I found this container at an antiques fair – apparently it is a cooking pot, originally from Bulgaria. I thought the deep, glowing red colour, interesting patina and graceful bulbous shape combined to make it an ideal plant pot.
It is a small pot (approximately 40cm diameter) so there was only room for three plants. I needed one spire, one tall scrambling plant, and something small and delicate to flop over and soften the edge.
How to achieve the look
Container and composition
I tried various different combinations of plants in this pot before deciding on this one. One very near contender for the starring role was Verbascum ‘Caribbean Crush’, which has flowers that are a very similar peachy-apricot colour to the geum, and its tightly clenched buds an almost identical dark purple to the geum’s wiry stems and calyces.
But in the end, I decided it was just a little too tall for this arrangement, and I like the contrast of the clear-yellow flowers of Verbascum ‘Primrose Path’ with the dark red of the pot.
In a similar-sized, silvery grey galvanised container, an alternative spire for early summer might be Digitalis x mertonensis, which would combine well with Geranium phaeum ‘Raven’.
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Cultivation and care
This is an ephemeral little pot, as once the Verbascum has finished flowering I will transplant it out into the garden, cut it back and hope for a second golden spire to emerge later in the summer.
I will leave the Alchemilla in place as it will flower on and off all summer, its tiny, lime-green flowers sprawling pleasingly about and complementing the deep red of the planter.
The geum was growing in a partly shaded spot in my garden, but I dug it up to include it in this composition as it is such a joyful little plant and I wanted it closer to hand where I could see it every day. When it has finished flowering I will return it to its original home.
As this container is on the small side it will need watering every other day.
Plants (left to right)
1 Verbascum ‘Primrose Path’ A compact cultivar with silvery foliage and spires of pale, creamy yellow. May – June. 30-50cm x 30cm. RHS H5.
2 Alchemilla erythropoda Makes a refined alternative to the larger and more vigorous A. mollis, with small glaucous, scallop-shaped leaves and delicate sprays of citrus-yellow flowers eventually tinged with red; the species name refers to the reddish stems. May – August. 25-30cm x 35cm. AGM. RHS H7, USDA 3a-8b.
3 Geum rivale ‘Leonard’s Variety’ Pale peachy-pink nodding flowers like small translucent bells have contrasting darker purple calyces and are held above a low mound of leaves on branching maroon stems. May – June. 40-50cm x 30cm. RHS H7, USDA 3a-7b.
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
