should be looking at?! Thank you 😊

What sort of sizes of pots are you thinking of?

The space there will take any size I think, the gravelled area is the width of two cars parked side by side

pop To the garden centre and see what you like, you need pots, compost, plants, feed. Some big some small. Beware if isn’t cheap.

i like camellias, roses and Acers. Petunias and non stop begonias. Avoid lavender unless you know what you’re doing.

Lavender is really good in a pot. Rosemary as well. They both smell awesome.

I have both Rosemary and lavender in pots, both doing really well and bees love them.

Salvia and lavender can do well in a sunny spot.

Was just about to post an identical thing! I've been to a few plant sales this weekend and picked up some cheap ish colourful plants which I plan to put into pots for some colour outside. We have a rental too but the garden is not ideal for planting mostly trees/shrubs. Not a natural gardener either and I like instant results. Also south east.

Water retaining crystals/gel in the compost. Buddleia will grow in a pot, small conifers, patio fruit. Pots planted with spring bulbs and summer flowering perennials.

Could you tart up the gravel with some bags of these?

https://www.wickes.co.uk/Products/Building-Materials/Cement+Aggregates/Decorative-Stones+Gravel/c/1000212

Plant things that slugs dislike. Geraniums, petunia, dianthus, lobelia, busy lizzies for small things. I agree with lavender and rosemary being useful and also Bay. Azaleas in large bits will add more structure and are evergreen.

Think carefully how you will.arrange the pots, chose an odd number: 9, 7, 5 and arrange larger pots at the back of the group.

You will need to water daily throughout dry spells and feed weekly with something like tomorite.

It won't come cheap - a large terracotta/ceramic pot will be £45 at least, plus good quality compost. You may find it helps to build up. I'd start with one large pot with a statement plant like an azaelia for the first year and buy a couple of ready planted pots from Homebase for £15 each - they are in now with geranium, petunia, lobelia, etc. In the autumn you can replace the annuals with primroses and pansies.

Next year I'd add the lavender, rosemary and Bay. And again use some ready planted pots.

I would have something that looks good (evergreen) all year, so not just for summer. Rosemary and sage are lovely with bee friendly flowers, and there are sun loving shrubs like choyisa, and eunonymus (variegated which looks lovely). Pieris is an adaptable shrub - can be clipped and made into a tub plant, a hedge or even a smallish tree. It keeps its leaves, which change colour throughout the year.

Lavender is great rhe first year but a lot of people struggle rhe second and subsequent.

Should have added that if you want camellia or azalea, they will need specialist compost for acid loving plants.

Morrisons is usually good for cheap pots if you live near a large one with a garden section. They were doing 2 large terracotta pots for £15ish when I went last

Mine are fine with normal compost but I add a lot of mulch.

I've got hebes, buddleia, roses, various trees in pots, underplanted with things like lavender, thyme, geraniums.

Pretty much anything will grow in pots, it's nice to get a bit of height plus evergreen is good.

Usually this is either because they've planted French instead of English, or don't prune.

English lasts a good while if cared for.

Another person here who thinks lavender is not suitable for a beginner gardener who has requested low-maintenance ideas.

OP, I would highly recommend that you get the biggest pots you can afford. They will be at less danger of drying out if you go away for a weekend. You can often pick them up at boot sales, auctions and plant sales for far less than you would pay at a garden centre.

Consider climbing plants such as honeysuckle, jasmine or climbing roses to have at the back of your display against the house walls. As well as having a lovely scent, taller plants will add structure to your container garden.

Big pots give lots of scope, though a few smaller ones you can move around seasonally can be a good idea too. Eg you might have a couple with a mix of bulbs for spring and then swap it for one with summer pelargoniums or petunias.

Choice of pots: big is good, though a few smaller ones to move around seasonally are useful too.
While terracotta and ceramic pots look lovely and their weight makes them more stable if you have anything that gets top-heavy, they may not be so practical as plastic if you're likely to move and want to take your plants with you. Plastic pots usually need less watering than terracotta.

Agree Pieris is a good choice for year round interest and for bees early in the year, and rosemary too. One of my front door pots has a sweet box - it's quite nice year round foliage but it's moved right by the door in winter/early spring for its glorious scent.

Thank you everyone who has taken the time to reply so far, its much appreciated. Time to do some googling to see what these things are!

I'm also wanting to plant some raspberries and strawberries in the back- will raspberries do OK in a trough type planter? Presuming too late for this year now

The key thing with any plant in a pot (but especially the brightly coloured small flowering plants aka "bedding plants" which any garden centre will be full of right now, is WATER. You need to be prepared to water most days.

It won't come cheap - a large terracotta/ceramic pot will be £45 at least, plus good quality compost. Don’t waste money on expensive pots at the back where you won’t see them. You can use anything as a container if you drill holes in the bottom, including builders’ black plastic trugs. One of my containers id the drum of a washing machine. Then you can put nice pots at the front and hide the lot.

Good time to buy strawberry plants and they should fruit this year. They’re in flower at the moment

Thanks, was starting to think I must be imagining it. Lavender is the one thing most novice gardeners fall foul of in second or third year, it’s not for a novice looking for low maintenance.

I was just coming to say this. I have twice bought nesting pots they come in fours and are reasonably cheap
I've had them a few years and no damage

Get the biggest pots you can for the space, make sure they have drainage holes and use bits of broken crockery to stop the holes getting blocked up.

All pots need watering in the summer but some plants are more drought tolerant than others, geraniums, salvias, lavender, Lillies are happy in pots.