Forum home› Plants
This Forum will close on Wednesday 27 March, 2024. Please refer to the announcement on the Discussions page for further detail.

Ideas for bright potted flowers for a roof terrace

catwill79vxm0J0XZcatwill79vxm0J0XZ Posts: 3
edited January 2021 in Plants
During lockdown last year I finally had time to clean up the back of my flat,  I grew lots of lovely flowers and herbs.  I want to do more this year.  I'm a complete novice!  The terrace is north facing,  I would like bright flowers to really cheer everyone up considering we will probably be in lockdown over spring too!  Climing plants are very welcome.  I grew nasturtiums from seed last year and they did well.  Thank you in advance! 
I am in Glasgow,  should have said

Posts

  • WillowBarkWillowBark Posts: 243
    I am a novice too, and likewise wanting to grow more flowers this year. One of the climbers that I've got seeds for is something called "Black Eyed Susan" (the seeds were free with a magazine - always a good source for trying new things!); I've never tried it before, but it's got lovely bright flowers with a black centre, so might be one to try for colour? Although I think it needs to be grown as an annual rather than a perennial, because it sounds like it isn't tolerant of freezing temperatures, which you would definitely get in winter in Glasgow.

    The other obvious one in terms of climbers is clematis, as there is such a huge range of varieties and colours to choose from. There's pretty much a clematis to suit everybody's taste. I've got three climbing clematis in my garden, Destiny (largish white flowers), Piilu (two flowerings of large pinky flowers at different times of year), and one with yellow bell flowers which I've lost the label for but which I think is some sort of Clematis Tangutica, and the flowers of all of them are gorgeous. I've also got a bush clematis called Clematis Aromatica, which has dark bluey purple flowers; apparently it does what it says on the tin and smells amazing, but I've only just planted it, so I'll have to wait and see!

    The only thing you might have to bear in mind if you are in a flat is how high the climbers will grow if there are people living above you - the neighbours might not like your plants encroaching on their own balconies, so you may want to either check with them before growing climbers, or be aware that you might need to train climbers away from their space if needs be.
  • catwill79vxm0J0XZcatwill79vxm0J0XZ Posts: 3
    Wow,  thanks so much
      Off to do some more research now
  • LoxleyLoxley Posts: 5,698
    I find natural green-ness just as cheerful as colourful flowers - would you consider some nice ornamental grasses as well? Pots of grasses look very nice on a terrace, perhaps Hakonechloa or Luzula nivea, given the north facing aspect. If you're growing from seed, Chasmanthium latifolium is easy to start from seed. (The others would be better bought as plants, although you can divide them and they will clump up quite fast).
    "What is hateful to you, do not do to your neighbour". 
  • WillowBarkWillowBark Posts: 243
    @Loxley makes a good point, grasses can be a wonderful statement piece, and can provide some great contrast in terms of structure and form, plus looking beautiful in their own right. You can also get some quite striking ferns, if you wanted a mixture of different components. That plus a real pop of colour from some nice bright flowers would look stunning - very lush and full of life!
  • WillowBarkWillowBark Posts: 243
    Going back to flowers, sweet peas are also very beautiful, in a delicate, cottage garden kind of way - and again, there are lots of colours and varieties to choose from, from pastels right up to lovely deep, rich tones. Some of them also have a wonderful scent. You can get some that are twining climbers, and also shorter varieties suitable for hanging baskets or just growing in a pot. Sarah Raven has quite a good selection to choose from, if you wanted a starting point. You would have to sow new ones each year, though, as they don't last through winter.
  • rosehenderson90rosehenderson90 Posts: 83
    I second sweet peas, they are lovely!

    And black eyed susans, which I think are Rudbeckia? I grew these in a pot last year and they are lovely! I'm in Scotland too and they 100% died in the winter. You can get dwarf ones too i think, i think GW magazine gave away seeds for a dwarf variety. 

    I grew Calendula in pots last year too. Very easy to grow and care for I found! And a lovely bright orange. Plus you can use the flowers for lots of things. I put them in homemade bath bombs, can make calendula oil etc. And seeds very easy to save so you can save them for following year and not need to buy them again.

    Dahlias are also lovely and many varieties!

    My garden its relatively sunny though so not sure how the above fair if north facing means they won't get lots of sun. 

    Hope that helps anyway!! 
  • edhelkaedhelka Posts: 2,351
    Fuchsias can tolerate lower light levels very well.
  • catwill79vxm0J0XZcatwill79vxm0J0XZ Posts: 3
    Thanks so much! 
Sign In or Register to comment.