"Julie Clark" wrote in
:


Box plants are a nice shape and are very tolerant of shade, for
example. Or baby phormiums have attractively coloured leaves, and are
a nice striking pointy sort of shape (though they will outgrow your
pots in time).

Thanks Victoria
I've heard of box (will wonders never cease?!) but not phormiums - I
assume they are readily available through most garden centres?

Yes - look in the 'architectural plants' section if there is one. Sort
of spiky things with pink or stripy leaves.

I also
assume I'd be buying plants as opposed to seeds or bulbs or something?
Is now the right time to put these sort of things in or do you think I
should wait until a few weeks before I put the house on the market?

If you are planting established plants, go along now and choose what you
fancy, or leave it till March and you'll see a wider selection in some
places.

I deliberately didn't suggest seeds or bulbs:

- bulbs because they do look great when they are flowering, but most
don't flower for all that long, then you do need to find somewhere to
hide the straggly leaves. Good if you don't mind whipping things out
and swapping in new things as they go over though.

- not seeds because you want something easy and low-maintenance, and
you haven't much experience, so you might not get the best results on
your first attempt.

Many plants are pretty easy from seed - Rusty's suggestion of
nasturtians is a good one - but I'm not sure you'd have them flowering
and giving just the right effect by April, specially if there's a late
frost, and given that the area doesn't get much direct sun. I think
alyssum will want more sun than you can offer, and lobelia will keel
over if you forget to water it.

You really want something that will look really good from 1st April
through till July if it has to, and not collapse if you forget to water
it once in a while, or if there is a cold wind.

Spending 20-30 quid on a few more established plants isn't much if it
saves you time and effort when you are furiously painting, cleaning, and
arranging things in front of that odd patch on the carpet ;-)

Victoria

"Julie Clark" wrote in
:


Box plants are a nice shape and are very tolerant of shade, for
example. Or baby phormiums have attractively coloured leaves, and are
a nice striking pointy sort of shape (though they will outgrow your
pots in time).

Thanks Victoria
I've heard of box (will wonders never cease?!) but not phormiums - I
assume they are readily available through most garden centres?

Yes - look in the 'architectural plants' section if there is one. Sort
of spiky things with pink or stripy leaves.

I also
assume I'd be buying plants as opposed to seeds or bulbs or something?
Is now the right time to put these sort of things in or do you think I
should wait until a few weeks before I put the house on the market?

If you are planting established plants, go along now and choose what you
fancy, or leave it till March and you'll see a wider selection in some
places.

I deliberately didn't suggest seeds or bulbs:

- bulbs because they do look great when they are flowering, but most
don't flower for all that long, then you do need to find somewhere to
hide the straggly leaves. Good if you don't mind whipping things out
and swapping in new things as they go over though.

- not seeds because you want something easy and low-maintenance, and
you haven't much experience, so you might not get the best results on
your first attempt.

Many plants are pretty easy from seed - Rusty's suggestion of
nasturtians is a good one - but I'm not sure you'd have them flowering
and giving just the right effect by April, specially if there's a late
frost, and given that the area doesn't get much direct sun. I think
alyssum will want more sun than you can offer, and lobelia will keel
over if you forget to water it.

You really want something that will look really good from 1st April
through till July if it has to, and not collapse if you forget to water
it once in a while, or if there is a cold wind.

Spending 20-30 quid on a few more established plants isn't much if it
saves you time and effort when you are furiously painting, cleaning, and
arranging things in front of that odd patch on the carpet ;-)

Victoria

Julie Clark7/1/04 3:00
net


Box plants are a nice shape and are very tolerant of shade, for example.
Or baby phormiums have attractively coloured leaves, and are a nice
striking pointy sort of shape (though they will outgrow your pots in
time).

Thanks Victoria
I've heard of box (will wonders never cease?!) but not phormiums - I assume
they are readily available through most garden centres? I also assume I'd
be buying plants as opposed to seeds or bulbs or something?
Is now the right time to put these sort of things in or do you think I
should wait until a few weeks before I put the house on the market?



