Most gardens have some pots of some kind: for that special plant, some early bulbs or perhaps for summer annuals. I’m pretty much the same, though in recent years I’ve got more interested in having them dotted around the place in small groups and have invested in a few more upmarket specimens, from a favourite maker in the Cotswolds.
There’s a lot of pleasure in growing things in pots, for me especially in the early spring, where they can be moved in and out according to conditions. The greenhouse is a favoured place for growing things in pots. I tend to go for more exotic bulbous plants there, and have had some success with things like Pineapple Lily and Colcasia, though not necessarily with over-wintering them. In the last couple of years I’ve been buying sometimes sad-looking Japanese maples from supermarkets and trying to bring them on with a bit of tender loving care. They certainly enjoy being under glass through April and May, coming into leaf a little earlier than their outdoor companions and looking very nice when the early season sun appears.
There’s another group of pot-grown plants that I actually bring into the house in the coldest weather. A lovely silvery tinged Fatsia Japonica, given to me last Christmas, comes into that category, as does a Norfolk Island Pine, bought one year ago in the Edinburgh botanic gardens. When the weather is particularly good I operate in reverse and even take out house plants, such as the succulent Aloe Vera, seen here basking in the Dumfriesshire sunshine.
Of course, pots are excellent for bulbs. This year I have some narcissi and tulips all planted and ready. I am also keen on growing hyacinths in glazed pots. We have them on a wire jardiniere outside a window, so they can be seen from the hallway. They give a lot of pleasure for quite a time, and with no bothersome malodour in the house. With the bulbs, I have taken, as with some other plants, to topping off the compost with mosses gathered from the garden: a very pleasing effect.
Some pots can’t really be called pots at all, such as these lovely elephants.
Then of course there are those other pots: brim-full in summer with jam made from fruits in the garden!
The full list of pieces that make up my A-Z in the Dumfriesshire Garden in 2024 can be found here: https://davidgrahamclark.net/a-z-of-the-dumfriesshire-garden-in-2024/
Quotidian 