Perfect POTS

Let’s celebrate spring with colourful containers

- CHRIS MORLEY.

Fresh looks

Start the new growing season in style with containers bursting with spring blooms and lush foliage. Place them where you see them most – by the front door, flanking a path, from a kitchen window, or tucked into borders as focal points. There is plenty of choice in garden centres – for long-lasting displays, look for plants in bud, rather than in flower, and choose species that will bloom successionally, from now to early May.

Creative mix

Spring-flowering bulbs, such as hyacinths, daffodils and tulips, and hardy bedding, such as primulas, pansies and daisies (Bellis perennis) are your go-tos for a burst of colour and scent.

For a stylish look, stick to two or three different plants of varying heights and complementary colours. Try a group of bold purple hyacinth (‘Miss Saigon’) underplanted with dainty blue scillas and white anemones.