pretty but easy to maintain potting plants??

[nannyjo]

I have no idea at all about gardening. We have laid a shingle base in front of our house (two parts 10'x5' approx, either side of the front door and path to it) I want to get 2 or 4 big wooden planters and make the front of the house look pretty. What is the easiest thing to keep alive (sorry but I really am crap but promise to try hard ) but looks quite nice???

Any advice would be very gratefully received. Also any advice on where to get reasonably priced pots (about 3' diameter) from.

Thanks very much

NJ

? [smie]

sorry meant

sorry but i'm just bumping to see if anyone can help. thanx

I love geraniums, you can get some quite big ones, they are pretty hardy (although wont prbably survive the winter) and look great.

agree geraniums are great, perhaps try petunias, busy lizzies, spread well with good colour.

All long flowering which is handy

thanks.

What about any tree/bush type plants??(good gardening terms there!)

Rosemary lasts well. As do Lavenders. Just hack them back at the end of the summer and they'll come back lovely next year.

This is Percy Thrower, signing off.

It'd be expensive to fill pots of that size just with bedding plants - and a bit of a faff to redo them twice a year - although you could save some cash by growing stuff from seed. Nasturtiums, for example, are easy to grow and very low maintenance. Nigella's also a doddle.

But I think you're right to want something bigger for a centrepiece. An upright rosemary would look good and you could put smaller plants around. Thyme and oregano make good edging plants. They can be pricy, but standard box trees would also look lovely. Flowering cherries and crab apples also look good in pots.

A friend found some bargain pots on ebay - have you looked there?