When I was a container gardener, this was the time of year I’d start to think about sprucing up my pots. It’s similar to a seasonal wardrobe switcheroo: putting shorts and summer dresses away until next year; getting jumpers out from under the bed and inspecting for moth holes. The pots, which usually had some late summer goodies in them, would be looking a bit worse for wear and I’d heave them all up, replace the compost and put in new things to perk up the balcony for the cooler months.
The more I gardened, the more I left the pots alone. They became their own annual microgardens, with bulbs and perennials that rose and died back like little symphonies. Far less hard work, aside from a heavy mulch now and another in the spring, occasionally removing a bit of dead foliage and watering in the summer.
This year, though, I’m thinking about pots again. They are holding the most precious cargo in the building site that used to be my garden, namely the plants that I want to get into the ground once the builders have left. Others are filled with homemade compost, including one that’s managed to grow a squash plant. This is as close to vegetable-growing as I get, and I still find the leaves and tendrils more intriguing and beautiful than whatever fruit it might bear.
Now’s a good time to overhaul a pot garden – or the pots in your garden – as you can get hardy 9cm plants started off nicely before next spring, plant whips, or tiny trees, to get established with the cooler weather, and put in some bulbs, all in one fell swoop.
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Not to be a bore, but if you’re reading this and feeling inspired (imagine!), I must urge you to do your planting in the largest container possible. I like to work with at least a 40cm diameter. Yes, they can be painfully expensive, but pick one you love and that will last. Neighbourhood groups and Facebook Marketplace can be plentiful sources.
Once you have your nice big pot, think about planting in layers. Ideally you’ll want something with height: a grass, a rose, a cardoon, fennel, climbing hydrangea or – arguably better – something that will stand stoically against the winter: bare-root hedging such as spindle. Against this foundation you can fold in your future flowers: spring bulbs, especially true perennials (tulips aren’t, technically). I have some white ipheions that are still flowering in the same pots a decade on. Then you can top and fill with either seasonal annuals such as violas or, as I prefer, perennials that don’t need replacing. Small-leaved ivy or Muehlenbeckia complexa, which can be voracious but is easy to contain in a pot, are among my go-tos.
