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The outside space in the city is always tight, and Arthur Parkinson knows it better than most.
The 28-year-old gardener and writer, whose Instagram account is a riot of extravagant flowers, lives in Nottingham with his mother. She gets the back garden, while his domain is a narrow five meter long path that leads to the front door.
Necessity is the mother of invention, and out of this limited space, Parkinson’s has created a jungle of pots full of color and life. Red, orange, purple and yellow dahlias, cosmos, sunflowers and tulips pack the metal pots, pans and buckets.
Picking flowers once a week: Don’t hold back or you’ll just have to keep your head dead, says Arthur
Tenants and people with very limited space have courage. You can recreate this on a balcony, stairs, or garden using just two or three large pots.
“In a pot garden you can treat the space like a stage,” says Parkinson, who was trained at Kew Gardens and works closely with the plant manager Sarah Raven. “The reality for my generation of not having enough money for the garden includes situations like mine where you may still live with your parents or rent. Pot gardening can move a garden from one situation to another. “
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What is the secret of a knock-out pot? “Look at the flowers that will be the royalty of the pot,” says Parkinson, “and think that now they need two butlers or servants to reflect their extravagance, but are a little smaller.”
His spring pots are a riot of tulips carried by crocodiles and the leaves of the kale ‘Redbor’, which are flogged after flowering to be replaced by dishonored dahlias alongside cosmos and sunflowers. The airy seed heads of Panicum Elegans ‘Streuseln’ connect everything, while the black-eyed Susan Thunbergia alata ‘African Sunset’ brushes over the edge. It looks incredibly wasteful, but it won’t break the bank.
Big and brave: Trawl online marketplaces for dolly tubs, old tin baths, and coal pails that make great big containers
While he buys fresh tulip bulbs every year and admits it’s a boon, does Parkinson’s keep costs down by saving most of the bulbs year on year? Hyacinth wood, crocuses, dahlias and gladioli are dug up and stored in the garage over the winter. Cosmos, sunflowers, cornflowers, marigolds, borage, and panic are made from seeds in small pots in his grandmother’s guest room down the street at this time.
“I don’t feel like having endless herb boundaries that get tired and full of annual weeds so easily,” he says. “Give me a flock of dolls tubs every day.”
Three things you can do now for a vibrant summer garden
Plant sweet pea seedlings
Grow them into a wigwam from twigs or bamboo with string wrapped like a spider web. Give them their own pot. When they’re over in midsummer, cut them off and replace them with a small sunflower.
Plant dahlia tubers or plants
Arthur recommends Waltzing Matilda, Verrones Obsidian, Totally Tangerine, “One of the Bishops”, Black Jack or Rip City for a big, plate-sized statement. Add bronze fennel and cut back three times in summer so you get lots of frothy foliage.
Sow seeds
Borage, Sunflower, Panicum Elegans ‘Streusel’, Calendula Touch of Red Mix, Cornflower Black Ball, and Cosmos Rubenza can now be sown for a few pounds and produce a pot of flowers.
Find your style: Dress up your pots like you are dressing yourself with colors that make your heart sing, says Arthur
Arthur’s secrets for extravagant pots
Large, attractive containers
You can find galvanized metal pots on eBay and other online marketplaces. Dolly tubs, old coal pails, old tin baths, and trash cans make great pots. Drill several drainage holes and put polystyrene wrappers on the floor so that the damp compost doesn’t rust on the metal.
Find your style
“Create a palette of your own favorite colors that will make your heart sing,” says Parkinson. “Imagine you are Trinny and Susannah and you treat it like you are getting dressed? That’s how you come up with your style.” He suggests cutting out pictures of flowers from catalogs of plants to see if they match. Once you have your scheme, stick to it in all pots.
Don’t be afraid to pick the flowers
Otherwise you just have to see the head dead; By picking, the plants produce more flowers. So don’t hold back, especially with sweet peas and dahlias. Pick a few and put them in a vase at least once a week.
The Flower Yard, Growing Flamboyant Flowers in Containers, by Arthur Parkinson, £ 22 (Kyle Books)