You might find you can buy spring bulbs in pots at some gc's or nurseries
and then you could plunge them in your containers, up to their rims. Then
they'll flower at the intended time. Some places do snowdrops, daffs and
tulips this way.
You could also buy things like box in interesting shapes but that's
expensive so if you do, you'd want to take it with you, I'd think!
I'm not sure where you live but you might be able to plant Melianthus
meleagrus which is a fascinating leaf and also Fatsia.
--

Sacha
(remove the 'x' to email me)

Julie Clark7/1/04 3:00
net


Box plants are a nice shape and are very tolerant of shade, for example.
Or baby phormiums have attractively coloured leaves, and are a nice
striking pointy sort of shape (though they will outgrow your pots in
time).

Thanks Victoria
I've heard of box (will wonders never cease?!) but not phormiums - I assume
they are readily available through most garden centres? I also assume I'd
be buying plants as opposed to seeds or bulbs or something?
Is now the right time to put these sort of things in or do you think I
should wait until a few weeks before I put the house on the market?



You might find you can buy spring bulbs in pots at some gc's or nurseries
and then you could plunge them in your containers, up to their rims. Then
they'll flower at the intended time. Some places do snowdrops, daffs and
tulips this way.
You could also buy things like box in interesting shapes but that's
expensive so if you do, you'd want to take it with you, I'd think!
I'm not sure where you live but you might be able to plant Melianthus
meleagrus which is a fascinating leaf and also Fatsia.
--

Sacha
(remove the 'x' to email me)

"Julie Clark" wrote in
:


Box plants are a nice shape and are very tolerant of shade, for
example. Or baby phormiums have attractively coloured leaves, and are
a nice striking pointy sort of shape (though they will outgrow your
pots in time).

Thanks Victoria
I've heard of box (will wonders never cease?!) but not phormiums - I
assume they are readily available through most garden centres?

Yes - look in the 'architectural plants' section if there is one. Sort
of spiky things with pink or stripy leaves.

I also
assume I'd be buying plants as opposed to seeds or bulbs or something?
Is now the right time to put these sort of things in or do you think I
should wait until a few weeks before I put the house on the market?

If you are planting established plants, go along now and choose what you
fancy, or leave it till March and you'll see a wider selection in some
places.

I deliberately didn't suggest seeds or bulbs:

- bulbs because they do look great when they are flowering, but most
don't flower for all that long, then you do need to find somewhere to
hide the straggly leaves. Good if you don't mind whipping things out
and swapping in new things as they go over though.

- not seeds because you want something easy and low-maintenance, and
you haven't much experience, so you might not get the best results on
your first attempt.

Many plants are pretty easy from seed - Rusty's suggestion of
nasturtians is a good one - but I'm not sure you'd have them flowering
and giving just the right effect by April, specially if there's a late
frost, and given that the area doesn't get much direct sun. I think
alyssum will want more sun than you can offer, and lobelia will keel
over if you forget to water it.

You really want something that will look really good from 1st April
through till July if it has to, and not collapse if you forget to water
it once in a while, or if there is a cold wind.

Spending 20-30 quid on a few more established plants isn't much if it
saves you time and effort when you are furiously painting, cleaning, and
arranging things in front of that odd patch on the carpet ;-)

Victoria

"Julie Clark" wrote in
:


Box plants are a nice shape and are very tolerant of shade, for
example. Or baby phormiums have attractively coloured leaves, and are
a nice striking pointy sort of shape (though they will outgrow your
pots in time).

Thanks Victoria
I've heard of box (will wonders never cease?!) but not phormiums - I
assume they are readily available through most garden centres?

Yes - look in the 'architectural plants' section if there is one. Sort
of spiky things with pink or stripy leaves.

