I spotted this pot at my local reclamation yard and was immediately drawn both to its strong colour and its open vase shape. It is sufficiently deep to accommodate a long-term, shrubby planting scheme, which relies as much on the colour and texture of the foliage and stems as it does on the plants' flowers.
I arranged the pot so that it looks best set against a wall. I particularly like the way this selection of plants fans out to mirror the shape of the pot.
How to achieve the look
Container and composition
The pot sits beside the steps to the office of my husband's garden antiques business so it needs to look good all year round. Most of the plants are evergreen but the scheme is not static, as the twiggy stems of the Ceratostigma weave through it, breaking up any uniformity.
The Bupleurum, Ceratostigma and Euphorbia all make medium-sized shrubs and are grouped together towards the centre-back of the pot. To create a tiered effect I then dotted through three Mathiasella, with the lower-growing Euphorbia characias 'Black Pearl' placed towards the front.
I love the way the pinkish tints of the fading Mathiasella bracts complement the purple-flushed stems of the Bupleurum. The brown seedheads of the Ceratostigma will catch the low winter light and are reminiscent of small pompoms.
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Come July, little star-shaped, bright-blue flowers will emerge, dotted through the lime-green leaves and stems of the euphorbias. It is a lax shrub and combines well with the more stiffly upright Bupleurum fruticosum.
Cultivation and care
To encorage fresh-looking foliage I would recommend cutting off the flowering stems of the Euphorbia characias 'Black Pearl' and the Mathiasella in July or August but leave the flowers of the E. ceratocarpa as they stay looking fresh and pretty well into November. Mathiasella is not widely sold and could be substituted with either Aquilegia vulgaris var. stellata 'Ruby Port' or Knautia macedonica.
Plants (left to right)
1 Euphorbia characias 'Black Pearl' Lime-green flowers and black nectar glands. April – July. 70-80cm x 50cm. RHS H4, USDA 6a-8b.
2 Euphorbia ceratocarpa Long flowering with grey-green leaves and bright-yellow flowers. April – November. 1.2-1.7m x 1.8m. AGM. RHS H4.
3 Mathiasella bupleuroides 'Green Dream' Nodding umbels of jade-green bracts surround tiny black flowers held above semi-evegreen leaves. April – September. 80-90cm x 60cm. RHS H5, USDA 7b-10b.
4 Ceratostigma willmottianum A deciduous shrub with bright-blue flowers and characterful seedheads. June – September. 90cm-1m x 1m. AGM. RHS H4, USDA 6a-10b.
5 Bupleurum fruticosum An evergreen shrub with glaucous leaves, purplish stems and umbels of yellow flowers. August – September. 1.5-2m x 2.5m. RHS H4, USDA 6a-10b.
*Holds an Award of Garden Merit from the Royal Horticultural Society. †Hardiness ratings given where available.
Recommended suppliers
- Newark Antiques Fair iacf.co.uk
- Applegarth Nurseries Tel 01608 641642, applegarthnurseries.com
- Cotswold Garden Flowers Tel 01386 833849, cotswoldgardenflowers.co.uk
- Manor Farm Nurseries Tel 01327 260285, manorfarmnurseries.com
