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!

"Julie Clark" wrote in
:

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?

I'd suggest a few stylish evergreens rather than putting all your bets
on flowering plants. Evergreens are more likely to appeal to a wide
audience than bedding plants, need less maintenance, and look their best
whether it hails or shines. And you can always take them with you with
you move.

April is too early for the 'summer annuals' like petunias to be looking
good, but if you get daffodils and azaleas for spring colour they won't
be looking so good if you don't sell immediately and are still showing
the house at the end of May.

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).

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?

You can get moisture retaining granules for pots and hanging baskets
that prevents the compost drying out so quickly. Well worth getting a
sachet or two, though make sure you don't fill the pot right to the top
with compost, as the granules expand when you water them.

Victoria

The message
from "Julie Clark" contains these words:

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.

I'd suggest a prickly evergreen - one of the Berberis clan perhaps,
undersown with spring bulbs. At this time of year you might get them a
bit cheaper too, and it's still not too late to plant them.

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.

A good garden centre will advise on continuity of colour, but a good
long-lasting and colourful flowering plant is the nasturtium. You can
eat the leaves in salad and pickle the seeds. You do have to be onn the
lookout for paterkillers though and as soon as you see holes appearing
in a leaf, turn it over and squish them, or pick the leaf and take it
out the back and give it to the birds.

Anemones also give a splash of colour, but they don't last for very
long. Pansies, violas, pot marigolds, white alyssum, lobelia and
begonias are all easy and colourful.

Oh, and wotsits.... trumpet-shaped flowers.... colourful, easy, but not
any good for bees, I'm told.... Can't remember their name.

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?

I tend to get a decent-sized planter and put some rubble in the bottom,
then some small stones, or something to stop the soil washing into the
spaces, then mix a seed compost with some soil and/or peat or compost,
and filling the planter with that.
ps. I'm also new to newsgroups so apologies in advance if I do something
wrong or break protocol in some way!

Plant - well, follow what it says on the seed packets, or if you're
buying plugs, ask your nurseryman, as some aren't fully frost-hardy.

--
Rusty
Open the creaking gate to make a horrid.squeak, then lower the foobar.
http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/hi-fi/

The message
from "Julie Clark" contains these words:

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.

I'd suggest a prickly evergreen - one of the Berberis clan perhaps,
undersown with spring bulbs. At this time of year you might get them a
bit cheaper too, and it's still not too late to plant them.

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.

A good garden centre will advise on continuity of colour, but a good
long-lasting and colourful flowering plant is the nasturtium. You can
eat the leaves in salad and pickle the seeds. You do have to be onn the
lookout for paterkillers though and as soon as you see holes appearing
in a leaf, turn it over and squish them, or pick the leaf and take it
out the back and give it to the birds.

Anemones also give a splash of colour, but they don't last for very
long. Pansies, violas, pot marigolds, white alyssum, lobelia and
begonias are all easy and colourful.

Oh, and wotsits.... trumpet-shaped flowers.... colourful, easy, but not
any good for bees, I'm told.... Can't remember their name.

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?

I tend to get a decent-sized planter and put some rubble in the bottom,
then some small stones, or something to stop the soil washing into the
spaces, then mix a seed compost with some soil and/or peat or compost,
and filling the planter with that.
ps. I'm also new to newsgroups so apologies in advance if I do something
wrong or break protocol in some way!

Plant - well, follow what it says on the seed packets, or if you're
buying plugs, ask your nurseryman, as some aren't fully frost-hardy.

--
Rusty
Open the creaking gate to make a horrid.squeak, then lower the foobar.
http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/hi-fi/

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?

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 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 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 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)