I also
assume I'd be buying plants as opposed to seeds or bulbs or something?
Is now the right time to put these sort of things in or do you think I
should wait until a few weeks before I put the house on the market?

If you are planting established plants, go along now and choose what you
fancy, or leave it till March and you'll see a wider selection in some
places.

I deliberately didn't suggest seeds or bulbs:

- bulbs because they do look great when they are flowering, but most
don't flower for all that long, then you do need to find somewhere to
hide the straggly leaves. Good if you don't mind whipping things out
and swapping in new things as they go over though.

- not seeds because you want something easy and low-maintenance, and
you haven't much experience, so you might not get the best results on
your first attempt.

Many plants are pretty easy from seed - Rusty's suggestion of
nasturtians is a good one - but I'm not sure you'd have them flowering
and giving just the right effect by April, specially if there's a late
frost, and given that the area doesn't get much direct sun. I think
alyssum will want more sun than you can offer, and lobelia will keel
over if you forget to water it.

You really want something that will look really good from 1st April
through till July if it has to, and not collapse if you forget to water
it once in a while, or if there is a cold wind.

Spending 20-30 quid on a few more established plants isn't much if it
saves you time and effort when you are furiously painting, cleaning, and
arranging things in front of that odd patch on the carpet ;-)

Victoria

"Victoria Clare" wrote in message
. 240.11...
"Julie Clark" wrote in
:



Spending 20-30 quid on a few more established plants isn't much if it
saves you time and effort when you are furiously painting, cleaning, and
arranging things in front of that odd patch on the carpet ;-)

Victoria

:O Can you see that odd patch on the carpet??!! goddammit - camouflage a
failure then eh? grrrrrr

"Sacha" wrote in message
.. .
Julie Clark7/1/04 3:00


net


I'm not sure where you live but you might be able to plant Melianthus
meleagrus which is a fascinating leaf and also Fatsia.
--

Sacha
(remove the 'x' to email me)

I'm in the Midlands Sacha - Coventry - would that matter so much if
they're in containers?? omg no wonder nothing I plant survives my neglect!
I'm planting for the South of France!!

Julie Clark8/1/04 9:41


"Sacha" wrote in message
.. .
Julie Clark7/1/04 3:00


net


I'm not sure where you live but you might be able to plant Melianthus
meleagrus which is a fascinating leaf and also Fatsia.
--

Sacha
(remove the 'x' to email me)

I'm in the Midlands Sacha - Coventry - would that matter so much if
they're in containers?? omg no wonder nothing I plant survives my neglect!
I'm planting for the South of France!!


I understand that there are some lovely places for sale in the Var. ;-)
I'm not good at advising on planting for cold areas because my gardening has
all been done in either Jersey or Devon - spoils you, I think!
I'm not knocking the Phormiums on the head BTW because they *are* very
striking plants - I'm just cautioning that the RHS describes them as 'frost
hardy' which means down to -5. OTOH, we've had some that have survived a
little more than that but not over a prolonged period. Melianthus probably
wouldn't be happy with you as it's said not to go below 5C. Ours does but
again, not for long periods.
In any other circumstances - and providing not a lot of money is involved -
I'd encourage people to 'give it a try' because things quite often surprise
all of us by their ability to survive, given varying conditions. But as
you're hoping to sell a house, you don't really want mushed up jellified
plants!
I wonder if your best bet is simply to go to your local GC or nursery and
ask their advice on things like Primulas (wide range of colour and
hardiness) and variegated ivies.
--

Sacha
(remove the 'x' to email me)

"Julie Clark" wrote in message
...
I am hoping to put my house on the market mid-April time and I want to make
a good first impression if I can. I live in a mid terraced house so no
front garden to speak of. I have put some decking down to keep it tidy but
now want some plant advice for a few containers. The area gets the
sun first thing in the morning but loses it by about 11am and doesn't get it
back at all. It isn't under any cover so will get the rain etc, but it is
also near enough for the young hooligans down the road to lean over the wall
and pull up anything that spreads within their reach.
I want something that will give a bit of colour but is likely to survive
without too much TLC since I'm new and a bit of a garden know-it-nothing.
When should I plant to see colour in mid-April time? Along the same lines,
is there a preferred compost, drainage system, watering regime that is
better for pots or is that dependent on the
type of plants you've used?
Thanks for any help

ps. I'm also new to newsgroups so apologies in advance if I do something
wrong or break protocol in some way!

