Scabious, aquilegia and sweet rocket pot display. Paul Debois

Cottage garden in a pot

BBC Gardeners' World Magazine

Published: Friday, 17 July 2020 at 2:31 pm

Love cottage gardens? We show you how to plant one in a pot, using scabious, aquilegia and sweet rocket.

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This cottage-style planting scheme is perfect for adding a splash of colour and charm to an otherwise dull corner. Here, we've used a large grey pot to show off the more vibrant colours of the plants, especially greens. Leaf textures are just as important as flowers in this display, as they add richness to the design.

This display combines pastel tones with white, dark and a splash of yellow for a punchy accent. It's good for wildlife, too – the aquilegia and scabious will attract bees, moths and other beneficial insects. Achillea is great for hoverflies and provides seeds for birds, while the hesperis is a caterpillar food plant of the orange-tip butterfly.

Using a large pot not only lets you grow a wide variety of plants, but the greater volume of compost required to fill it will also dry out less quickly, meaning you don't have to water it as often.

Place your pot in full sun to partial shade, and plant all but the nemesia in the ground after flowering.

You Will Need

Achillea ‘Moonshine’ (1)
Alchemilla mollis ‘Thriller’ (2)
Aquilegia ‘Winky Red-white’ (2)
Scabiosa ‘Butterfly Blue’ (2)
Hesperis matronalis albiflora (1)
Nemesia ‘Lady Penelope’ (2)
Peat-free, multi-purpose compost
46cm steel pot

Step 1

Cottage garden in a pot - adding compost to the pot

Check your container has a drainage hole in the base. Put the pot in its finished position, as it will be too heavy to move when full. Fill the container just over halfway with peat-free compost.

Step 2

Cottage garden in a pot - planting up the pot

Give your plants a good soak in their nursery containers. When you remove the pots, check the plants’ rootballs to make sure they’re free from pests. Tease out the roots before planting.

Step 3

Cottage garden in a pot - planting up the pot

If your plants came in coir pots, put these straight into the container. Over time the coir will decompose. Backfill around the plants with compost and firm in.

Step 4

Cottage garden in a pot - watering the plants

Ensure the compost surface is about 2cm below the rim of the pot to make it easier to water. Water your container well and do so regularly throughout summer

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