A flight of steps is the perfect place to display pots of summer-flowering plants. These containers are different sizes, but the display is kept harmonious by choosing plants from a simple palette of deep plums, cherry reds and lime greens. There is no mixing of plants here, just one variety in one container, which gives a contemporary feel, even when traditional pots
and old-fashioned plants like begonias and pelargoniums have been used.

Preparation and planting
1. The pots need drainage in their bases, such as broken crockery, gravel or bits of polystyrene foam. A soil-based compost holds moisture better than one without soil. You could also add a water-retaining gel to the soil.
2. Plant the lilies in early spring, and the heuchera and other hardy perennials such as the oregano in pots and borders to get a head start. Sow zinnia seeds in spring, unless you can find the right colours for sale as bedding plants. Tender plants like dahlias should be started into growth in shallow soil under cover and planted up at the end of May. Pot up and put out the pelargoniums and begonias once all risk of frost has passed.
3. Water containers regularly and feed with a weak liquid fertiliser mix to keep plants flowering until autumn. Dead-head frequently.

Summer plant list
1. Lilium Pink Perfection Group
2. Heuchera micrantha var. diversifolia 'Palace Purple'
3. Carpinus betulus (hornbeam), grown as a stilt hedge and clipped
4. Dahlia 'Arabian Night'
5. Zinnia 'Profusion Cherry'
6. Sempervivum – there are many cultivars. Try S. montanum (green) and S. 'Commander Hay' (red/purple)
7. Begonia 'Helen Lewis'
8. Clematis 'Royal Velours'
9. Humulus lupulus 'Aureus' (hop)
10. Solenostemon 'Pineapple Beauty'
11. Zinnia elegans 'Envy'
12. Pelargonium 'Voodoo'
13. Origanum vulgare 'Aureum'
14. Trifolium repens 'Purpurascens' (white clover)

APRIL 2005
ORIGINAL IDEA JANE NEWDICK
ILLUSTRATOR SOPHIE BLACKALL