Having a gardening blog, I am constantly pulled toward the fresh and new…having something novel, and preferably photogenic to ‘show everybody’. But I’m reticent too, because constantly renewing containers ‘for the season’ couldn’t be further away from what I’m actually about, so although I will always use bulbs in pots, and will sometimes be seduced by bedding on sale at the garden centre, the backbone of my terrace is necessarily unchanging. It’s populated by large pots filled with permanent, evergreen(ish) plants that I never have to do anything to except water. And I want to share what those plants are, because although none of them have any flowers on them right now, my terrace would be completely bare without them. They are the backbone.
Agapanthus - essential strappy beauty that is both smart and evergreen. Of course I love the flowers but they are a fleeting thing - the real joy comes from the leaves. You can find out all about agapanthus in this post, but know that they like to have their roots constricted in order to flower. Oh, and I should probably add that I have watered these troughs roughly three times in the last 11 years. Yes, you read that right.
. - Evergreen ferns are my number one pot-inhabitant for a terrace. Although I understand and have a soft-spot for box shapes in pots, the maintenance (not to mention having to protect them from the dreaded caterpillar) is too much for where I am in my life right now. Evergreen erns are zero-maineneance (unless you find removing a few brown fronds once a year taxing) and just SO ROMANTIC. Here are my favourites.
Standard lilac - These might be an odd choice but my miniature standard lilacs which I ordered after spying them in an advert at the back of a sunday supplement fifteen years ago, continue to serve me well. They are not evergreen, but their frame supports fairy lights in the winter, so they become garden lighting, and of course the scented blooms when they come are out of this world. I’ve re-potted them three times in their life.
Scented pelargoniums - I have only recently discovered the joys of a scented pelargonium in a gigantic container. In fact they have been so incredibly successful that I am going to have to buy new containers for my sweet peas next year. I live in London (and I am NOT sentimental about plants dying) so I keep mine outdoors all year round. I now have four enormous pots of scented pelargoniums (Attar of Roses, Lady Plymouth and Grey Lady Plymouth) and I’ll be moving them up nearer to the house next year for extra colour on the terrace. They are a joy.
Papayrus - this is a bit left-field, because you may not have a pool or pond, but I do, and I have a LOT of this plant, which brings me an awful lot of joy. You can actually grow it in a large pot (plenty of water please) and it is just so bloody majestic.
Herbs - Thyme and parsley (and basil in the summer) in large pots - never not useful.
x Laetitia