Tom Stimpson: How to curate low-maintenance, long-lasting perennial pots - Episode 287

If you love the idea of beautiful pots that don’t need replanting every five minutes, perennials in a container can be the perfect solution, and just as stunning as a bed or a border.

Tom Stimpson returns to discuss trusted “banker” perennials for containers – from long-flowering hellebores and acers underplanted with geraniums, to hydrangeas, heucheras and beloved agapanthus. 

You’ll hear exactly which combinations have stood the test of time in Tom’s garden as well as at Perch Hill, and how to get colour from winter through to late autumn.

In this episode, discover:

• How to design perennial pots that give you colour and structure from winter through to late autumn, without constant replanting
• Which plants Sarah and Tom rely on most strongly for containers 
• Practical planting combinations for small gardens, such as Pittosporum with hellebores and scabious, or an acer underplanted with Geranium ‘Rozanne’
• A realistic regime for watering, feeding and deadheading perennial pots so they stay sturdy rather than sappy

Products mentioned:

Helleborus niger: https://www.sarahraven.com/products/helleborus-niger

Helleborus orientalis: https://www.sarahraven.com/products/helleborus-orientalis-pretty-ellen-spotted

Helleborus ‘Ice n’ Roses Red’: https://www.sarahraven.com/products/helleborus-x-glandorfensis-ice-n-roses-red

Pittosporum ‘Bannow Bay’: https://www.sarahraven.com/products/pittosporum-tenuifolium-bannow-bay

Scabiosa atropurpurea ‘Black Cat’: https://www.sarahraven.com/products/scabiosa-atropurpurea-black-cat

Scabiosa ‘Kudo Pink’: https://www.sarahraven.com/products/scabiosa-incisa-kudo-pink

Geranium ‘Rozanne’: https://www.sarahraven.com/products/geranium-rozanne

Geranium ‘Dreamland’: https://www.sarahraven.com/products/geranium-dreamland

Hydrangea ‘Madame Emile Mouillère’: https://www.sarahraven.com/products/hydrangea-macrophylla-madame-emile-mouillere

Hydrangea ‘Little Lime’: https://www.sarahraven.com/products/hydrangea-paniculata-little-lime

Hydrangea ‘Limelight’: https://www.sarahraven.com/products/hydrangea-paniculata-limelight

Hydrangea ‘Little Fresco’: https://www.sarahraven.com/products/hydrangea-paniculata-little-fresco

Heuchera ‘Black Taffeta’: https://www.sarahraven.com/products/heuchera-black-taffeta

Gaura ‘The Bride’: https://www.sarahraven.com/products/gaura-lindheimeri-the-bride

Gaura ‘Flamingo’: https://www.sarahraven.com/products/gaura-collection-for-pots

Salvia nemorosa ‘Caradonna’: https://www.sarahraven.com/products/salvia-nemorosa-caradonna

Salvia ‘Peach Melba’: https://www.sarahraven.com/products/salvia-peach-melba

Verbena rigida: https://www.sarahraven.com/products/verbena-rigida

Linaria ‘Peachy’: https://www.sarahraven.com/products/linaria-x-purpurea-peachy

Agapanthus ‘Midnight Blue’ / ‘Navy Blue’: https://www.sarahraven.com/products/agapanthus-navy-blue

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