Dressed to Impress

Colourful annuals and structural topiary in pots help soften the hard look of Iris Stanley’s patio

- Annie Green

A LARGE, concrete, north-facing patio is not the most promising territory for a garden enthusiast, but this was exactly what Iris Stanley faced when she and husband Alan moved into their home in the Suffolk village of Gislingham in 2005. “I didn’t like it at all,” she recalls. “We did think about digging some of it up but it’s on a really deep base.”