Most URGlers will hate me for this suggestion...............but why not go for
imitation plants ?
Some of the more expensive one are so good nowadays that you can hardly tell the
difference !
If you get something stately that you like yourself you could take it with you
to your new place.
No watering, pruning or whathaveyou.
You might need to make sure it's well fixed in it's pot and that the pot too is
fixed to something sturdy.

Jenny (with a windowless bathroom full of plastic ivy.........)

"Julie Clark" wrote in message
...
I am hoping to put my house on the market mid-April time and I want to make
a good first impression if I can. I live in a mid terraced house so no
front garden to speak of. I have put some decking down to keep it tidy but
now want some plant advice for a few containers. The area gets the
sun first thing in the morning but loses it by about 11am and doesn't get it
back at all. It isn't under any cover so will get the rain etc, but it is
also near enough for the young hooligans down the road to lean over the wall
and pull up anything that spreads within their reach.
I want something that will give a bit of colour but is likely to survive
without too much TLC since I'm new and a bit of a garden know-it-nothing.
When should I plant to see colour in mid-April time? Along the same lines,
is there a preferred compost, drainage system, watering regime that is
better for pots or is that dependent on the
type of plants you've used?
Thanks for any help

ps. I'm also new to newsgroups so apologies in advance if I do something
wrong or break protocol in some way!

Most URGlers will hate me for this suggestion...............but why not go for
imitation plants ?
Some of the more expensive one are so good nowadays that you can hardly tell the
difference !
If you get something stately that you like yourself you could take it with you
to your new place.
No watering, pruning or whathaveyou.
You might need to make sure it's well fixed in it's pot and that the pot too is
fixed to something sturdy.

Jenny (with a windowless bathroom full of plastic ivy.........)

On Thu, 8 Jan 2004 22:14:17 +0100, "JennyC" wrote:


"Julie Clark" wrote in message
...
I am hoping to put my house on the market mid-April time and I want to make
a good first impression if I can. I live in a mid terraced house so no
front garden to speak of. I have put some decking down to keep it tidy but
now want some plant advice for a few containers. The area gets the
sun first thing in the morning but loses it by about 11am and doesn't get it
back at all. It isn't under any cover so will get the rain etc, but it is
also near enough for the young hooligans down the road to lean over the wall
and pull up anything that spreads within their reach.
I want something that will give a bit of colour but is likely to survive
without too much TLC since I'm new and a bit of a garden know-it-nothing.
When should I plant to see colour in mid-April time? Along the same lines,
is there a preferred compost, drainage system, watering regime that is
better for pots or is that dependent on the
type of plants you've used?
Thanks for any help

ps. I'm also new to newsgroups so apologies in advance if I do something
wrong or break protocol in some way!

Most URGlers will hate me for this suggestion...............but why not go for
imitation plants ?
Some of the more expensive one are so good nowadays that you can hardly tell the
difference !
If you get something stately that you like yourself you could take it with you
to your new place.
No watering, pruning or whathaveyou.
You might need to make sure it's well fixed in it's pot and that the pot too is
fixed to something sturdy.

Jenny (with a windowless bathroom full of plastic ivy.........)

