If you are looking for height/impact - I found using a basic black waste/garbage bin worked really well. You need to drill holes in the bottom, but they are also easy enough to move as they usually have sturdy moulded handles. (also no need to totally fill with compost, just fill the bottom half with empty plastic bottles. Once you have other medium sized pots and plants in front - noone knows it’s a bin! The fatsia at the corner was getting too huge for the decking space, and has now been put into the ground.
@Fire Interesting you should mention metal planters out of full sun. I am looking for a pot for my new garden. It will be placed on a south facing patio. Is it true that with a metal container it will be too hot for the roots?
I have worked as a Gardener for 24 years. My latest garden is a new build garden on heavy clay.
I don't really know re the UK. @Nollie says it certainly doesn't work in his very hot env. in Spain. I would think that putting some kind of wicker hurdle or such around the metal would help, or perhaps other pots and plants in front. Perhaps if there is a shadier corner it might be a safer bet. It would be interesting to a trial and then look at the root systems to see if they had any problems over a hot summer.
Dolly tubs and such certainly do seem to be popularly used containers in the UK. There are lots of cheap galvanised bins and buckets on Ebay, new and pre-loved. Zinc seems like a good option.
The main thing to consider, once you've decided on what you like, is how to group them. You can have a mix of sizes, but they really need to be linked by colour. That avoids having a jumble which is less pleasing to look at as your eye just jumps from one pot to another instead of creating a more harmonius look. The planting should then do the same - keep the range of colours to around three, and mix plants in that range according to heights and widths, and use foliage to get some contrast as well. Groups of uneven numbers always looks best, just as it does in a border. The space you have will dictate that too If you want a formal look, go for pots the same size, but that works best if you want a symmetrical 'line' all exactly the same. It suits the edge of a patio or similar as a physical division, or to line path edges. The plants all have to be the same too.
The size of pots has to suit the plant, so you'd certainly want something in that 15 to 18 inch diameter for any sizeable shrub, or if you want a full on display of annuals, depending on what they are of course. Some Petunias or Marigolds will manage in an 8 inch pot whereas Sweet peas or Dahlias won't.
Have you any good resources for how to arrange pots? Articles or books you might recommend?
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