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Placing/grouping plants in the right place
karen.spreadbury86094
Posts: 3
Hi all,
I need help with my garden design ie placing /grouping plants/pots please! I’ve got a small courtyard garden.
I need help with my garden design ie placing /grouping plants/pots please! I’ve got a small courtyard garden.
I buy plants that I really like but don’t know how to group/ place them. Was trying to achieve a natural look but it just ends up looking cluttered/congested or plants lined up like in a garden centre ha ha! 🤦🏻♀️
Have got pots on the patio around the conservatory and along the sides of the lawn and in front of the raised brick bed. Including:
Wisteria, star Jasmine, shrub rose bush, mock orange, x 2 tall cannas, x 2 hydrangeas, x 2 acers, x 1 olive tree, x 5 bamboo (lining the garage wall) x 3 clematis , x 3 salvia, dahlia x 1, grasses x 2, x 3 pots of annuals (geranium & trailing lobelia). Have some cosmos and vanilla ice sunflowers I grew from seed in the border down one side of the lower level.
Have got pots on the patio around the conservatory and along the sides of the lawn and in front of the raised brick bed. Including:
Wisteria, star Jasmine, shrub rose bush, mock orange, x 2 tall cannas, x 2 hydrangeas, x 2 acers, x 1 olive tree, x 5 bamboo (lining the garage wall) x 3 clematis , x 3 salvia, dahlia x 1, grasses x 2, x 3 pots of annuals (geranium & trailing lobelia). Have some cosmos and vanilla ice sunflowers I grew from seed in the border down one side of the lower level.
Do I just place a few pots of annual plants around the conservatory. ie less is more?
Ground level
Ground level
South facing garden. Victorian style Conservatory with surrounding patio. Small square lawn 4m approx with raised bed running along the whole of the back garden with a 4-5ft brick wall. This raised area only gets part sun. Have a large choisya shrub, x 2 salvias and another shrub ( forgotten it’s name! ) in it. Poor sandy soil.
Upper level
Neighbours tall sycamore trees line the fence behind the laurel hedging. So doesn’t get that much sun.
Steps to the side of raised bed lead up to this gravelled area. Have grown Cosmos flowers and recently planted a very small fig tree.
Steps to the side of raised bed lead up to this gravelled area. Have grown Cosmos flowers and recently planted a very small fig tree.
Would much appreciate any advice/help !! Sorry it’s so longwinded !!
0
Posts
The size of the space as well as your location are the main factors. What grows in the south of England won't necessarily grow here where I am, let alone further north, for example. Large plants need room to grow too. A south facing plot will still have parts that are in shade, so that determines what goes where.
Bigger shrubs and climbers really need to be in the ground though, unless the raised beds are substantial enough for them. They also need a soil based mix, not compost. It's important to choose plants which suit your climate and conditions if you want them to thrive.
Trees and other neighbouring planting will also affect the amount of sun/shade and most importantly - the amount of moisture. The amount of time you have for maintenance is also a factor
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
As @Fairygirl says, some photos would be a great help. There is a forum glitch which means they tend to come out sideways unless the size is reduced before posting, so if you could bear that in mind it would help.
Also, if you have quite a few photos, maybe spilt them into separate posts of 3 or 4 photos per post as that helps to avoid overwhelming different devices.
You have definitely come to the right place for advice
1 Always group in odd numbers 3/5/7. The same plant repeated in a line can also look good.
2 In a small space a large pot creatse drama. Expensive but to be considered over time.
The bigger the pot the less you need to water generally.
3 It is not always about the plants you like, you need to consider how each plant will contribute to your scheme. Consider the leave shapes colours and textures as well as any flowers.
4 This is not an easy task needs constant editing through the season, so can some pots be moved elsewhere?
5 Keep a diary note on feeding, things that work well things that don't.
6 Moving plants in pots to a different aspect in the summer months can cause them to lean and look untidy for a while.
7 I would always include some grasses in pots to set of the flowers which unless you are growing for their seedheads you need to deadhead regularly.
@JennyJ that was an interesting clip but when she said 'only a short term plan' I thought 'then what?'
ETA I was never a fan of grasses (don't tell @Plantminded) but I have some smallish plants in two large mismatched pots and a bronze grass in each one makes them look good together. It makes them match without matchy matchy.
I got the impression she rearranges the potted plants regularly for seasonal interest. Of course that takes money for new plant and space to keep the out-of-season ones, but there's good stuff there on arranging plants that look good together.
I would never plant lots of different grasses together in one border there are times in the year when they need the support of different plants.
Great for breaking up a scheme that is very colourful and in need of calm.
@JennyJ Arranging pots was something I did when workin,g for as you say seasonal interest.
@plant pauper You could visit a GC and just put together a small group of nonflowering plants with different leaf shapes, check they are for a similar aspect. No need to buy! just to get ideas .