Be very careful!
Martin, with the two biggest flower auctions in Europe/World on his
doorstep

--
Martin

"Julie Clark" wrote in message
...
I am hoping to put my house on the market mid-April time and I want to make
a good first impression if I can. I live in a mid terraced house so no
front garden to speak of. I have put some decking down to keep it tidy but
now want some plant advice for a few containers. The area gets the
sun first thing in the morning but loses it by about 11am and doesn't get it
back at all. It isn't under any cover so will get the rain etc, but it is
also near enough for the young hooligans down the road to lean over the wall
and pull up anything that spreads within their reach.
I want something that will give a bit of colour but is likely to survive
without too much TLC since I'm new and a bit of a garden know-it-nothing.
When should I plant to see colour in mid-April time? Along the same lines,
is there a preferred compost, drainage system, watering regime that is
better for pots or is that dependent on the
type of plants you've used?
Thanks for any help

ps. I'm also new to newsgroups so apologies in advance if I do something
wrong or break protocol in some way!

Most URGlers will hate me for this suggestion...............but why not go for
imitation plants ?
Some of the more expensive one are so good nowadays that you can hardly tell the
difference !
If you get something stately that you like yourself you could take it with you
to your new place.
No watering, pruning or whathaveyou.
You might need to make sure it's well fixed in it's pot and that the pot too is
fixed to something sturdy.

Jenny (with a windowless bathroom full of plastic ivy.........)

On Thu, 8 Jan 2004 22:14:17 +0100, "JennyC" wrote:


"Julie Clark" wrote in message
...
I am hoping to put my house on the market mid-April time and I want to make
a good first impression if I can. I live in a mid terraced house so no
front garden to speak of. I have put some decking down to keep it tidy but
now want some plant advice for a few containers. The area gets the
sun first thing in the morning but loses it by about 11am and doesn't get it
back at all. It isn't under any cover so will get the rain etc, but it is
also near enough for the young hooligans down the road to lean over the wall
and pull up anything that spreads within their reach.
I want something that will give a bit of colour but is likely to survive
without too much TLC since I'm new and a bit of a garden know-it-nothing.
When should I plant to see colour in mid-April time? Along the same lines,
is there a preferred compost, drainage system, watering regime that is
better for pots or is that dependent on the
type of plants you've used?
Thanks for any help

ps. I'm also new to newsgroups so apologies in advance if I do something
wrong or break protocol in some way!

Most URGlers will hate me for this suggestion...............but why not go for
imitation plants ?
Some of the more expensive one are so good nowadays that you can hardly tell the
difference !
If you get something stately that you like yourself you could take it with you
to your new place.
No watering, pruning or whathaveyou.
You might need to make sure it's well fixed in it's pot and that the pot too is
fixed to something sturdy.

Jenny (with a windowless bathroom full of plastic ivy.........)

Be very careful!
Martin, with the two biggest flower auctions in Europe/World on his
doorstep

--
Martin

[quote]Originally posted by martin
[b]On Thu, 8 Jan 2004 22:14:17 +0100, "JennyC" wrote:


Most URGlers will hate me for this suggestion...............but why not go for
imitation plants ?
Some of the more expensive one are so good nowadays that you can hardly tell the
difference !
If you get something stately that you like yourself you could take it with you
to your new place.
No watering, pruning or whathaveyou.
You might need to make sure it's well fixed in it's pot and that the pot too is
fixed to something sturdy.

Jenny (with a windowless bathroom full of plastic ivy.........)
snip

Eek! Jenny can you SAY such stuff???!!!!

I used to go check on a little old lady down the road every now and again and she had a gorgeous plant in her window, flowered all the time. There was a smell coming from behind the sofa and she asked me to check it out one day so I moved the sofa which was underneath the window (with the plant in it) and the wall under the plant was soaking, as were the carpet and floorboards. As it turns out her daughter had bought her the plant and Grace (who was 78 at the time!) had felt obliged to water it since it was "so lovely". Bless her she'd been pouring gallons of water onto a plastic plant!! She thought it was thirsty all the time and the water had just been seeping through the pot and down her wall! Her daughter had thought it was a good idea buying plastic since she wouldn't have to bother with it!! Best laid plans eh? ;-)

Julie