Although not essential by any means, you can add a few finishing touches to your planted containers and their surroundings to lift them out of the ordinary and make them more stylish and eye-catching.
Decorative Trims
One of the easiest ways to enhance a container is by adding a decorative trim. There is a huge selection available in garden centres and online. Not only do these look more attractive than bare potting mix but they also serve a practical purpose – they help cut down weeds and also reduce the rate of water evaporation from the potting mix. Try to match the choice of trim to the style of the container and the planting.
Cotswold chippings Usually creamy white or beige, Cotswold chippings make a crisp, clean and stylish trim for containers.
Gravel/grit Available in a wealth of colours, gravel is ideal for many different plants.
Moss Both sheet and cushion moss, available from florists and garden centres, produce a lovely, natural trim for most plant displays.
Pebbles Beautiful pebbles, large or small, enhance many planting schemes, especially those associated with seashore plants like sea holly and thrift. Please note: don’t be tempted to remove pebbles and shells from beaches.
Slate Always stylish, grey slate looks especially good with plants grown in metal containers, whether these are window boxes or large dolly tubs.
Lighting Strip lighting can be attached with silicon to edges and is an easy way to add lighting to floors and steps.
Cushions Outdoor cushions and rugs are a great way to personalise your outdoor living area.
Floors Mosaic tiles add charm to outdoor spaces – the tiles opposite are from Bert & May, who produce some great geometric designs.
Turf Although I prefer natural grass, astroturf makes outside spaces such as balconies and roof terraces much more lush and can be used to cover up unsightly flooring.
Ornaments Glass sculptures and garden ornaments make your outdoor displays unique.
Displaying Containers
You can make a real feature of your collection by displaying it on a plant stand. They often have shelves, which means you can display more than one container if space is limited. Even a simple A-frame ladder can be turned into a plant stand. Bear in mind that the plants on lower shelves may receive less light, so position your plants accordingly.
Tips — Over time the various chemicals in decorative trims will leach into the potting mix when you water the container. To avoid this when growing a single specimen, you can use a piece of horticultural fleece or membrane cut to the same diameter as the container. Cut a slit through to the middle and a small hole to accommodate the stem of the plant. Then place this on the surface of the potting mix before you add the trim. The fleece/membrane is permeable and so will let water percolate through to the plant.
Water containers on plant stands and étagères individually to ensure that each plant is watered properly. This is much better than watering from the top and hoping the water will trickle into all the containers below.
