Why don't you get potted?

There are advantages to growing in pots, says Peter

- Peter Seabrook

A LOVELY beech hedge separates one boundary in the back garden, and it needs clipping in late summer. When we had shrubs and herbaceous plants planted right up to the base, getting in to trim it was difficult, and putting a sheet down at the base to collect all the falling hedge trimmings was even more difficult.

Roots coming out from the hedge dried out the soil, and plants in the border began to suffer. The answer was to remove the border plants, put down a weed-suppressing membrane and stand container-grown plants on to it.

My garden is very much a workshop, with a lot of new plants grown in pots each year to check if they are as good as the breeders indicate. Having them container-grown has the additional advantage that they can be uplifted and taken to flower shows and public events.