National Gardening Week this week is encouraging everyone to plant up a colourful pot in celebration of the Coronation of King Charles III. Not ones to miss out, we’ve created our own – and we’re auctioning it off in aid of local sight charity, Open Sight. Do drop in and place your closed bid before the closing date on 8th May to be in with a chance of taking this fantastic planter home with you.
If you’re not our winning bid, here’s how to recreate your own planter at home. You will need:
The plants –
The materials –
Think about where you want your completed pot to stand when you’ve made it; full of soil and plants, it will be quite heavy so you might find it easier to build it in situ rather than have to think about moving later.
If you are using a wooden planter, as we have, you might want to line it with plastic sheeting to help preserve the pot. Fold the sheeting to fit then pierce a few drainage holes in the bottom so it doesn’t become water-logged. Then fill your chosen pot with compost up to about 1 inch (2.5 cms) below the rim. Don’t worry about firming the soil yet.
Start with your largest plant, the Marguerite. Before you knock it out of its plastic pot, dig a hole in the compost large enough to sit it in and check for size and level. The level of the soil in the plastic pot should be the same when it’s in your planter. When you’re happy, knock it out of the plastic pot and loosen a few of the exposed roots, to help them reach into the soil. Sit the Marguerite in the hole and check that it is upright and level. Again, don’t worry about firming it in yet.
Now take your other plants and arrange them, still in their pots, around the planter so they are evenly distributed. We planted the Euphorbia as an inner circle to provide height and wispiness under the Marguerite, with the Surfinia then nearest the edge for colour. You can plant them however you prefer, of course!
Once you are happy with the arrangement, knock each plant from its pot and dig a small hole in the compost to place it in. When all the plants are in the soil, carefully firm around each one, adding more compost if you need to level it off.
Finally, give the whole planter a good water. This helps to ensure the roots make good contact with the soil, eliminates air gaps in the pot, helps to level the surface and – of course! – waters the plants.
Keep your planter watered regularly and remove any flowers that have finished to keep it looking spectacular all summer long!
The total retail cost of the plants, planter and compost (correct at May 2023): £96.35
Further reading this month:
Jobs to be getting on with in your garden this May
What to plant in May
Your guide to summer bedding plants
Would you like wildflower turf in your garden?
