Award-winning designer Jo Thompson offers container-planting inspiration with this idea for a pot display for high summer
This old steel bathtub I found at an antiques fair was simply begging to be planted up. I set out to create a combination of plants that would match the scale of the bathtub, but with a more restrained colour palette, keeping the whites, blues and butter-yellows found in woodland – and which sit so prettily against green – in mind. I used Hydrangea paniculata ‘Phantom’ as a starting point for the plants, selecting its companions based on a simplicity of flower form.
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How to achieve the look
Container and composition
This container is enormous, and needs to be in a place where it can be admired. It’s a heavy pot to move should you change your mind, so be sure to choose its location carefully before you start.
Here at Water Lane, the tub sits at the main entrance, welcoming visitors, who pause to admire the enormous panicles of the hydrangea, which are captured against a background of far more delicate flowers.
The hydrangea is the first plant to go in to this arrangement, followed by the echinops, whose mesmerising, bold-blue globes match the hydrangea in terms of presence. As its flowers are so much smaller, though, the globe thistle is definitely an enhancer as opposed to a competitor.
The pale-lemon flowers of the cota glow almost white when placed with the hydrangea, and they bring a softness and delicacy to this bold collection. This idea of elegance is continued by the dots of purple verbena, whose colour is then picked up in turn by the bottlebrushes of the agastache. Barely visible, the catananche’s silvery papery buds and lilac-white flowers catch the light and add to the sense of sparkle, which serves to balance the huge hydrangea.
Cultivation and care
This pot can take a bit of shade and is probably happier out of the full blast of the summer sun. Make sure the soil doesn’t dry out, and when deadheading, leave the hydrangea flowers to age on the stems.
Plants
Verbena bonariensis A perennial with purple flowers atop tall stiff stems. June – September. 1.5m x 45cm. AGM. RHS H4, USDA 7a-11.
Catananche caerulea ‘Alba’ Papery white flowers atop slender stems. July – September. 60cm x 30cm. RHS H5, USDA 4a-7b.
Hydrangea paniculata ‘Phantom’ Large pale-green panicles fade to white. July – September. 2.5m x 2.5m. AGM. RHS H5, USDA 3a-8b.
Agastache ‘Blue Fortune’ Clumps of tight stems carry spikes of lavender-blue bottlebrush flowers. Leaves are aromatic. July – October. 1m x 40cm. AGM. RHS H6, USDA 5a-9b. Here’s more great perennial plants for your garden
Echinops ritro ‘Veitch’s Blue’ Perennial with globes of intense blue flowers on top of silver stems with spiny silver leaves. July – August. 1.2m x 50cm. RHS H7, USDA 3a-8b. Here’s everything you need to know about echinops
Cota tinctoria ‘E.C. Buxton’ Daisy-shaped, pale-lemon flowers. June – August. 70cm x 90cm. AGM. RHS H6, USDA 3a-7b.
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