Flower Pot Design suggestions
jake8
Posts: 2
I'm trying to work out what plants would be best to have at the base of my flower pots in the front garden.
A few years ago I planted some annual plants, Petunias amongst others. Which looked great, but due to them dying off, left the base as soil over the winter. Unfortunately my chickens saw this as a perfect opportunity to have a mud bath in, leaving no soil in the base to use in the summer.
I'm looking for a plant that is preferably ever green (to keep those pesky chickens at bay), has a nice flower and can survive the British weather. I currently have rhododendrons at the top with bulbs which flower in the spring as pictured.
What are your suggestions?
Cheers
0
Posts
I think I'd use the black grass-like perennial, ophiopogon planiscapus 'Nigrescens'. Perennial, evergreen (well, ever black) and probably not too attractive to chickens.
H-C
If you change the plants each season you need to add fresh planting medium/compost every year anyway.
If you can fill the bottom beds with gritty compost I would suggest lavender Hidcote or Munstead which would withstand a British winter very well as long as drainage is good. You'll need to trim the spent flowers back once a year, cutting no more than an inch into the foliage stems and that will keep the plants renewed and vigorous.
A low growing evergreen shrub that might do is hebe youngii https://www.rhs.org.uk/Plants/90829/Hebe-Youngii/Details
You could underplant with daffodils to extend the interest.
"We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing." - George Bernard Shaw
A simple one-species silver leaved planting - Artemisia schmidtiana or Helichrysum italicum. Or clipped box perhaps.
Or lavender as Obelixx says! But the key principle is "keep it simple".
Chickens will scratch up everything....except in my experience parsley....strange but true.
All are excellent suggestions, thank you very much!!
p.s. @Redwing , I also have rabbits, and I'm sure they would destroy the parsley haha!
Thank you all again,
Jake
yes
But they'll be ready seasoned for the pot!
H-C
marjoram?