Seasonal pots for shade - The Summer Edition

By Veronica 

This is always a tricky one! It is Summer and the garden, or balcony, is bursting with colour but, yet, there is always that corner that gets barely any sun and plants just keep dying on you.

Well, not all is lost, as you will see with Martina’s expert advice, you will get these pots blooming for months on end even in shade!

We will prepare one window box (Elho Barcelona through in anthracite) and a bowl (Basalt levy bowl from Dunne and Dineen) for the garden table.

For this project, you will also need:

Multipurpose Compost or Container & Basket compost.

• Gloves
• A hand trowel
• And of course plants! Here is the selection:

• Fuchsia, Impatiens (Busy lizzy)
• Begonia (here the tuberous one for its extra large flowers)
• Violas
• Lobelia

If you need something trailing for your baskets, the choice is limited, you might consider:

• Ivy
• Ajuga
• Lysimachia (Creeping Jenny)
• Vinca

Step-by-Step for gorgeous potted containers:

• Pre-fill your pots almost to the top without pressing down the compost. You can use the ‘Quick n’ Easy’ Martina’s method for window boxes or simply use the trowel for any other shape.

• Place the larger plant in the middle. Here we used a tuberous begonia in the window box and a Lime green Fuchsia Genii for the bowl.

N.B.:  Because the bowl  will be seen from all angle on the table, we choose to plant it symmetrically. If you are potting up a larger container that you will display against a wall, you will then place the larger plants at the back.

P.S. : Make sure you tease out the roots of your plants before planting them so they can spread faster .

• It is always good to have a few evergreen elements in your arrangement. Why not try some ferns (see below) which you can keep from one season to the next. Furthermore, they add body and texture to the mix.

• Not only, plants in packs are good value, they are also great as fillers as you can squeeze them in the remaining gaps.

For the window box: Plant them slightly tilted to the front so even if they are not really trailing, they will hang over. Here, violas and lobelias.

For the bowl: Things, here, need to remain tidier on the table, so we chose upright and not less bright busy lizzies and violas for long summer colour.

• The finishing touch:

Fill up almost to the top (allow 2 cm for watering) with compost.

Press down to make sure that it is well compacted and water well.

You can use grit as a top layer as well for a very neat finishing touch.

Maintenance:

When it comes to containers, watering and feeding are the key to success. If you are forgetful (like me), use the slow release plant food. You will, then, have to mix it through the compost prior to planting to be off-the-hook for 6 months!

Otherwise, liquid plant food is very good, applied once every two weeks. For your seasonal flowering pots, tomato fertilizer is a must-have, thanks to its high potash content. However, if you are limited for space, have only one plant food and let it be liquid seaweed.

Please note, this selection of plants is suitable for areas that will get as little as 2-3 hours of sunlight per day. If the area you want to leaf up is darker than this, you can refer to our article on perennials for shade or talk directly to one of our horticulturists on-site.