Osteospermums are perfect for growing in pots, offering a long season of pretty flowers for a sunny corner. Here, we’ve combined osteospermums with ornamental grass and santolina, whose foliage brings out the purple of the flowers.
Add crocks to the bottom of the pot to aid drainage, and fill two-thirds with compost.
Add slow-release fertiliser and water-retaining gel to the compost, and mix it in with your hands.
Add the stipa and osteospermum first, and tuck the santolina in around the other plants. Add compost to fill the gaps and firm in well. Water the pot thoroughly and leave to drain before moving to its final position.
Add a cottage-garden feel to your patio with this simple pot project. The trio of narcissus, carex and aubretia provides instant colour, as plants can be bought in flower. If other spring flowers catch your eye at the garden centre, you could use those instead. Find out how to create the display, below. You Will Need
The sweet-smelling irises should be in flower by late-winter if the weather is mild. Before then, you can enjoy the foliage combination of the needle-like iris, the filigree English ivy and the crimped fern. If you plant up this container feature in autumn you can use iris bulbs; if you wait until spring, simply buy pots of iris. Yo
If deadheaded regularly, pretty bellis daisies will keep flowering for weeks, offering a colourful display through spring and into summer. The English ivy in this pot recipe can be planted in the garden when the display is past its best. You Will Need
The hardy winter-flowering varieties of pansy are the best bet for winter and spring containers as they’re rarely without blooms, even when other plants are shivering in the cold. The flowers look stunning set off against the golden foliage of the thyme, around the olive tree as a centrepiece. You Will Need