Tips for patio or glasshouse impact gardening

An expert has drawn up a list of ways to succeed when impact gardening – trying to make an impact or a focal point – on the patio area.

Anna Johnson, owner of Little Red Nursery, told lubbockonline.com that grouping pots together can be very eye pleasing.

Ms Johnson is also a wholehearted believer in the mantra that the bigger the better – although she is in this instance talking about pots.

She additionally advised that groupings allow places for little treasures, such as a collection of rocks, a garden gnome, a shepherds hook or even a flag.

Colour, the American expert thinks, is also vital.

She said: "Using all the same colour of blooming plants or monochromatic colours, many shades of the same colour, is a very easy way to make your design feel like it was intended. The effect of mass colour is truly impact gardening."

She also urged gardeners not to overlook the impact of tropical plants which are well-suited to patio conditions and can often provide an "oasis of colour in the heat of the summer or through the cool of the fall".

Meanwhile, gardeners could also make their glasshouses as pleasing to the eye as possible by planting tomatoes and peppers, which the Royal Horticultural Society describes as having "perfect" flowers.