Plants for My City Back Yard Container Garden

Once the hard structure of your garden has been sorted out it is time to start the real gardening , choosing plants. You will need some tall plants for height and screening.Bamboo and small trees like bay are hardy.
Shrubs come next in height, include some evergreens like holly.Lavender smells lovely, hydrangeas are tough.Roses can do well in pots,especially patio roses. Smaller plants nearer to ground level may be bulbs for the spring and bedding plants like geraniums, trailing lobelia and Busy Lizzie for colour in the summer.

Do not be intimidated by complicated designs in fancy gardening books.
The great thing about a container garden is that you can move stuff around like furniture in your house until you get a pleasing arrangement .


A small back yard is much more economical to fill than a large garden, if there is anything you do not like get rid of it.Summer bedding can be thrown away and composted once autumn comes and it dies away. That is the time to plant some bulbs for the spring. 

Go to a well stocked garden centre  where everything is on display and you can see what you are getting.

Height and Screening 

Bamboo,and bay are hardy in a temperate climate,smaller containers can be used for plants at lower levels .

                          

 

Variety in shapes and heights of shrubs

Flowers and Shrubs at Mid-level


    Plant these in the spring for summer colour.

Roses for colour and perfume

                        

Asian Lilies for stunning colour.

    These can stay in their pots all year.


Low level plants

Pots of herbs like thyme  are useful.Small bulbs suchas crocus and tete-a-tete mini daffodils in the spring


Summer Annuals

As their name suggests these plants will last for one season only .Buy them in late spring and do not plant them until all danger of frost has passed.Pale colours and white look cool in hot weather.Petunias,perlargoniums,and trailing lobelia are showy .When they die in the autumn remove them ready to pnat bulbs for the spring

                                                      

Summer Annuals

Plant bulbs in the autumn for a lovely show in the spring

Winter
In the winter the garden can rest awhile, as long as you have planted some evergreens you will still have your personal spot of heaven outside .Your garden can be made festive for Christmas with one or two small Christmas trees. They keep well outside .Brighten them up with some outdoor lights.
                                                            

You could also ask for this lovely set of tools for Christmas .I gave a set to a friend who was delighted with them especially the way they fit into a bag to carry round the garden and for easy storage.