To boldly go...

9:13am Friday 27th June 2008

Old flower pots can look drab and dreary, but why not give them a squirt of spray paint to help set off the beautiful colours of the plants they hold?

FOR the past 11 months I have walked past various piles of plastic terracotta pots that have been neatly stacked away underneath propagating tables in one of the greenhouses.

It's funny, isn't it, how, after a certain amount of time you can get so used to something being there that you completely ignore its existence.

There might be a particular patch that you keep meaning to work on, or a weed that really needs pulling out, or a pathway that wants a sweeping, but you keep putting it off until you no longer see that it needs doing. It's often only when another party points it out, or perhaps prior to someone special or important paying you a visit that it gets noticed and rectified.

This week, though, I have had the need to drag the tubs out and use them.

These are the display troughs that we fill with floral decadence and hire out for events. This time of year is a big one for celebratory functions, especially in the academic world, with graduation and awards ceremonies, often involving Dlist celebrities or minor royals. The last display that I did was for a nearby college that was being visited by Princess Anne. The one that I have been preparing the troughs for this week, though, is probably the most important one of all - it is our own college awards ceremony.

WE try to collaborate with the florists so that our display efforts are co-ordinated. Our first problem to overcome was the fact that the marquis that was being used for the ceremony is not the standard one that you usually get at such events. It is a black one. Now, many planting combinations will simply fade away against such a dark backdrop. We had to go for something really bright and bold. The florists came up with a startling colour theme of bright pinks, oranges and lime green. At first I was stunned and couldn't think of how I was going to put together a large display using plants from this palette. It completely clashed and broke all the colour wheel rules, but gradually, I managed to piece together a decent array of specimens that would actually go together and form a balanced display. From the garden centre I used quite a lot of alchemilla, with its frothy, bright green flowers, set on top of soft velvety leaves.

This provided my softening element, but also my acidic streak. As for orange, I used clivia, which, with its long thick, midgreen strappy leaves, gave me some body and sustenance.

Tropical orange hibiscus did the same, but in not such an architectural fashion. The flowery orange bubbles of lantana, an Australian weed, provided a lower splash of colour amongst the foliage, while deep pink osteospurmums added a solid, fun and funky element at mid height.

To top it all off though I threw in several pots of nepeta, which at this time of year is flowering all the way up their tall stems. Although not actually part of our agreed colour scheme, the purple-blue hue was almost fluorescent in itself and really set off the lime green alchemilla and the splashes of pink and orange.

The secret weapon though was a cunning one. To maximize the impact on the eye, and in order to completely create that wow factor, I spent a day spray painting all of the tubs in a bright luminous lime green. Stan, the garden centre cat has yet to recover from the fumes (he spent a lot of time sneezing that afternoon), I still have a slight solventbased film on the back of my throat and parts of the greenhouse flooring now has an odd green tinge to it, but the tubs themselves looked marvellous. I am quite content and reassured that our display troughs, and the plants within them, will definitely stand out against the black-clothed backdrop. In fact, I think they may make it look rather drab.

One thing is for sure, though, no one is going to forget that they are there and forget to water them.

Events

Saturday, June 28. At The Station in Richmond there is a seminar on the uses of Australian bush flower essences to promote well being. It is on between 10am and 4.30pm.

Sunday, June 29. The topiary gardens at Otterington Hall in South Otterington will be open to the public for a Victorian garden party between 1-5pm.

* Brigid presents the BBC Tees Gardening show every Sunday from 1-2pm. Questions can be answered on the day by emailing brigidpress@bbc.co.uk anytime during the week, or texting 07786- 200995 and phoning 01642-225511 during the show. Written queries can be addressed to Brigid at East Durham & Houghall College, Houghall, Durham, DH1 3SG.

JOBS THIS WEEK

* If the petunias in your hanging baskets have grown too leggy and are stopping flowering so profusely, then clip them right back and they should bush out again with another flush of flowers lasting late into the season.

Don't forget to dead head them on a daily basis.

* If your early peas have already cropped and have been harvested then you still have time to sow some more.

They should grow now from being placed straight in the soil where you want them to grow.

* Give your large leaved house plants a treat by placing them on the patio or outside in the garden. They will relish the chance of some fresh air, and a shower or two will refresh the foliage.

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