Summer Pots and Baskets

I'm a great collector of pots and baskets.

Diasca flowering again from last summer after our mild winter

In fact I know I have far too many, but they're the things that can give that finishing touch to the garden. I'm not a tidy gardener, I like pots strewn around everywhere, brimming with colourful plants and flowers. 

Hot red perlargiums in terracotta pots conjures up happy holidays on the Mediterranean

A mismatch of alpines and cuttings, brightening a dull corner

In the summer months, it's those annual plants that continue flowering from May until the frosts of Autumn that sustain interest as other perennial plants come and go. 

Baskets hang off the pergola and pink roses ramble up to meet them

Fuscia, perlargiums in pots, but mingling with the hebe in the border

A little place for birds to feed amongst the cosmos, as well as a present from a friend

I like them surrounding my front door with pots, making a small pathway to the house, a warm and happy welcome to visitors and a welcoming, cheerful sight when we arrive back home each time. 

Another basket - beautiful wrought iron in the shape of a heart - packed with summer colour. Another special gift from a friend 

When it's suddenly a hot summers day, it's the assortment of pots and colourful bright flowers that surround the sitting and eating areas which are such a delight -  they help to create a small refuge to relax in. And then there's nothing more calming than to potter with a watering can after a baking day, listening to the sounds of the evening. 

When it's cooler or wet, the pots and baskets are beautiful to look out on, especially from the conservatory, which feels halfway to being in the garden anyway despite the weather. I place them in deliberate places so I can glimpse them through windows and doors. 

I love perlargiums in pinks and reds and a mix of begonias in a variety of colours - I find these give strong colour all summer long and stay in good shape through to the first frosts. They seem to thrive easily either in the full sun or the dappled shade. Some other favourites are petunias and cosmos. 

I've had many pots and baskets given as presents and brought every pot I've ever owned with me from every house we've lived in. They are reminders of special people and special friends. They spill with plants from all our old gardens. 

Blue campanula spilling and rambling aside the bronze of a yucca - I brought the campanula from one of my mum's gardens and it's thrived in every garden I've owned since! 

I think it's all these reasons why I'm an avid collector and love to surround myself with colourful, vibrant pots. Of course, summer always ends, but then it's a great opportunity to prepare the pots and baskets full of hardy winter plants, revamp and change the whole look and bring them even more closer to the house so they can be enjoyed for the winter. 

A trail of pots by the door